Trenton AFB

[Zone5ive]

Hmmmm.

Thats news to me.
I just submitted our 5 a/c and crew lists along with our flight and formation info. ( at their request).
In fact we have their Honorary Col. leading our flight.
Did you speak to the actual organizer incharge ( one man) or just some base personnel ?

I called the base asking for the contact person in this article and spoke with a military admin officer:

http://intelligencer.ca/PrintArticle.aspx?e=1431377

[fleet16b]

Hmmmm.

Thats news to me.
I just submitted our 5 a/c and crew lists along with our flight and formation info. ( at their request).
In fact we have their Honorary Col. leading our flight.
Did you speak to the actual organizer incharge ( one man) or just some base personnel ?

I called the base asking for the contact person in this article and spoke with a military admin officer:

Well, there is only one Officer in charge of the entire event and at present. We are scheduled to c/out a fly-by over the BCATP Gates at 12:00 noon om the Sat.
Unless this officer contacts me to change things, I'll have to say your source is wrong at present.
As I have said, they have asked me to supply 5 a/c for a fly-by over the gates. They have also requested copies of each pilots documentation and a/c documentation as per any flying show we do.
Guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Blakey]

Hmmmm.

Thats news to me.
I just submitted our 5 a/c and crew lists along with our flight and formation info. ( at their request).
In fact we have their Honorary Col. leading our flight.
Did you speak to the actual organizer incharge ( one man) or just some base personnel ?

I called the base asking for the contact person in this article and spoke with a military admin officer:

Well, there is only one Officer in charge of the entire event and at present. We are scheduled to c/out a fly-by over the BCATP Gates at 12:00 noon om the Sat.
Unless this officer contacts me to change things, I'll have to say your source is wrong at present.
As I have said, they have asked me to supply 5 a/c for a fly-by over the gates. They have also requested copies of each pilots documentation and a/c documentation as per any flying show we do.
Guess we'll have to wait and see.

It's all there in black and white. Major Camps is the Air Display Director. Here's a quote from the article in the post above:

Maj. Steve Camps, 8 Wing’s deputy operations officer, is overseeing plans for the air display.

During the Saturday parade, Camps said, “We’re going to have some form of a flyby of the vintage aircraft and current military aircraft and the Snowbirds.”

"flyby of vintage aircraft". That's the 5-plane. The theme is to showcase and celebrate Air Force aircraft. They want to include aircraft past and present and, since we didn't have the sense the RAF did, we got rid of all our past aircraft so the only civilian participants invited are those flying types the RCAF/CAF used to fly. So, if you want an invite, get yourself a Mosquito or a Yukon, I'm sure we can arrange a spot for you then!

[chuck130]

So if Herc 308 does a flyby- is that vintage or current?

[Hedley]

*** edited ***

[fleet16b]

Well, there is only one Officer in charge of the entire event and at present. We are scheduled to c/out a fly-by over the BCATP Gates at 12:00 noon om the Sat.
Unless this officer contacts me to change things, I'll have to say your source is wrong at present.
As I have said, they have asked me to supply 5 a/c for a fly-by over the gates. They have also requested copies of each pilots documentation and a/c documentation as per any flying show we do.
Guess we'll have to wait and see.

It's all there in black and white. Major Camps is the Air Display Director. Here's a quote from the article in the post above:

Maj. Steve Camps, 8 Wing’s deputy operations officer, is overseeing plans for the air display.

During the Saturday parade, Camps said, “We’re going to have some form of a flyby of the vintage aircraft and current military aircraft and the Snowbirds.”

"flyby of vintage aircraft". That's the 5-plane. The theme is to showcase and celebrate Air Force aircraft. They want to include aircraft past and present and, since we didn't have the sense the RAF did, we got rid of all our past aircraft so the only civilian participants invited are those flying types the RCAF/CAF used to fly. So, if you want an invite, get yourself a Mosquito or a Yukon, I'm sure we can arrange a spot for you then![/quote]

Blakey

Thanks for confirming what I have been saying all along.
Should be quite a memorable event as we don't see the Canadian Air Force go all out like this very often.
On a personal note, it will be a special event for me as I am hoping to have my Dad (90 yrs) at the Fly-by .
He flew Fleets and for a short time did his Instructor training at Trenton during the war.

Fleet16b

[fleet16b]

Here is an update to the Trenton Air Base -#8 Wing Event.
Our paperwork is submitted and we are confirmed as flying over the BCATP Gates while they are being dedicated.


By Luke Hendry — Quinte Media

Staff of 8 Wing-CFB Trenton want you.

They're recruiting, but not for military service.

Plans are now underway for the base's Armed Forces Weekend and Air Display July 4 and 5.

And the message from organizers is simple: come to the base. See interesting things. Have fun. Just don't expect an air show.

"Come and see what the Canadian Forces do for you and how we do it," said Lt.-Col. Debbie Miller, 8 Wing's administrative officer and a co-chairwoman of the festivities.

"We're expecting 30,000 to 50,000 of our closest friends," she said.

The Quinte International Air Show was for years a huge attraction to the base, offering a large-scale air show and a broad range of ground displays and vendors.

And while the new event will be large and entertaining, Miller and her team have been stressing the public shouldn't expect a repeat of the old air shows.

"The air shows were monumental, and we just can't do that," said Miller, though she added there will be flying demonstrations.

She explained the base's busy pace and nearly $1-billion infrastructure upgrades over the next four years limit the scale of any public event.

Instead, the weekend will be an open house of sorts, with air force, army and navy displays.

There will be plenty of historic and current aircraft in the air and on the ground, as well as displays by other non-flying Trenton units.

"We have all these capabilities and some people just think we're the noisy planes that fly over," Miller said.

The weekend is in celebration of this year's five big anniversaries in 2009: the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada; the 85th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force; the 60th anniversary of CFB Trenton's Memorial Gates; the 25th anniversary of the National Air Force Museum of Canada; and the 40th anniversary of 8 Air Communication and Control Squadron.

Maj. Steve Camps, 8 Wing's deputy operations officer, is overseeing plans for the air display.

During the Saturday parade, Camps said, "We're going to have some form of a flyby of the vintage aircraft and current military aircraft and the Snowbirds."

The base's north side will open for the afternoon, with past and present Trenton aircraft on display.

"People will be able to walk around and talk to the air crews," said Camps, adding that some of the current planes, if not on missions, will be open for public entry.

"It's a chance to get up close. I expect you'll be able to get inside a C-130 (Hercules transport) and take a look."

The actual aerial display will be on the Sunday, when the weekend's main open house will be held.

Camps said it will be a three-to four-hour flying display with the Snowbirds performance team, SkyHawks parachute team and current and vintage military aircraft that were part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

The BCATP was a Second World War program training Commonwealth pilots; Trenton was one such training site.

As thanks for that participation, King George VI in 1949 gave the base its decorative Memorial Gates, which still stand before base headquarters on the south side of Highway 2.

They were dedicated in 1951 by Princess Elizabeth, just before her coronation as queen.

Miller said weekend organizers await word on their special request for help in marking the gates' anniversary.

"We are hoping for royal representation," she said. "We don't have any confirmation."

With or without royalty, she said, "This will be a parade you won't see again in your lifetime."

The open house will be a rare chance for the public to get first-hand experience with military gear, she said.

"We want it to be a touchyfeely, big, huge display.

"We probably have about 60 major displays. You're going to be able to see everything that we do. You're going to be able to try on the kit ... and we may even make you walk 100 feet."

Updates will be posted online at www.cfbtrenton.com.

___________


Here's a brief look at the still-evolving plans for CFB Trenton's Armed Forces Weekend and Air Display.

What it is:

* Parade, flypast, aerial demonstrations, celebration of significant air force anniversaries, chance to meet staff of all Canadian Forces branches and see their equipment

What it is not:

* Another Quinte International Air Show. Expect a smaller scale but with plenty to do.


When:

July 4 and 5, 2009


How to get there:

* Shuttle buses from Belleville and Trenton, locations to be announced


Saturday, July 4 includes:

* Parade, flypast of current and vintage military aircraft. Sunday, July 5 includes:

* Open house with ground displays from all Canadian Forces branches

* Aerial display: All aircraft flown at Trenton plus the CF-18 Hornet jet-fighter demonstration; SkyHawks parachutists; Snowbirds; the F-86 Sabre jet known as Hawk One, painted with historic Golden Hawks colours; a search-and-rescue demonstration with a CH-146 Griffon helicopter; a tactical air drop from a Hercules.


Other plans include:

* Striking of 250 anniversary coins (spring release)

* Cancelled envelopes marking Feb. 23 powered flight anniversary

* Limited supply of anniversary clothing for sale on July weekend

For more details visit the Anniversary section at www.cfbtrenton.com

[fleet16b]

The Trenton Show went ahead as scheduled.
IMHO, it was one of the best organized shows that I have been involved with.
The CAF treated everyone really really well and the entire event was free to the general public.
There were more civilian a/c flying in the event that CAF aircraft.
So much for fast jets, the public and many in the CAF were far more interested in the Vintage a/c.

[CD]

It was indeed a great show... Thoroughly enjoyed the whole event. Now, if I can just find the time to sort through all the photos...

[fleet16b]

It was indeed a great show... Thoroughly enjoyed the whole event. Now, if I can just find the time to sort through all the photos...

If you have any photos of the Fleet Finch/Tigermoth Formation that flew over the BCATP Gates, I would certainly like to get copies.

[IFRATC]

To go off topic a bit. I have read through this post and was amazed to read how many people are connected to Fern. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised though. He was and STILL is an aviation legend and true icon in our country. I am under 50 but know him well. I had the privilige of flying with him and behind him for many years with his involement at CRGS. He touched many lives and passed on his wealth of aviation knowledge to hundreds if not thousands of youth aviators who started their flying careers with the cadet gliding program. I spent many an evening along with other instructors gathered around Fern, waiting patiently for him to tell his stories, while sucking back a pint (or six!!) in the Oak room in the Trenton Officers mess. If you know Fern you never pestered him for stories of past, but flying and sitting with him they would eventually start flowing!!
As a side note, the Centennial of Flight Cf-18 demo pilot is a former CRGS flyer and very close friend of mine. A touch of class was added by him when he requested that Fern's name be painted on the Hornet this year. If you get the chance to see this paint job up close (because it is beautiful) be sure to look for it.

IFRATC

[CD]

Sorry fleet16b... I arrived too late on site to catch that part of the day.

As for the names on the Centennial of Flight CF-18 Hornet, they are all listed at the following site:

100 Names for 100 Years

[fleet16b]

As a side note, the Centennial of Flight Cf-18 demo pilot is a former CRGS flyer and very close friend of mine. A touch of class was added by him when he requested that Fern's name be painted on the Hornet this year. If you get the chance to see this paint job up close (because it is beautiful) be sure to look for it.

IFRATC

I have met the Centennial of Flight CF18 pilot(TW). we are from the same hometown.
While attending Oshkosh with Fern this year, he told me that T.W. has arranged for Fern to do some dual in the back of a two seater CF18.
What a fantastic and respectful gesture from a young pilot to and an older pilot. Fern is really looking forward to the ride.
Tomorrow night Fern myself and a couple of other pilots will be c/out a fly-past over the opening ceremonies for the Fergus Highland Game.
As always, it is a privelage to fly on his wing.

[IFRATC]

Fleet16b,
Yes indeed the Hornet demo pilot (TW) is truly a class act. I am 100 percent positive that working with Fern over the years has definitely influenced some of his avaition enthusiasm. He has gone above and beyond in many facets as a true representative of a class act flying officer in the Air Force of today. My children have had the opportunity of knowing him and his family for years now. He spends countless hours on the ramp talking to anyone interested in the airplane. My kids have crawled all over it!!! He has had us on the infield while doing an arrester landing and while transiting back west a flypast over the house!!! Now, working at the ACC made this happen he nonetheless did not hesitate when I asked him for this unique request. A true professional...
Getting Fern in the back of a Hornet speaks volumes about his work ethic and professionalism. Years back, after leaving the Cadet reserve he even managed to get me in the tutor for 2 hours!!!
Enjoy the form flying with Fern.....

Cheers,
IFRATC

[fleet16b]

Just getting home after having had a wonderful evening of flying.
Me in the Fleet Finch, Fern in the left Tigermoth and another buddy in a Tigermoth on my right.
At exactly 20:00 hrs we mad our first past over the Fergus Highland Games.
Two more passes and we were all thru. One Tigermoth headed for home but Fern and I went chasing hot air ballons.
Perfect calm evening , nice sunset tons of vis and a Golden Hawk/ Aviation Hall of Fame inductee flying formation on my wing, so close that he was tickling my ear with his wingtip.
Thats what it is all about. An experience I will remember forever.

[Moose47]

There is no such thing as Trenton Air Force Base

Cheers...Chris