No, I’m not talking about fat French-Canadians fleeing to Florida during the wintertime. Air Show season is upon us!
http://www.snowbirds.dnd.ca/ct114_e.asp
Canada’s Snowbirds are a shining symbol of Canada’s practised affinity for doing “more with less”. Despite being shackled with 42-year-old training aircraft, Canada’s Snowbirds represent our country at air shows and events all over the world, inspiring awe and drawing praise for their award-winning aerial manoeuvres.
Were they a less-skilled group, their use of the CT-114 Tutor training aircraft (which can do roughly 1/3 of the speed of a modern jet fighter with less agility) would be an embarrassment. That they can draw accolades using equipment that is operational only in third world countries, in competition with teams flying faster and more agile aircraft, is a testament to their skill in the face of adversity.
Anyway there is no business case that logically supports buying nine new $25M jets to replace the 9 tutors which cost $40M/year to maintain. On the other hand, at a time when recognition of Canada’s relevance to the world is on a steep decline, what is the penalty for not using tools like the Snowbirds to maintain our profile internationally?
If you know who the Snowbirds are and if you think, as I do, that the Snowbirds are important to Canada and deserve a fair shake at being relevant, check out the site below and sign their petition.
http://www.newjetsforsnowbirds.com/
Sure it’s not world peace but it’s better than nothing. 🙂
-Ian.
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