Eyes on the sky for upcoming show

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This article was published 24/05/2016 (3665 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Stiff necks could affect some spectators as they gaze skyward to watch the aerial acrobatics at the Manitoba Air Show at Portage la Prairie’s Southport Airport on June 4.

Air show executive director Jill Oakes is excited to work with a dedicated group of volunteers to bring a day-long event back to Manitoba after 25 years. She said the annual event took a hiatus because Richardson International Airport and St. Andrews Airport became too busy to accommodate the show.

“There was too much traffic,” she said. “But we wanted to offer a show in Manitoba again.”

The two logical sites for a resurrected show were Southport, located three kilometres south of Portage la Prairie and Gimli. Oakes said Southport’s board offered to host the show and preparations for this year’s show began two years ago.

“Our purpose is to inspire, educate and promote,” Oakes said.

Inspiration — particularly for those interested in a career in aviation — could come from watching the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, the CF-18 demonstration team, sky dancer Anna Serbinenko’s aerobatics or some of the military and vintage aircraft take to the sky.

Oakes said flight instructor Sandra Proulx, at Harv’s Air Pilot Training which operates in Steinbach and St. Andrews, went to an airshow in Winnipeg 25 years ago and was inspired to change careers to become a flight instructor.

“The aerial display will be amazing,” Oakes said. Planes from the 1920s up to the most modern that can be powered by an electric engine will be flown and displayed.

Oakes said guests will also have the chance to explore various career options relating to aviation as all of Manitoba’s largest aerospace companies and post-secondary facilities that offer aerospace instruction will have displays at the airshow. “They’ll be there to answer questions.”

“Fashion design, communications and management are some of the lesser-known jobs, along with the better-known ones of pilot, aircraft mechanic and air traffic controller,” she said.

Oakes, a commercial pilot for almost 40 years, teaches aviation geography at the University of Manitoba. She’s also a member of The Ninety-Nines, an international women pilots’ organization that offers free flight training at Lyncrest Airport in the RM of Springfield.

She’s pleased some of her university students volunteered to help organize the air show and will join hundreds of other volunteers.

As well as aeronautic-themed displays, the air show includes a fashion show by Winnipeg’s MC College, music festival, displays of cars and antique motorcycles, instruction on flying remote-controlled aircraft, and an artisans’ market. Youngsters will be able to build free model planes and enter an online contest prior to the show for a chance to win free flights.

Guests can also pay an extra fee to join other photographers in getting a prime location for taking shots of the aircraft on the ground and in the air.

Oakes said Snowbird members and other pilots in the show will be available to sign posters.

“There will be something for everyone and for all ages,” she said. “We expect that there will be 10,000 people.”

The gates open at 9:30 a.m. Tickets are available at www.mbairshow.com and are $25 for adults, $20 for military members and students, $15 for youth age 13 to 17 and free for children age 12 and under who are accompanied by an adult. They are also available for $5 off while quantities last at Volcom in Polo Park, the Military Family Resource Centre (102 Comet St.) in Winnipeg and at Family Foods (402 Saskatchewan Ave) and Fehr Automotive (2556 Saskatchewan Ave. W) in Portage la Prairie.

The show will go on rain or shine. Oakes said the Snowbirds have a special show designed for rainy weather that is spectacular.

“I almost hope that it does rain,” she joked.

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Pre-show aerobatics:
Aerobatic pilot and instructor Anna Serbinenko is offering plane rides to the general public and teaching aerobatic skills to trained pilots on Thurs., June 2.

Contact Jill Oakes at jill.oakes@umanitoba.ca for more information.

 

Vintage aircraft coming from Brandon:
Vintage aircraft from the British Commonwealth Training Plan Museum in Brandon will be part of the Manitoba Air Show.

The museum, located at Brandon Municipal Airport, is the only museum of its type in Canada that’s dedicated to preserving the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan used in the Second World War. Air crews from England, Australia, New Zealand and Canada were trained in Manitoba. Many of the aircraft flown for training and warfare are on display, and museum members will fly some in the air show in a 75th Commemorative Fly Past. The public has the opportunity to book a flight in these important pieces of Canadian aviation history.

— Geary