The Canadian Forces Snowbirds performed an aerobatics show over Nanaimo's harbour in August 2019 which drew thousands along Nanaimo's waterfront. (submitted/Cortnee Morgan)

By Alex Rawnsley

OPERATION INSPIRATION

Snowbirds to conduct Nanaimo fly-by, part of nationwide tour

May 15, 2020 | 9:59 AM

NANAIMO — If the weather co-operates, the skies above Nanaimo are about to get loud.

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds are winding down their nationwide Operation Inspiration tour and are scheduled to swoop above the east side of Vancouver Island over Nanaimo and Victoria.

The Squadron was originally due over Nanaimo on Sunday, May 17, however weather and operations have delayed the plan. A detailed schedule is posted for the day ahead on the Snowbirds Twitter page every evening.

Capt. Logan Reid, Snowbird #8 told NanaimoNewsNOW they’ve travelled nearly 9,000 kilometres in the past ten days.

“Its been very humbling to overfly these communities, big cities and small, reminding Canadians that we’re all in this together and people have been responding really, really well.”

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Reid, originally from Duncan, said on-lookers shouldn’t expect the full aerobatics show the team has become known for.

“Our well known, quintessential big diamond formation is what we stay in most of the time,” Reid said. “(We’re) laying down some smoke overhead, some ribbon trails behind us and conducting some circles in the sky.”

Even without pulling off well choreographed aerobatic maneuvers, Reid said flying across the country in this fashion has been a unique experience.

“Nothing I’ve ever done as a member of the Snowbirds has ever been boring. It’s something else to be in the air, even at 25,000 feet I can still look out my big bubble canopy, a God’s-eye view of the earth and see eight other military jets fly beside me.”

The aircrafts are capable of flying between 364 kilometres and 675 kilometres at a time, depending on altitude.

The tour began in Nova Scotia on May 3 in the wake of a mass shooting in the province, in addition to COVID-19 and the loss of six Canadian Forces members on the HMCS Fredericton.

“Working westward, it has been longer days but for us, this is what we do,” Reid said. “This is our mandate to go across and represent the Canadian Forces, the Canadian people and we couldn’t think of a more important mission for us to be doing right now.”

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley