Airshow London – Sky Drive- The Friday Celebration and Afterburner 2023
Fireworks and drone formation in the London, Ontario sky during the Sky Drive Friday night air show.
Story and photos by Ken Kula
Colorado Air National Guard F-16 lands at London, Ontario Canada.
London Ontario’s Sky Drive – the newly branded weekend London air show, features a Friday evening event that has a different flavor than the Saturday and Sunday daytime shows. This year – 2023 – I got to go to the Friday evening’s “Celebration and Afterburner”, which contained aircraft, drones and fireworks during a three-hour long dusk to dark display. Normally, I’d stay for the entire weekend, but due to a late schedule change of mine, the only ticket I could get which suited my photographic needs was a Friday Red Zone Pass… which put me two rows back from the show front crowd line. The Zone parking package allows up to 6 people in one vehicle, and an enlarged parking space to remain within during the flying displays. This definitely alleviates the issue of spectators packing the first few dozen feet of the front line, as everyone must stay with their vehicle unless you’re out at the nearby static aircraft display area. With social distancing due to COVID-19 in place a few years ago, this concept worked well and still does today.
The flying show contained about two thirds of the weekend daily flying display routines, with some added bonuses like blazing afterburners and twinkling lights at dusk, as well as the aforementioned drone show and fireworks. Unfortunately, a moderately high overcast blocked the usual golden London sunset, but still allowed most every act to perform as scheduled.
A Canadian military CP-140M maritime patrol aircraft.
After COVID shut down things for a while, the Sky Drive concept of spaced automobile parking spaces was invoked, so no static display was allowed. This year, a static display was opened again, harking back to a time years ago when some 50 or more aircraft would grace the London parking ramps. This year, a varied mix of Canadian and U.S. military aircraft were on the ramp, with three U.S. Air National Guard KC-135 tankers, and a USAF KC-46 tanker occupying a lot of space. A RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance jet from Offutt AFB also stood out. A RCAF CP-140M Aurora, an upgraded version of the Lockheed P-3 Orion, and a CC-144C VIP/Medevac jet also were part of the static display. Multiple fighters from the USAF and Air National Guard… F-15s, F-16s and A-10s were part of the display, many with tables set up in front of some of these the jets with squadrons’ patches and other mementos for sale. The U.S. Marines MV-22 was opened for spectators to walk through, and a good-sized lineup ensued.
The Pilots4Paws folks talking about their mission.
Featured on the grounds were a group of food vans, serving up various ethnic dishes and treats. Other civic groups were there too, including Pilots4Paws, a one-year-old organization where pilots volunteer to fly animals from one place to another. Dog rescue is the main focus right now, but one volunteer said that they’ve flown birds and beavers too!
U.S. Navy MH-53E minesweeping helicopter.
Friday evening air shows normally integrate show arrivals and some civilian operations with the evening flying routines. Before the aerobatics began, a U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet from VFA-81 did two blazingly low arrival passes before landing. With slightly less than two hours of daylight, the show began with Melissa Burns in her Edge 540. Another Navy aircraft, the big MH-53E Sea Dragon, flew next, and showed how surprisingly maneuverable it is. A pair of U.S. Colorado Air National Guard F-16s arrived next, and an Air Canada Express Q-400 departed on a scheduled flight.
The USAF’s Air Education and Training Command (AETC) launched a KC-135R and C-17A, both based at Altus, Oklahoma’s Air Force base. Another pair of Colorado F-16s arrived, and the AETC pair flew in a pre-contact air refueling formation. The F-16s landed, and the pair of large (actually heavy) aircraft also made passes before landing too.
USAF MC-130 Commando II Special Operations refueler leads a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey.
In an inter-service dissimilar formation, a USAF MC-130J Commando II flew a simulated air refueling pass with a Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey too. The Osprey then made a few passes and hovers for the crowd before it alighted, and then the MC-130 landed too.
USAF F-22 Raptor in the vertical!
Next, in what seemed to be an extended presentation, the USAF F-22 Raptor flew almost it’s entire display in afterburner. A massive amount of flames and condensation were kicked out by the pilot, to the delight of the crowd.
U.S. Navy VX-9 Super Hornet.
After the F-22 finished, a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet from NAS Fallon (Nevada)’s VX-9 test squadron arrived, its black color scheme identified it as one of a long line of Navy fighters which carry the call sign “VANDY 1”. Another Air Canada Express Q-400 departed, as did an Ornge AW-139 medivac helicopter.
The RCAF Snowbirds at dusk.
Finally, the RCAF’s Snowbirds took the stage, in the failing daylight. Their twinkling lights and large formations made for a graceful show. Since there was a lower overcast cloud base for their show, they did a relatively flat show performance, which still had some exciting maneuvers. After the team landed, the unmanned part of the nighttime air show began.
Drones and fireworks.
A large formation of drones, spaced out symmetrically, took to the sky, each one equipped with a color-changing light. There were at least 72 craft in the air in formation, although in the darkness, the actual aircraft couldn’t be seen. Visual presentations of the Air Show London and RCAF Snowbirds emblems were created, as was the Canadian flag, waving in a breeze. A propeller driven aircraft had a spinning propeller. About a dozen or more formations created multi-colored pictures in the sky, and then a visual countdown to the beginning of the fireworks display was begun. For a few moments, the drones and the fireworks shared the sky over London, something I hadn’t seen (or imagined) in my 40+ years of air show attendance.
AETC KC-135R and C-17A formation in pre-contact air refueling positions.
If I had been able to stay for another day, I could have seen appearances by a Sea Fury and P-51 Mustang doing aerobatics, an flight of the International Test Pilots School’s HU-16 Albatross, EF-18G Growlers of the U.S. Navy, RCAF CF-188 Hornets, Air National Guard F-15 Eagles in the air, A U. S. Coast Guard MH-60 demonstration, a CT-156 trainer, a Royal Air Force A-400 Atlas and on Sunday, a USAF B-2 bomber fly-by. It makes sense that three air refueling formations would be present, as a RCAF CC-130 and CF-188 formation was planned for the two daytime shows too… along with the MC-130/MV-22 and KC-135/C-17 air refuel formations. After all, this is the historic centennial year of air refueling operations.
Well, there’s always next year to see more flying at London… this year just about every seating section (there are at least 6 options) was sold out. Keep a look out for the 2024 version of the air show at: https://airshowlondon.com/#
