Thousands turn out to welcome airshow back to P.E.I.
'We've always been an aviation family, it's always been a part of our life'
Thousands of pairs of eyes were looking up on Saturday as parachutes, biplanes and jet fighters streaked across hazy, but cloudless skies at the Summerside airport on P.E.I.
The first day of the skyward spectacle known as Air Show Atlantic 2018 took place at the airport in Slemon Park.
- Air show returning to Summerside, this time with jets
- New runway tempting air show back to Summerside
Spectators were treated to shows by Canada's iconic acrobatic flyers, the Snowbirds, as well as flights by the DH-115 Vampire, a new addition to the show this year.
For Elizabeth Jorgensen, coming to the air show is about more than watching pilots show off their planes — it's about tradition.
She's attended the air show with her father each time it's been held on P.E.I. since she was four.
"We've always been an aviation family, it's always been a part of our life ... It's just a fun tradition, it's nice to have it at home here," she said.
"The camaraderie, the family spirit, the community, it's just a nice atmosphere in general."
Andrew Jorgensen, Elizabeth's father, said it's great to have the air show back on P.E.I. after a three-year hiatus so he can spend some extra time with his adult daughter.
"We like to see the different aircraft, watch the jets and be totally scared by their noise, watch the parachutes. It's just a lot of fun."
Saturday's show started with a performance by the SkyHawks, the Canadian Armed Forces parachute team, who brought their parachutes together to create formations in the sky.
They were followed by several other flashy performances including one by pilot Brent Handy, who performed an aerobatic flight full of loops, twists and turns in his Pitts S-2 biplane.
Another was from the Nieuport XI "Bebe" — a replica World War I era biplane fighter, piloted by a team of volunteers who performed a commemorative fly-past over the Vimy Ridge memorial in France last April.
Organizers expect about 12,000 spectators over the weekend with about half coming from off-island. They hope the event could yield about $2 million in economic benefits for Summerside and the surrounding area.
