Abbotsford Airshow 2015

[Crimea_River]

Hi all.

Just got back from the Abbotsford Airshow and am in the process of sorting and discarding pics. Of the thousand plus that I took, there a few worth putting up with a bit of cropping and touch ups and I'll post some as I get them done over the next little while.

I left my home about 8:15am Friday and arrived in Hope, British Columbia at around 4:30pm local time. Hope is about 85km east of the air show venue and was the closest, reasonably priced, available accommodation that I was able to catch on short notice, since I only just decided to go last weekend. Because I arrived at a decent hour, I decided to drive in to the evening performance rather than sit in my motel room. As it tunred out, I'm glad I chose to stay tot he east as most of the traffic in and out of the venue is between Abbotsford and Vancouver, which is to the west.

More stories and pics will follow but here's a teaser: Spitfire MkV, Mosquito B.35, and P-51B approaching at dusk with Mt. Baker in the background.

 

[fubar57]

Looking forward to it Andy. I always stay in Hope when I go to the Island or Powell River. It's a nice break from driving and a nice town. Plus, part of Rambo was filmed there.




Geo

 

[Vic Balshaw]

That is a lovely shot Andy, especially with the snow capped mountain backdrop. Also good to see the weather was kind to you particularly as you posted an element of doubt earlier in the week.

 

[rochie]

That is a great shot Andy.

 

[Airframes]

Beaut shot Andy ! Looking forward to more.

 

[Gnomey]

Good shot Andy! Looking forward to more.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys. Still lots of organizing to do and I have a busy week ahead so will need some time. Vic, the weather on the Friday evening was gorgeous, as can be seen by the pic. Saturday, however, was a different story as the early sun quickly turned to overcast with just the odd sunny break. The viewing lines are north of the east-west flight line so the sun, what little there was, was behind the aircraft and the bulk of the shots are against a cloudy background. Not ideal for photography so don't get your hopes up. The one I posted above may be the best of the bunch.

In the meantime, here are three that I took of "'F' for Freddie" starting up and taxiing out for its Saturday performance:

 

[fubar57]

Nice start Andy. Great that the U.S. aircraft are allowed to attend again.



Geo

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Geo. This was my first time at this show and I must say that others that I've been to are much better for viewing both the show itself and the static displays. Many of the performing aircraft were off limits for getting up close and personal and there is very limited general admission seating at the front of the flight line. Unless you pay through the nose to sit amongst the upper crust or an extra 10 bucks to get a plastic chair up front, your early arrival to get a prime GA plot of grass will likely get you a good view of someone's fat a$$ in the seat in front of you. Now, if it were this one, I wouldn't mind so much....

 

[fubar57]

Never been there myself. I went to the first one in P.G. after they stole it from Vanderhoof. I heard that even the visiting air force pilots preferred Hooterville and the P.G. show only lasted a few years.




Geo

 

[Wurger]

Humm....

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Nice pics of the Mossie Andy, as for the other………………Mmm………………..could be a distraction!

 

[rochie]

Would love to see that in the flesh !

The Mosquito I mean...... Yes of course that's what I meant, yes, yes it was !

Honest.

 

[Airframes]

Yeah - right!
Nice shots again Andy. Is that the Kermit Weeks (ex- Strathallan) Mossie ? If so, nice to see it operational again.

 

[Crimea_River]

Terry, no. It's the one rebuilt by Victoria Air Maintenance that first flew in June of last year. It's based here in Canada on Vancouver Island and is owned by Bob Jens.

 

[Airframes]

Ah, thanks. I didn't think the Kermit Weeks' example was airworthy yet - I think it was either Dave or Chris who posted some pics of it a while back, looking rather sad.

 

[Gnomey]

Lovely shots Andy!

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys. Sorry for the slow progress here as I've been extremely busy this week. Here a few more formation shots with the first three taken at twilight on Friday night and the last one taken during the day on Saturday. Lighting conditions were horrible so I fully admit to using Photoshop to lighten up the subjects.

The Mosquito, once again, is a restored B.35 owned by Bob Jens out of Victoria B.C., Canada. The Spitfire is a MkV out of the Flying Heritage Collection and the P-51B is from the Historic Flight Foundation, both out of Washington State.

 

[Gnomey]

Great shots Andy!

 

[Wayne Little]

Great stuff andy!