City
CNE Air show 2010
Saturday's extreme weather caused the cancellation of the first day of the 2010 Canadian International Air Show after only one plane took flight for eager crowds. Show organizers were pleased to see a much calmer Sunday forecast, which meant that the pilots were able to take to the skies and strut their stuff.
This year's air show didn't have as diverse of a lineup as in previous years (2009 showcased the F-22 Raptor and the Blue Angels) but was still a thrill to watch from the ground. According to the CIAS, the number of "disruptive" aircraft displays has been reduced this year. I suspect this was to appease inhabitants in the city who have a disdain for the excitement and boom to the local economy created by the event, as these people likely complain about the Indy, the Entertainment Districts, all cultural parades, marathons, the Metric Concert at Union Station, and other events of scale expected in the downtown core.
Even with this reduced disruption, aircraft aficionados were able to cheer on their favorite planes. Some of the participants this year included the iconic Canadian Forces Snowbirds, the CF-18, heart-stopping stunt aerobatics by Mike Wiskus in his Pitts, the USAF F-16 Viper, the HMS Fredericton and even a special guest appearance by the Canadian C-17 Globemaster before it embarked on a mission to Afghanistan. Some spectators were lucky enough to see a few Bombadier Q400 planes take off from the Island Airport as well, but they were likely Porter Airline flights and not part of the show.
The 2010 show celebrates the centennial of the Canadian Navy, the centennial of women in aviation and the 61st anniversary of the Canadian International Airshow.
Writing and photography by David G. Tran. For descriptions of the planes, take a look at his Flickr page.
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The F-16 just flew over my house right now, and yes it was loud, but who cares. Thunderstorms are loud too. Put your maligned anti-airplane/war machine ideals aside and appreciate some fantastic machines. Or leave the city if it's really so irritating! I bet most of the population would not miss you.
The Air Show is a display of military might? No, it's a display of awesome planes for people who would otherwise never get to see them!
The Snowbirds just flew over my house on their way home. See ya next year!
By referring to the Toronto Star as 'red' i assume you are implying it holds communist views. Does not communism stifle an individuals opinions and profess a single view like what you are trying to do.
"...a Canadian Compromise. Let's see the work horse small planes of the north and the commuter craft in a 30 minute display."
How old are you? 100? So "Canadian compromise" is euphemism "the worst thing I've ever heard".
its funny that all the nay sayers never comment about how many people this brings into the city, puts people to work, brings millions of outside dollars in for toronto and toronto businesses that depend on it.
as mentioned above, some of these vintage warbirds helped keep the germans out of england, and helped keep our freedom as we as canadians know it today.. whether current military aircraft serve as deterents, or as vehicles of war, they are still awe inspiring to look at, and no doubt inspire young kids who attend the show to dream big.
the city and council will never get rid of this show as it brings in too much tax money for them..
i think the CIAS should add more louder aircraft or simply be able to do what they want and not be strangled by the same type of people who want the sound academy turned down, and the island airport shut down... as someone stated today, obviously these people have never run a business or use these services, therefore are biased against them..
ultimately if the airshow were to move to Trenton AFB or somewhere outside of the city, then you bet i would take my money and spend it there.
and if city council raised taxes because of lost revenue from the airshow in toronto being cancelled, then i would laugh at all those who wanted rid of it and say "you got your wish"
When I first moved to Toronto it was the weekend of the air show and I honestly thought the city was attack. Like Don said, I came from a place that has been attacked and the thought of loud planes flying over a city was extremely frightening. It wasn't exactly the most welcoming experience, anyway. The loud noises make me cringe and torment me.
I don't care if it's only once a year and that the planes are really fucking cool, it's a big nuisance to those who are not enthusiasts.
I think Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons summed it up best:
"Air show? Buzz-cut Alabamians spewing coloured smoke from their whiz jets to the strains of 'Rock You Like A Hurricane'? What kind of countrified rube is still impressed by that?"
This year: The organizers cave in to all these whiny idiots buying condos on the waterfront. Much fewer planes, but still amazing flying from all those involved. I suppose the same reason the airshow got downsized is the same reason we still have the shortest ferry ride in the world (literally, look it up, 58 seconds long!) instead of a proper bridge to the island airport.
We have three airports in the GTA, loud planes fly over the city every hour of every day. Helicopters too, especially over the downtown core because of the hospitals. Why did you choose to move here if you can't stand the noise?
The Star is consistently left wing on social issues with its emphasis on social justicse and crusading so there's nothing hyperbolic about calling it a "Red" paper any more than calling the Sun a "right wing" paper. Red hrere isn't communist, but quite left of centre.
As far as the airshow goes Jacob is right, it's just the fun police trying to get rid of yet another thing that makes this city interesting and unique. Screw that.
perhaps living in a city that has hosted an airshow since 1946, should have been something to consider if you were choosing a city in canada.
i do think, to maybe attract a new audience, visitors form other countries, and new canadians, the CIAS should look into bringing more international talent and the commercial aspect of it.
perhaps maybe seeing an Emirates A380, or a boeing 787 dreamliner(a plane with green technology), red arrows from uk, eurofighter from the EU, maybe the ZERO that seems to be making the rounds at airshows other than toronto, a mig or a sukhoi from russia or china, bring more of a global feel into the show..
its tough for a static display to happen, but perhaps maybe a vintage display at the island airport(larger than just participating wings) would draw in(space it tight i know)..
also they could attract more people and run bigger festivities if they used hanlan's point beach as another CIAS vip area, or an area with extra seating, food tents, childrens areas etc.. they could change the flight line to cover the beach area and then bank left to cover main stage centre. the larger/faster jets do this already, and its a great way to see the planes closer than at the ex...
just food for thought
I've never complained about the Indy, Caribana, the CNE or any other event taking part on the waterfront - that's the deal when you live downtown and I am happy to suck it up a couple of weekends a year. So why the Airshow?
Two years ago we measured noise levels in our backyard, as jets performed low level u-turns over our densely populated neighborhood. We measured levels of up to 140db, which is loud enough to create almost instant hearing damage. Even short term exposure can and does create non repairable damage, especially in children and the elderly.
As far as I am concerned, that's not acceptable. This year's show was a vast improvement. Still noisy, but ok noisy. Keep it like that.
It's one of many events held every year in Toronto. The dates rarely change. Be it the Indy, Caribana, the Air Show, Jazz festivals, actually any kind of music festival (Wakestock should be brought back to the Toronto Islands), cultural fairs, you name it, I love them all. They add colour and excitement to the city and I'm pretty sure the majority of locals feel the same way I do.
If you don't like it, perhaps you should move out to suburbia or at least plan your summer vacations around the events you don't like. Anyone who moves to the downtown area should really do their research first. If these types of events are not for you, think twice before you move here and let the rest of us enjoy our urban environment.
People who complain about all the events happening in Toronto and how it disrupts their lives, boo hoo. I live in Detroit area now, people have less and less event they can attend. The big races are gone, the downtown is a ghost town. My co-worker always love to say how nice it is to visit TO, how there are stuff to do and things to see. Funny how that looks on the inside. Maybe we should trade places....
PS to the Waterfront condo dwellers who complains about Indy/Airshow...blah blah. I want Toronto's old skyline back, one that you can actually see Skydome, as opposed to your condos blocking the view....
Seems like the "s" of the world win again and ruin an amazing thing. People, the vast majority go to see the Jets. That is why my family comes to my house here in the middle of it all every year from Bancroft, London,Bowmanville etc.
Our weekend was planned with dinners, shows etc with the airshow as the big event. All that money went up north this year. No one is driving down too watch a jet or two.And then sit for ages to watch some WW2 trainers drone around the sky for ages.
It is people like s and others who take the fun out of life. It is one weekend!??!??!? Since the 40's??! Once again, a few loud mouth's ruin it for a majority. Oshawa had more jets in it's airshow a few years ago.
No matter how cool this city tries to be, some folks are hell bent on being mediocre.
PS --- great pics showcasing a great event...2011 -- more planes, more carbon-burning, more noise PLEASE !!!
LET'S BAN TORONTO
When people moved to Toronto, they didn't know they would encounter all of the above in this city? Nobody warned them about Toronto? Toronto's always had it all -- drivers, bikers, pedestrians, subway riders, etc. and somehow we all coexisted in the past. The Air Show has been around for decades, the noise and bustle and occasional "inconvenience" of city life has always been part of the fabric of this great city.
I no longer live in Toronto, but what I've come to miss about it is the "Live and let live" attitude ithad in the past. In all my years there I never recall a time where more people were trying to impose their lifestyle upon others so vehemently. This was Toronto, a city with 2 million stories, where everyone just did their own thing and lived how they wanted to live and as long as you didn't hurt anybody, nobody cared. Now, it seems, everyone wants to impose their beliefs or lifestyle on others. It's sad, as Toronto truly ranks as one of the great cities of the world, despite the naysayers. It would be nice to have the old Toronto back again.
I lived here before the Island Airport started taking jets. It invaded MY neighbourhood.
None of those other events knock items off my walls or rattle lamps until they fall over. The Air Show is completely terrifying. And it goes on for 4 days (on the Friday they do practice runs).
It's like, you were seriously reading my mind!
It wasn't hard.
Go live in the 905 if you want quiet because a busy world class city isn't where you're going to find it morons.
Either your measuring device is broken or you're lying.
Also, I hope you'ver never attended a rock concert in your life, they too reach db levels equal to or greater than a jet engine
130dB is still nothing to shake a stick at...
Rock concerts have similiar decibel levels. Fireworks have similiar decible levels, etc etc.
You would also have to be exposed to 140db for about 30 seconds to have any possible damage, and considering how fast those planes are flying that is almost impossible unless it's hovering 100 FEET about your house.
i believe they have a minimum altitude(for travel over the city), of 600 feet...
the banter going back and forth is a good laugh! reality is the show will not be cancelled, just like the pride parade wont be cancelled, nor will the Santa clause parade be cancelled.
the amount of people that enjoy the airshow weekend far outweighs those who don't..
if this was really an issue, then someone would bring it up at the next mayoral debate!
Where I am from, we recently had an airshow, and the one thing most people said was where was the jet noise. The jet noise is one of the things that draws people to the airshow.
Airshows are not just a lot of noise. The pilots are skilled atheletes. Most train daily, to get their bodies into shape to with stand the G-forces put strain on their bodies.
If I may, I would like to clear up some facts mentioned. - Jet aircraft are not allowed to go past .9 mach. If they broke the sound barrier especially in a place like Toronto. It would probably blow out half the windows in Downtown to Mimico. - Airshows in Canada are in most points are charitible fund raisers, the Snowbirds will not do a show that is for profit. - If you listened to most of the pilots or team announcers, one message was repeated ~ Thank-you to our Veterans. - Several years ago, I had a rare opportunity to visit two of our refugee camps for the Kosovos. Both of these locations were at military airbases. Both bases had airshows and some of these people came form compound and enjoyed the airshow. NB:in Canada we do not have AFB after the name of the base, this is an American designation, we have CFB before the name.
Yes, the jets are loud. But when did most of the people that have made comment about the noise move into the neighbourhood? It is like saying that the jets coming into Pearson are noisey. And people that complain are ones recently moved into the area. The airshow has been going for over 60 years, Pearson has been there for more than that. You have to expect the noise if you move into some neighbourhoods. But it is only for 4 hours, and 4 days. There are more important things in life than to complain. Yes, it may irratating to some, but it enjoyment for others. Who knows what people may say about the complainers. Maybe you may do something that is irratating to someone else. Another fact about airshows, at least in the US, They draw as many or more people than most sporting events.
Enough said on my part.
I remember when the advertising slogan for Toronto was "Toronto the Good." And bumper sticker I once read from Germany "Military Jet Noise, the Sound of Freedom."
140dB what? dB(SPL)?
Sorry Alan, but your comment is nonsensical, as decibels are a unit of comparison. So, 140dB just means "16384 times louder". Louder than what? I can't say, because you're missing some key information. Check your equipment; chances are you meant to say dB(SPL) -- i.e. 16384 times louder than the quietest sound a human ear can perceive.
The thing that's great about living in a diverse city is there's something for everyone. Of course, everyone won't be into whatever their neighbour likes, but you don't ruin it for them. It's very selfish to say the least.
You shouldn't focus on the military jets, but go and take a look at the aerobatic displays. You'll be in awe when you see those pilots perform. It's an aerial ballet.
To all those who want it banned, don't be selfish to the preferences of others. I've noticed that the people in the crowd come from all walks of life and all ages and their expressions are all the same. They love it. Why get rid of something that brings people together into Toronto to spend money? Suck it up for a few hours spread out over a few days. You can do it.