The lure of the Snowbirds drew thousands of people to the Dallas Road waterfront Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Air Force aerobatic team didn’t disappoint, presenting an impressive array of manoeuvres that drew cheers and applause. Crowds lined the shore from Ogden Point to the eastern edge of Ross Bay.
The Snowbirds’ nine-jet group included two pilots from Vancouver Island — Victoria’s Capt. Ave Pyne and former Parksville resident Capt. Matthew Hart. Leading the unit was Maj. Patrick Gobeil, who told the Times Colonist before the appearance that he has absolute confidence in the entire unit.
“In the air I’m the guy up front that leads the formation around, so everybody takes their reference off of my airplane,” Gobeil said.
“The amount of trust that’s required for an army unit to go to war, it’s kind of the same idea behind our team. You need a lot of trust in each individual on the team to be able to do what we do, at the proximity that we do it.”
At Ogden Point, the approximately 500 free parking spaces offered by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority were already filling up by 4:30 p.m., said spokesman Ivan Watson. Streets running toward Dallas Road started plugging up before 5 p.m. with people heading to the 6 p.m. event.
Alli and Andrew Rankin took the advice of organizers and cycled to Dallas Road from their home in Victoria West. Four-year-old son Liam was along for the ride, and was the most excited in the family.
“He’s totally stoked about planes right now, big and small,” said Alli Rankin, who wore a Winnipeg Jets shirt in honour of the occasion.
Among the first wave of spectators to arrive was a group from View Royal. May Anderson, Pat Towne, Janice Kraft and Al Kraft set up their chairs about 4 p.m. — two hours before showtime — and played cards while they waited. Al Kraft was prepared with a camera sporting a 150-500 mm lens.
Anderson said she is big fan of planes. “I love planes. I think everybody does, especially our Snowbirds.”
Team co-ordinator Scott Harrold said the cloud cover early in the day was never really a worry. He said the plan for the team’s CT-114 Tutor jets was to fly at elevations ranging from just below 1,000 feet up to 5,000 and 6,000 feet.
Victoria police were out in full force to monitor the crowd and direct traffic, said police spokesman Bowen Osoko. Regular and reserve officers were deployed, he said. “It’s the same kind of standard thing we do for most events.”
The Snowbirds’ show was a fundraiser for the CHILD (Children with Intestinal and Liver Disorders) Foundation, with money raised from donations, raffle tickets and the sale of Snowbirds’ merchandise.
