Snowbirds and A-10 to Highlight Anderson Airshow

By: Charles Atkeison, AvGeekery Blog

ANDERSON, SC — America’s Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt and Canada’s Air Force Snowbirds are a few of the top performers at the Bill and Jo Trent Anderson Regional Air show this weekend as they help bring the thrust and excitement to upper South Carolina.

he Canadian Royal Air Force Snowbirds will perform above Anderson, S.C. this weekend. (RCAF)

The U.S. Army paratroopers known as the Black Daggers, the A-10 nicknamed the Warthog, and aerobatic pilots Scott Francis in his MXS aircraft and Clemens Kuhlig aboard his award winning Pitts S1S, will perform during the two-day show on May 19 and 20. On Saturday, the U.S. will observe Armed Forces Day.

The Air Force A-10C Warthog will demonstrate low and high speed maneuvers this weekend. (Atkeison)

“The Bill and Jo Trent Anderson Regional Airshow is unique in that it is a totally free airshow — free parking and free admission,” Butch Jones, Anderson Regional Air show director of operations said on Monday. “There will be plenty of food and drinks, a kids zone, vendors of all types, helicopter rides, Stearman rides all set in a family friendly environment.”

The pilots of the Canadian Snowbirds perform in Canadian-built C-114 Tutors jets which provide an individual thrust of 2,700 pounds. During a show, the guests will see the squadron perform with seven or nine jets in a close formation flight demonstration.

This weekend will mark the Snowbirds third appearance at Anderson. “This appearance is special in that they called us and asked us if they could come back,” Jones added. “Our reputation for a class airshow, family environment, and southern hospitality was not forgotten.”

The Anderson air show will mark the Snowbirds third show of their 47th anniversary season. These warriors of the air are a crowd favorite during each event they attend performing tight aerobatic maneuvers performed by Canada’s own Air Force.

“The Snowbirds’ show is the result of six months of intensive preparation and training and consists of over fifty different formations and maneuvers,” Snowbirds spokesperson LT Michèle Tremblay said. “Serving as Canadian ambassadors, the Snowbirds demonstrate the skill, professionalism, and teamwork inherent in the women and men of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Armed Forces.”

Clemens Kuhlig is known across the growing air show community as ChefPitts. The name he describes as a combination of his two favorite hobbies — cooking and flying. As he spent three years building his Pitts S1S, he was working as a professional chef. His lightweight IO-360 engine provides about 200 hp, combined with specially designed wings featuring longer ailerons.

“My parents took me to an air show when I was eight and the hook was set,” Clemens acknowledged as he stood near his popular red biplane. “It has taken about forty years, on a fairly circuitous path, to achieve my childhood goal of being an air show pilot.”

ChefPitts paused and then said with a firm tone, “If you never lose sight of a dream, it can be achieved.”

A growing air show crowd favorite, the Anderson show will be Clemens Kuhlig third of the season. He carries a fondness for the South Carolina community and the air show producers.

“This will be my second year flying in Anderson,” Clemens said with a big smile. “Gotta love a show that’s funded by the community for the community! Just goes to show what can be done when people get together to organize an Event that is not only fun for the family, but honors all those who serve the community and the country as policemen, firemen, and military.”

The air show entry and parking are free, however show organizers look to donations in support of aircraft fuel, food, and other costs of the performers and the airport itself. Donations of any size can be made by visiting this link or as you arrive at the air show each day. A free air show with several of North America’s top aviation performers is a true treat for everyone.

Snowbirds CT-114 to be kept flying until 2030

By: David Pugliese, Post Media 

The 55-year-old planes used by the Canadian military’s iconic Snowbirds aerobatic team will be kept flying until 2030.

Aircraft avionics will be modernized on the CT-114 Tutors to comply with upcoming aviation regulations and the life of the aircraft extended for another 12 years, according to April 2018 Royal Canadian Air Force documents obtained by Postmedia. The avionics upgrade is required if the planes are to continue flying in North American airspace. It is unclear at this point what other work will also be needed to be done on the aging aircraft.

No information was available on what the modernization program will cost taxpayers.

The planes have been in the Canadian Forces inventory since 1963 and have been used by the Snowbirds since 1971. The Tutors were supposed to have been retired in 2010, but that date was extended to 2020. This latest initiative would see the aircraft removed from the flight line when they are 67 years old.

Aerospace firms will be consulted about the life extension program over the next two years, according to the documents. A request for proposals will be issued in 2021, aerospace industry officials meeting in Ottawa last month were told.

“It is anticipated that equipment ordered would begin to be delivered in 2022,” the RCAF confirmed in an email to Postmedia. “Ultimately, the goal of the CT-114 Tutor Aircraft life extension project is to allow the RCAF to continue its Air Demonstration mission to highlight the professionalism and capabilities of its airmen and airwomen.”

It is anticipated that equipment ordered would begin to be delivered in 2022

The RCAF is facing a dilemma with replacing the aircraft used by the Snowbirds. The federal government has indicated it wants the aerobatic team to continue operating and the Snowbirds are seen as a key public relations tool for the military.

But some in the Canadian Forces have privately questioned spending money on the Snowbirds because they do not directly contribute combat capabilities to the air force.

The Tutors were originally used as jet trainers for the RCAF, but that role has been transferred to other aircraft.

The Canadian Snowbirds perform in their CT-114 Tutor jets on Sat., June 5, 2004 at the 10th anniversary Winnipeg International Air Show. JASON HALSTEAD/POSTMEDIA

Various military documents obtained by Postmedia show the back-and-forth debate on what to do with the Tutors. Replacing the Tutors would be expensive. In 2012 the Canadian Forces estimated it would cost between $755 million to $1 billion to buy a new fleet of planes for the aerobatic team, according to documents obtained by Postmedia through the Access to Information law. A current replacement cost was not available.

In 2008, the Canadian Forces examined options for replacing the Tutors in either 2015 or 2020. But officials decided on the 2020 date because of concerns about the cost of purchasing new planes. “Although extending to the CT114 to 2020 will be technically challenging, overall it can be achieved with minimal risk and at significantly lower cost when compared against a new aircraft acquisition,” a briefing note for then Conservative Defence Minister Peter MacKay pointed out in November 2008.

That conclusion, however, was in contrast to an earlier examination of the aircraft. “Due to obsolescence issues, in the 2010 time frame, the Tutor will no longer be a viable aircraft for the Snowbirds,” an April 2006 briefing note for then-air force commander Lt.-Gen. Steve Lucas pointed out.

In the past, the air force also examined leasing aircraft for the Snowbirds. In addition it looked at, but rejected, a suggestion to substitute CF-18 fighter aircraft for the Tutors.

The Snowbirds also contribute more than any other Canadian performer to the success and viability of the billion-dollar air-show industry in Canada and North America


Using CF-18s would increase the ability of the Snowbirds to perform around the world, but reduce their availability for smaller venues in Canada that have runways too short to accommodate the jets, the air force concluded. As well, the CF-18s would be 20 times more expensive to operate than the Tutors.

Thousands of Canadians every year watch the team perform, and the Snowbirds are a fixture at Canada Day celebrations and air shows across the country.

“The Snowbirds also contribute more than any other Canadian performer to the success and viability of the billion-dollar air-show industry in Canada and North America,” according to Department of National Defence documents.