By Kevin Ma
Villeneuve Airport will get some serious protection this month when a squad of armed troops para-drop in to kick off this summer's airshow.
The second annual Edmonton Airshow takes off in just over a week's time. Up to 35,000 people are expected to come out to the Villeneuve Airport this Aug. 6 and 7 to see some of the world's top pilots perform stunning stunts in airplanes new and old.
The show is meant as a celebration of aviation and a fun day out for the family, said executive producer Dean Heuman.
It's also much improved from last year, which was marred by traffic delays on day one.
New this year is the free park-and-ride lot at SMS Equipment in Acheson just off of Hwy. 2 west of Edmonton, Heuman said. The lot can handle up to 700 cars (about 2,100 people) and will give guests a bus ride right to the show's front gate. Organizers also plan to have two lanes leading into the airport grounds instead of one, and to have exhibitors use a separate entrance to get on site. Police will also be stationed at the Villeneuve roundabout to direct traffic.
Still, Heuman encouraged guests to take alternative routes to the airport instead of piling onto Hwy. 44, and advised residents to avoid Hwy. 44 and 633 during the airshow due to the potential traffic.
"Those are not good roads to be on that weekend."
There will be about 30 food trucks at the event offering everything from hot dogs to East Indian food, Heuman said. There will also be an expanded line-up of historic plane displays, including World War Two classics like the twin-engine P-38 Lightning and the gull-winged F4U-7 Corsair.
"These planes look like the day they were made," he said, and these particular models have rarely been shown publically.
New and returning acts
This year's show will kick off with a parachute insertion by about 40 members of 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
Fresh off of 50 days of field exercises near Wainwright, the troops will scream into the airport at the start of the show in a CC-130J Hercules, each wearing some 100 pounds of guns and gear (but no ammo or explosives), said Maj. Ben Schmidt, who is organizing the jump.
As the crowd sings the national anthem, the troops will leap from the plane, trigger their parachutes, and land in between the airport's runways. The whole operation should take about 40 seconds, after which the troops will pack up and settle in to watch the show.
"From our perspective, this is relatively routine," Schmidt said. They do these jumps twice a month and typically with 100 troops. It's a good chance for soldiers to show their families what they do at work, he added.
This year's show will feature fighter jets in the form of Capt. Ryan Kean's CF-18 demo team and the American F-16 Viper squad.
"The speed and sounds are going to be pretty spectacular," Heuman said.
St. Albert's Bill Carter will be one of several returning acts at this year's show. He said he would have the same routine as last year, with lots of low-level stunts in his blue Pitts Special biplane and an inverted ribbon cut just five metres off the ground to close.
Carter said he's been practicing three times a week since the spring to get his tolerance for G-forces back up (which can reach up to six times Earth normal in some cases), and just did a show at Villeneuve earlier this month.
Missing from this year's show will be pilot Bruce Evans, who died at the Cold Lake Airshow earlier this month. Evans performed at last year's show at Villeneuve and was set to exhibit a plane this year.
You can train all you want, but accidents like what happened to Evans can still happen, said Carter, who was a good friend of his.
"He was probably the most well-liked guy you've ever meet on the airshow circuit."
Heuman said there would be a tribute to Evans at this year's show – possibly a moment of silence.
The airshow runs from 1 to 4 p.m., with the show grounds open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are $25, with kids under six getting in for free. Visit edmontonairshow.com for details.
