Wings Over Gatineau-Hull
Yesterday my Sweetie and I spent a lovely late summer afternoon at the Wings Over Gatineau Airshow. It was a cozy, smallish airshow and had the usual assortment of aircraft one sees around here: the Mynarski Lancaster, the Snowbirds, the RCAF demonstration CF-18, aerobatic aircraft, etc, which is all well and good, but there were two aircraft which really caught my attention. The first was Hawk One, a Canadair Sabre V (the Canadian version of the American F-86) which is done up in the livery of the Golden Hawks, the RCAF aerobatic team of the late 1950s and early 60s. This was a sentimental favourite for me, as I clearly recall seeing the original Golden Hawks when I was five or six years old. I think I was as wowed by it yesterday as I was as a little kid. Maybe more. A very cool aircraft.
But perhaps even cooler than that was the Hawker Hurricane. I've seen several of these before and they always impress but this one, number KZ321, is the last surviving airworthy Hurricane Mk IV in the world (there are several flyable Mk IIs around, but this is the only Mk IV). Also, unlike most restored aircraft one sees at these airshows, this Hurricane was actually flown in combat in World War II, in Greece, Yugoslavia and Italy. This ups its coolness factor considerably.
Check them out below. Apologies for the shakey video.
But perhaps even cooler than that was the Hawker Hurricane. I've seen several of these before and they always impress but this one, number KZ321, is the last surviving airworthy Hurricane Mk IV in the world (there are several flyable Mk IIs around, but this is the only Mk IV). Also, unlike most restored aircraft one sees at these airshows, this Hurricane was actually flown in combat in World War II, in Greece, Yugoslavia and Italy. This ups its coolness factor considerably.
Check them out below. Apologies for the shakey video.
Click to view