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Snowbird replacements ‘extremely manoeuverable, powerful,’ RCAF commander says

GATINEAU - The Royal Canadian Air Force welcomed on Thursday the first two of its new trainer aircraft, the CT-157 Siskin II — the same planes that will replace the old Tutor jets flown by the Snowbirds aerial demonstration team.

The turboprop planes will soon be headed to 15 Wing Moose Jaw, where the air force eventually will station 19 of them to serve as its main training fleet.

Acquiring the Siskin II, also known as the Pilatus PC-21, is part of the RCAF's plan to modernize its fleets and overhaul its training.

RCAF Commander Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet said the modern aircraft are well suited both to aerial acrobatics and to preparing pilots for the more advanced aircraft the air force is bringing online.

Winnipeg chamber chair seeks to get creative

Could Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre tickets be the next company-wide perk?

It’s a question Bob Somers is posing. He’s slated to take the reins as Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce board chair on Oct. 1.

“There’s just such a barrier to engagement with the creative sector,” said Somers, a principal landscape architect at Scatliff + Miller + Murray.

He’s attended chamber events over the past 20 years. Many videos shown at luncheons come without local music or a credit to the filmmaker, Somers said.

Jets vets weigh in on franchise goalie Hellebuyck not reporting to training camp

Hockey is the ultimate team sport, where it’s supposed to be about the crest on your chest rather than the name on your back.

So how is Connor Hellebuyck’s trade request and subsequent training camp strike playing out inside the Winnipeg Jets locker room — particularly among other core players he’s gone to battle with over the years?

“Obviously the news is heartbreaking,” Jets forward Kyle Connor said Thursday.

“It feels like we had such a special group here and for whatever reason — I can’t speak to the reason until we hear from the man, I’m not going to speculate on what it is but I know that a lot of guys in that room that are heartbroken.”

Online fundraiser for ‘polite, modest farmer’ facing firearms charges sending message, neighbour says

Thousands of dollars have been raised to help cover the legal fees of a Manitoba man charged after he allegedly fired a gun at thieves during a theft on his farm in August.

Jets GM insists club’s not working under any deadline in netminder’s trade request

Connor Hellebuyck and his family were subject to so much post-Olympic vitriol that both the Winnipeg Jets security team and even police had to get involved.

Day 1 of Jets training camp in the books with pairings essentially cemented

Nearly six minutes into his question-and-answer session, Scott Arniel took a welcome detour from the news of the day.

After exhausting the discussion around the goalie who wasn’t in training camp, the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets finally got a query about the line combinations and defensive pairings that were unveiled in training camp.

And unlike past years, when exhibition games were more frequent and the training camp wasn’t this condensed, Arniel conceded these groupings were intentional and were likely staying together for some time.

The expansion to an 84-game regular season brings with it a reduction to four pre-season games and a much shorter training camp, which could limit the amount of experimentation that Arniel can do during the next two weeks.