London International Airshow 2018

report by: Thierry Letellier

During the first week-end of september; I had the opportunity to visit Airshow London 2018 located in London, Ontario, Canada. This was my second  year in a row that I’ve visited this show, and i Had always the same pleasure. At the exact opposite with last year, the weather conditions let  us a little bit disapointed but we were fully enjoyed bythe quality of the static and flying display.

The show had a mix of static and active performers and both were pretty spectacular. On the ground we had a C-5M Galaxy from 436 AW , 1 C-17A Globemaster ;  then  a KC-10A from 60AW. We got a trio of C-130 Hercules : one C-130H from Illinois ANG , an EC-130J from Pensylvania ANG,and an AMC  C-130J-30 from Dyess AFB. To complete the heavy transport  fleet we had a pair of  KC-135 from Alaska and Arizona ANG. A specially modified C-135 took the form of a TC-135 from 55 WG at Offutt AFB .About the fighters section, we had a pair of F-22A Raptor with TY tailcode. 2 F-15E from 4 WG at Seymour-Johnson AFB . The USAF F-16 trio came from South Carolina  with a pair of F-16 CM from 20 FW at Shaw AFB and a single ‘ Swamp Fox ‘ F-16 CM From Mc Entire ANG Station. The USAF also provided 2 F-35A from  56 FW at Luke AFB . Also from Arizona came a single 355 WG A-10C from Davis Monthan AFB. Langley AFB also sent a pair of T-38A from 71FTS with an other on from 394 CTS at Whiteman AFB.

For the Canadian Forces we had a pair of CT-156 ( T-6A-1 Texan II ) and a single CT-155 ( Hawk MK115 )from 2CFFTS operating  under the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) at CFB Moose Jaw- SAS. we had the joy to see a trio of CF-188 / CF-188B from CFB Cold Lake and CFB Bagotville. They wer joined by a CC-130 E from Transport Wing. The US NAVY sent a trio of F/A-18E from VFA-143 at NAS Oceana .A single F-35 C from VFA-101 ‘ Grim Reapers ‘ at Eglin AFB joined the static display. To complete the USN participation we got  a P-8A Poseidon . USN T-45 Goshawk’s were also on the list for static but did not appear. The other cancellations were ACC 18 AGRS with F-16 C/D and the Canforce CT-142. A very clever  initiative was to let us walk along the static and all the flight line before the arrival of the general public. Those poeple had also 2hours to do it also before the begining of the flying Display.

The Snowbirds were one of the backbone of the flying display. They are Canada’s military aerobatics or air show flight demonstration team whose purpose is to “demonstrate the skill, professionalism, and teamwork of Canadian Forces personnel”.The Snowbirds  are  based at 15 Wing, near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The show team flies 11 CT-114 Tutors . Nine for aerobatic performances, including two solo aircraft, and two as spares, flown by the team coordinators. Approximately 80 Canadian Forces personnel work with the squadron full-time; 24 personnel are in the show team that travels during the show season.

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Northern America. The NORAD commander and deputy commander (CINCNORAD) are, respectively, a United States four-star general or equivalent and a Canadian three-star general or equivalent. The 60th Anniversary of this organisation gave us  the occasion to get this magnificent CF-188 specially painted by the Canadian Armed Forces ; for this event. Initially schedulled to fly with the pair of USAF F-22A ; they were oblige to cancel due to a problem on the American fighter.

There were also a pair of beautiful heritage passes with the London Jet Museum’s newly restored CT-133 Silver Star trainer (Canadian designation for the T-33 Shooting Star) and with the USAF heritage pass featuring the F-16C (the Viper Demo) and the TF-51D ‘Bum Steer.’ Also noticed was the high quality performance from the two A-10A from  Selfridge AFB. Globalairpower would like to thank all the Organizers and volunteers of London Airshow 2018, without forgetting the Public Affairs Office for their outstanding job.