A robo-bird will join the Snowbirds next month as thousands flock to Villeneuve Airport for Sturgeon County’s annual airshow.
The Edmonton (formerly Alberta) International Airshow touches down at Villeneuve Airport this Aug. 13 and 14. The airshow typically draws some 40,000 people to the Sturgeon County airport for hours of aerial acrobatics.
“This year we’re really focusing on youth and human capital attraction,” said organizer Richard Skermer, particularly when it comes to the event’s new career expo.
In the works since 2019 (and delayed by the pandemic), Skermer said the career expo aims to expose youth to opportunities in Alberta’s aerospace industry.
One of the 38 companies scheduled to be at the expo is Aerium Analytics, a Calgary-based drone group known for chasing birds away from airports using its RoBird robotic falcon.
“It looks like a peregrine falcon and flies like a peregrine falcon,” said company president Jordan Cicoria, and it will be flying for the crowds at the airshow.
“It looks like a real bird flying.”
Cicoria said drones are easy to fly and can be flown in a lot of exciting situations — his company’s drones fly within 150 feet of landing jumbo jets, for example. The drone industry is the fastest-growing part of the aviation industry, and holds many opportunities for youths skilled in mechatronics, data analysis, and machine learning.
“You’re not just going to be a mechanic turning wrenches,” Cicoria said.
Skermer said he hopes to expand the expo into a full-on conference in future years.
High flyers
Skermer said the airshow will feature many in-air and on-ground performances and displays, the full list of which he is still finalizing as of last week.
“The biggest thing we’re waiting for is to see what happens in Ukraine,” he said, as the war there could tie up many of the military planes and teams used at airshows.
On the schedule as of last week are the Canadian Forces Snowbirds and the Skyhawks parachute team, both returning to Villeneuve Airport for the first time since 2017. Also scheduled are a pair of RCAF Hornets from 4 Wing Cold Lake and Kyle Fowler’s Y-shaped Long EZ stunt plane, which will scream down the runway just meters above the ground as it flies underneath a backflipping motocross rider.
Also on tap is airshow mainstay and St. Albert resident Bill Carter, who Sturgeon County residents may have seen soaring over Villeneuve in his blue Pitts Special in recent weeks.
Carter said he has been practicing his routine three times a week this summer in preparation for the Villeneuve and Lethbridge airshows, the latter of which is scheduled for July 30-31.
“I kind of pick (times) when there’s not a lot of traffic around,” he said, adding that he’s usually airborne at around noon.
Carter said he will stick to his tried-and-true routine for this year’s show, which includes a lot of big loops, low dives, and an inverted ribbon cut.
Traffic jam?
Last year’s airshow was marred by a massive traffic jam which saw some guests wait up to three hours to get into the show — the result of a combination of Sunday guests coming on Saturday to avoid rain, and a huge number of at-the-gate ticket sales.
To avoid similar problems this year, Skermer said his team will likely require all tickets to be bought in advance, instead of at the gate. Guests will be strenuously encouraged to use Edmonton Transit’s park-and-ride service and will be let into the airport grounds about an hour earlier. There will also be more and better-trained police and volunteers on site directing traffic, and likely some road closures to stop guests from parking in people’s fields.
Tickets to the airshow start at $26, $1 of which goes toward the Canadian Mental Health Association. Youths 12 and under can attend for free. Visit albertainternationalairshow.com for details.
