Abbotsford International Airshow 2022

Discussion relating to 2022 airshows/fly-ins/exercises/other events. Post news before the event and post your photos afterwards! Please create only one thread per event.
JA Boomer
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Post by JA Boomer » Mon Aug 08, 2022 4:08 pm

This was my 20 consecutive Abby, for the 60th anniversary show no less, so that means I've been to a third of them! This was a very different Abby for me. The last time Abby was in its regular format, my wife was eight months pregnant. So doing this year's show with a three year old and an eleven month old was a giant change in mindset and routine.

First off, my three year old fainted (tired/hot/dehydrated) on Sunday during the Thunderbirds performance. So a big shout out to the St. John Ambulance crew who helped us cool her down. She was fine, and they were awesome!

Traffic: we opted out of the Friday show this year, which seemed to payoff big time, judging from the comments. Saturday traffic was as expected, and Sunday we actually drove into the airport perimeter without stopping.

Parking: Sunday we were parked beside the Cascade hanger. Never seen people parked there before. You definitely knew it wasn't going to be convenient to pop back to the truck later in the day to get something.

Misc.: got my program and poster right out of the gate to keep my streak alive. Good on the Airshow for making posters easily available again.

Statics:

-Disappointing that the C-5 and V-22 were no shows. Overall kind of light on the military side. Pretty poor showing by the RCAF.

-Is it just me or does Abby have a bigger problem with static cancellations than other airshows?

-I didn't see the French on the tarmac all weekend (although we were in the same hotel - nice people). Spoke with the KC-46 Boomer and the RCAF helo crews who were all very kind with their time.

-I got kicked off the static ramp shortly after the show on Saturday. I'm not sure why they let small civilian planes be on static display if they're going to be in a rush to leave in the middle of the show.

Food: lots of variety. If you picked your vendor and time right, you didn't have to wait.

Flying:

-Overall it did not measure up to what an Abby 60th should have been. Yes, the Snowbirds would have helped, but they were still a jet demo away from being a great show.

-My Dad thought the Satursday show was the worst Abby he's seen, echoing @Strat45

-I thought the Thunderbirds were better on Sunday (although I only caught the first part).

-The NORAD flight should have been pretty simple to plan: high-performace takeoffs, two formation passes, and then three passes as singles: high speed, touch and go, and a break to land. What we got was pretty tame, although the Eagle driver on Saturday confirmed something that I've read - the F-15C is quite maneuverable at low speeds.

-Too much Kent Pietch. They have to start booking him every second year, he's in the air as much as Bud Granely used to be (but I liked Bud's routines better).

I still enjoyed the show. I had a blast introducing my kids to it. I'll be back next year. But I do feel that Abby has lost ground in the past ten years, and I hope that the new President can breathe new life into the show.
Last edited by JA Boomer on Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:00 am, edited 9 times in total.
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Wingnut
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Post by Wingnut » Mon Aug 08, 2022 5:36 pm

A few more thoughts after the air show weekend-
If you got there early, you were ok. An hour or 2 after gates opened and u were screwed. It was a HOT weekend. We had 3 families together yesterday, 7 kids. It was a full time job keeping them cool. I didn’t see any misting setups like years past and there were no shade areas. Those 2 things would have been nice. We had shade tents for the kids and the adults found themselves in there often:)
One thing I really liked was the water trucks spraying down the tarmac, that was needed, thank you AIA team! We left early yesterday, during the cf188 show and got out just fine.

The sense I got from the weekend was that it seemed to go from not knowing if they would have a full show (like last year) to having one of the biggest turn outs ever in a very short period of time and they had to scramble. They sold out! Couldn’t believe it. I asked my dad (who’s been going since the 70s) about that and he thinks the last time that happened was in 86 (expo year).Hoping that with the impressive ticket sales this year they’ll be able to invest into next years show.

We packed in all our food and water (frozen, and in orig container was ok) so we didn’t really bother with lines (except mini doughnuts of course)

Static - I agree with JA Boomer, underwhelming. What was very cool were those Dutch F35 pilots. Super cool guys and very easy to talk to. They had just flown in from Ohio. The one pilot only had 6 flights on it! And was also super cool was that, as far as I could see, they had no ground support. They parked their planes, chocked, plugged and covered themselves, just the 2 of them. And I watched them help each other out (this was on Friday). Very cool. Kudos to the RNAF.
Besides the no shows on the static line the biggest disappointment was the FAF Phenix crew. I saw them open for a short period on Friday, but they closed it down by the time we got to the plane (around 4:30) and then yesterday didn’t open at all! You came all this way…to hang out in a hotel? Perhaps something else was going on. My family loves to walk thru aircraft and the only one they got to do that was the cormorant -shout out to the CH-149 crew, they were great! We didn’t see any other aircraft open for tours.
An update about the static situation would have been nice. And ya, the Girls Fly Too gets a better turnout. Will be taking my daughter in October!

Flying - I’ve already talked about the Friday show so I’ll just add to that. Thunderbirds were impressive! I think I counted 4 sneak passes, my group loved it! Impressive show. The NORAD display definitely needed some high speed passes, but it was great to see the F15 flying at Abby again. They did 2 go arounds on the Friday show, only one yesterday.
Loved to watch Rueger , McLeod, pietsch and hammond as always but something new would have been nice. Also, my group wanted to see a pyro show like years previous. They love to see the A10 on a brrrrrrt pass:)

With neither tbirds or blue angels coming next year I hope they can lock down some impressive performers next year.

Overall I give the show a thumbs up. Big thank to the volunteers who made it happen! We’ll be back
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cf18hornet
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Post by cf18hornet » Mon Aug 08, 2022 11:48 pm

Strat45 wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 11:12 pm

Maybe I'm spoiled but we used to get pyro, simulated attack runs, low passes, and an exciting show. This was pretty sterile.

You can blame the Canadian Government for the lack of pyro since they’re the ones that decided to change the laws in how explosive/pyrotechnics have to be stored. Unfortunately that resulted in pyro no longer being allowed to be stored on site. 😕
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lukas97
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Post by lukas97 » Tue Aug 09, 2022 2:09 am

Departure Day!

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Erickson Aviation Media

Waka Photography
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Post by Waka Photography » Tue Aug 09, 2022 3:31 am

Anyone else waiting for the riddle answers? :lol:
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JA Boomer
Posts: 175
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Post by JA Boomer » Tue Aug 09, 2022 7:51 am

Wingnut wrote: Mon Aug 08, 2022 5:36 pm They sold out!
Did they though? Or did they see the mess and backlash of Friday's traffic, and decide one easy way to improve things on the weekend is to eliminate people purchasing tickets at the gate?
Wingnut wrote: Mon Aug 08, 2022 5:36 pm Besides the no shows on the static line the biggest disappointment was the FAF Phenix crew. I saw them open for a short period on Friday, but they closed it down by the time we got to the plane (around 4:30) and then yesterday didn’t open at all! You came all this way…to hang out in a hotel? Perhaps something else was going on.
I did see them walking around the grounds. Perhaps they were enjoying themselves. Rumor has it that Airbus asked the FAF for a favor on that one, because of Canada's recent purchase, and with the direct flight, the crew was less than thrilled.
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Bingofuel
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Post by Bingofuel » Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:39 pm

Redhawk F-15's with the departure of the weekend...wow

My ears are ringing.

I enjoyed the show, definitely not as good as the organizers had originally planned, cancellations took their toll.

With world events these days honestly I'm happy getting any military at all.

Having Seafair the same weekend definitely thinned out the lineup. But after last year's rain I think most people are just happy with a decent show and good weather.

Looking forward to next year!
Last edited by Bingofuel on Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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JA Boomer
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Post by JA Boomer » Tue Aug 09, 2022 10:53 pm

Wingnut wrote: Mon Aug 08, 2022 5:36 pm Thunderbirds were impressive! I think I counted 4 sneak passes, my group loved it!
Noticed this as well! Loved it!
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lukas97
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Post by lukas97 » Tue Aug 09, 2022 11:35 pm

The F-15s left this morning around 9am and it was awesome! Full burner down 07 and some hard pulls to the north before circling back and coming down runway 19 low and fast with an aggressive pitch up as they crossed over Huntingdon!

To me, this was the highlight of the show! Sadly, not many were able to witness it... Fortunately, I got it on video for all to see :D

Last edited by lukas97 on Tue Aug 09, 2022 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Erickson Aviation Media

JA Boomer
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Post by JA Boomer » Wed Aug 10, 2022 1:59 am

Bingofuel wrote: Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:39 pm Redhawk F-15's with the departure of the weekend...wow
Nice! Fingers crossed for a video.
Bingofuel wrote: Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:39 pm With world events these days honestly I'm happy getting any military at all.
I admire yours and others optimism! I tend to be a Debbie Downer.
Last edited by JA Boomer on Wed Aug 10, 2022 1:59 am, edited 2 times in total.
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