Flying to the Abbotsford Airshow

BY DEREK MELTON , SUSTAINING MEMBER

The first time I attended the Abbotsford Air Show was in 1974 while I was at UBC. A good hot August day, lots of thrills, loud noise, a large static display of military and civilian aircraft, crowds of people, the smell of jet fuel and suntan oil, plus of course plenty of fast food. The basic formula seems to have stayed the same, with a few additions. I cannot find any photos from 1974, but have a couple from 1997, when the airshow was the turnaround point on a family camping trip, driving through the Rockies from home base in Calgary. I well remember Air Canada and Canadian International wide bodied jets making low slow and high speed passes with Mount Baker in the background.

Fast forward a couple of decades and it was time to visit the airshow again, but now flying in from Victoria and camping overnight. I did this in 2016 (GXTZ), 2018 (GTLF) and 2022 (GXTZ). In 2016 and 2018 I routed via CZBB picking up my pilot son Noel on the way and then returning direct to CYYJ. In 2022 I flew direct to CYXX and met Noel there.

The routing options and use of frequencies are the same as any flight to CYXX. Additional things to cover in flight planning are the schedule for the show including when the airport will be closed to GA traffic. You also need to find out where you will be parking, where you can camp if staying overnight and what facilities are nearby. A good starting point for getting information has been the Fly-In and Camp-In bulletin produced ahead of the show by the Abbotsford Flying Club. The bulletin includes arrival and departure procedures, expected airport closure times, location of day and overnight aircraft parking, plus camping plans. They include a reminder to review the airshow NOTAM which comes out a week before the show.

In recent years the threeday event has started with twilight flying displays on the Friday. Evening flying extends well past sunset and has included a CF-18 with appropriate afterburner use and aerobatic planes firing off pyrotechnics, all of which I have been keen to attend. This has meant flying over Friday to arrive during an open slot for GA aircraft from 15:01 to 16:59, between an earlier practice period for show aircraft and the start of the evening aerial display at 17:00.

In 2016 the weekend was nice and hot, but with reduced visibility in smoke and haze. As I’ve found each year, ATC at CYXX were very friendly and efficient, helping us locate traffic, route for a right downwind arrival to 25, (Runway 01 / 19 is always closed for the static display), and after landing confirming the taxi route for parking. The long taxi was along Charlie and then up Alpha to Golf, where marshals directed us to parking on the grass. 2016 was a banner year, since we were still allowed to camp airside under the wing, which cannot be beat for being at an airshow. The Abbotsford Flying Club was very hospitable providing visiting pilots help with onward flight planning, access to showers and laying on an excellent hot breakfast. There were many good aerial displays on the Saturday, but one highlight was the Snowbirds performing as they had in

1974 with Mount Baker in the background. It was over all too soon, although I may have gotten a bit of sunburn and at 17.30 the cockpit felt like I was back in Africa! I had flight-planned for an 18.00 departure which meant that the slight rush to depart after the 17.00 finish had mainly died away. Apart from managing a strong gusting crosswind from the south on takeoff, the trip back was routine with fine scenery.

In 2018 the weather was good for the Friday afternoon flight across via CZBB and stayed nice for the evening show. Unfortunately CYXX security changes did not now allow for camping under the wing. Camping was arranged nearby outside the security fence or further away near the Flying Club. We opted for the nearby option and were amused to be next to an American pilot who had expected to be allowed to sleep in his Bonanza. He only had a sleeping bag under an improvised tarp tied to a fence, which proved too minimal when the rain started overnight. Given the early morning low cloud and showers we opted to head back to CYYJ for breakfast, ahead of a likely reduced show starting at 10.30. Staying low below cloud inland from Cherry Point,ATC announced lowlevel jet traffic at 2 o’clock and we had a fine view of two US aerial display military jets coming in for the day.

2022 should have been a more straightforward trip, given no stop at CZBB on the way out, however GXTZ had other ideas. The weather was great, I had loaded up the plane and again flight planned to arrive during the two hour Friday afternoon open window. However, settling in ahead of start-up the seat collapsed to the full down level and would not raise up. Dispatch could not come up with an alternative aircraft in the time needed, so two booster cushions were used for a safe and quite comfortable fix. Only a little behind schedule, everything was going fine until I tried to contact CYXX tower. I could hear them well, but my transmission was cutting out. ATC vectored me to stay south of the airport before joining on a left base to 25 because of a busy circuit, and were very accommodating to work with a less than ideal communication situation. After landing they correctly diagnosed the issue as a likely faulty pushto-talk switch. No camping under the wing was allowed, so I again camped north of aircraft parking just outside the security fence. My trolley to haul camping equipment was the envy of many other fly-in campers! The twilight show was excellent and included a new after dark display of choreographed drones with colored lights all set to music. The drones were cleverly programmed to format and display huge outlines of different planes, helicopters and an airship. Even though Saturday morning’s weather was ideal, I decided to head back to CYYJ early ahead of the 10:30 show start and get a Dakota Café breakfast on the terrace. The evening show lasts from 17.00 to 22.00 and early on actually includes many of Saturday’s performers. After start-up I asked for a radio check with ATC in case the radio had somehow fixed itself. It had not, but communication was good using the mike, so I was set. The return trip afforded fine views down the Washington coast, with refinery smoke stacks and even Bellingham airport visible in the far distance.

I’m not sure if I’ll get to the August 2023 airshow, but I do have it penciled in. Perhaps I’ll see you there?