Nelle giornate di venerdì 10, sabato 11, domenica 12 Agosto 2012 presso l’Aeroporto di Abbotsford, nell’omonima località nello stato della British Columbia in Canada, si è tenuto il “50° Abbotsford International Air Show”.

….La storia dell’Abbotsford Air Show….

L’Abbotsford Air Show ebbe inizio nel 1962 a seguito della formazione dell’Abbotsford Flying Club che organizzò un Air Show al fine di promuovere voli dall’omonino aeroporto, in quel momento totalmente inattivo. La prima manifestazione attirò circa 15.000 persone e fu un successo assoluto. Gli anni successivi hanno mostrato una crescita continua e nel 1965, l'Air Show di Abbotsford divenne la più grande Manifestazione Aerea del Canada. In questi anni diversi tipologie di aerei ed esibizioni si svolsero ad Abbotsford tra i quali gli F 106 i CF 100 e il più grande aereo a quel tempo quale il C 141A Starlifter.
Nel 1967 l’anno del centenario della fondazione del Canada, l’Abbotsford Air Show fu riconosciuto ufficialmente come l’unico progetto del “Centenario”. Fu uno spettacolo che durò tre giorni; volarono per la prima volta otto CT 114 Tutor, lo stesso aereo che venne poi utilizzato dagli Snowbirds, si esibirono per la prima volta anche i Blue Angels con l’F 11A Tiger, stesso discorso anche per il bombardiere Vulcan che fece la sua prima apparizione a Abbotsford; la RCAF fu ben rappresentata quell’anno con: CF 101 Voodoo, CF 104 Starfighter, CT 133 (Red Knight), CF 116 Freedom Fighters, CH 113 Labrador e tre CP 127 Neptune. La denominazione "Abbotsford International Airshow" fu adottato ufficialmente nel 1968.
Il Boeing 747 fece il suo debutto canadese ad Abbotsford nel 1969. In quell'anno si esibirono per la prima volta i Thunderbirds dell’USAF con i nuovi F 4 Phantom II. Il 1971 fu l’anno del debutto della Pattuglia Acrobatica canadese degli Snowbirds. Da allora gli Snowbirds non sono mai mancati ad una esibizione ad Abbotsford. Forse l'evento più memorabile nella storia della manifestazione fu nel 1973 quando un Voodoo (CF 101) dopo aver completato un passaggio ad alta velocità esplose in volo, entrambi i membri dell'equipaggio fortunatamente si salvarono.
Durante l’edizione del 1974 ci fu la visita del Re Hussein di Giordania, dopo la sua visita Re Hussein fece costituire dalla Forza Aerea Reale un Team Acrobatico che sarebbe stato poi chiamato “Royal Falcons”. I Falcons si costituirono ufficialmente nel 1976, l’anno dopo si esibirono ad Abbotsford, sempre nel 1977 presero parte per la prima volta in Canada l’F 14A Tomcat e l’SR 71A Blackbird.

English translation

Abbotsford Air Show 2013
On Friday 10, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 August 2012 at the Abbotsford Airport, in the locality of the state of British Columbia in Canada, was held the "50th Abbotsford International Air Show."

The Abbotsford Airshow history...
The Abbotsford Airshow born in 1962 following the formation of the Abbotsford Flying Club who organized an air show in order to promote flights on the homonymous airport in that moment totally inactive. The first event attracted around 15.000 people and it was an absolute success.
The following years have shown a steady growth and in the 1965 the Abbotsford Air Show became the largest air show in Canada. In these years different types of aircraft and exhibitions were held in Abbotsford including F 106 & CF 100 and the largest aircraft in that time which was C-141A Starlifter. On 1967 the year of the centenary of the founding of Canada the Abbotsford Air Show was officially recognized as the only project of the "Centenario". It was a show that lasted three days where flew for the first time eight o'clock CT 114 Tutor , the same plane that was later used by the Snowbirds; Blue Angels F 11A with the Tiger performed for the first time, the same goes for the Vulcan Bomber that made its first appearance in Abbotsford; the RCAF was well represented this year with: CF 101 Voodoo, CF 104 Starfighter, CT 133 (Red Knight), CF 116 Freedom Fighters, CH 113 Labrador three CP 127 Neptune.
The name of " Abbotsford International Airshow " was officially adopted in the 1968.
The Boeing 747 made its Canadian debut in Abbotsford on 1969. In that year performed for the first time the new USAF Thunderbirds F 4 Phantom II.
The year 1971 was the debut of the Canadian Snowbirds Acrobatic Team. Since then the Snowbirds are never missed a performance in Abbotsford . Perhaps the most memorable event in the history of the event was in 1973 when a Voodoo (CF 101) after completing an high speed pass exploded in flight, both crew members fortunately survived .
During the 1974 edition there was the visit of King Hussein of Jordan; King Hussein after his visit want to be made a new Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team which would later be called " Royal Falcons. The Falcons were formed officially in 1976 and the year after they performed in Abbotsford; always took part in 1977 for the first time in Canada the F 14A Tomcat and SR 71A Blackbird.
The B 52 instead performed in Abbotsford for the first time in 1979, when the Blackbird still made his second performance.
The 80’ years was very significant because took place the first appearance in Canada of the new F/A 18 Hornet, another important aircraft on static display was the F 105 Thunderchief; it was probably its only presence in British Columbia.
In the 1983 the CF 101 Voodoo of the Canadian Armed Forces performed for the last time and the same thing was for the Royal Vulcan AF. In 1984 the Air Show was characterized by the first demonstration flight for the F 15A Eagle .
Other memorable event for Abbotsford was the presence of the Concorde in 1986 with the colors of British Airways. In that year the Air Show took place in symbiosis with the Expo 86 in Vancouver. The theme of Expo 86 was the Air Transport, for the occasion participated five Acrobatic Team, the Patrouille de France, the Frecce Tricolori, the Snowbirds, the Blue Angels and the Esquadrilha Fumaça. Even the Soviet Union debut in North America for the special occasion arrived An 124 and An 74. The Royal Air Force was represented by a Nimrod, a Vc 10 and a Victor, it was also the last time the Blackbird flew on Canada before its radiation .

The 1988 edition was characterized for the first time in Canada from the display of the B 1B Lancer; among the many performances by military aircraft of that year the most notable were the CF 188 Hornet which entered into service with the Canada Air Forces, the F 14 Tomcat and the AV 8B Harrier .
The 1989 was the year of the largest aircraft in the world the An 225 Mriya, while Russia took part in the event with a large number of aircraft, for many it was also their first debut in North America such as the MiG 29 Fulcrum, Su-25, helicopter Ka 32 and indeed the immense An 225.
In 1990, during the Air Show in memory of the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain the Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane performed the Air Show.
Two Su 27 Flanker instead made their appearance in Canada on 1991 in Abbotsford; the Russian took their massive presence with two IL 76, a MiG 31 Foxhound, a Ka 32 Helix, a Su 25 Foxtroot and a Yak 55. The same year he made his debut also the F-117A Nighthawk but remained only on static display and watched by a severe security cordon. In the 1993 there were three performed Acrobatic Team: the Snowbirds, the Thunderbirds and the Russians Knights in their second visit in North America. In this edition the U.S. Air Force performed in mass including: B 1B, F/A 18, F 15 and F 5 and the same impressive number of aircraft by the Canadian Armed Forces .
In 1997, the Air Show was marked by a number of aircraft who performed their first appearance in Abbotsford, the U 2 spy plane arrived on Friday and remained on static display for the rest of the weekend, as well as the B 2 Stealth bomber; another aircraft make its debut was the Luftwaffe Panavia Tornado.
After taking a sabbatical year in the 1998, the Abbotsford International Airshow back in 1999, this year the main attraction was a U.S. civilian aerobatic team with TF 104G Starfighter .
In 2003 there was unfortunately the last performance in flight of the mighty F 14D Tomcat.
In 2004 the event was marked by a rare appearance of the Flying Fortress B 17.
In 2006 during the event was delivered to the first Canadian Forces C 17A Globemaster III landing on Canadian soil for the first time on Saturday morning, after having remained on static display for a couple of days left Abbotsford for Trenton Air Base.
Finally from 2007 to the present day have followed from year to year good Air Show but without the presence of particular actors worthy of note.

The event was highly scenic and spectacular and continues with few interruptions .
A single bad note to report unfortunately, with the exception of the static, the air show was held in total against the sun, a shame because the in-flight performances were very close to the public ...
Fortunately the weather has given us some beautiful days with excellent temperatures.