Toronto residents protest CNE air show

I love the air show. It provides a sense of wonder you rarely get in day to day life, the kind of boring life the protesters want everyone else to live.

I'm all for free expression, pacifism, and environmental issues, but these people must have sticks up their bums.

If people enjoy the air show, the Ex will keep having it. Guess what? People love this sh*t. Who can blame them? There's something absolutely exhilarating about seeing an F-16 do an Immelman loop. If we can't enjoy a little excess every now and then, what's the point?

I know that the air show is a tradition but I could do without it; it's boring and not that exciting.

Unless these protesters who claim are willing to also protest any Veterans' parade or ceremony, or the funeral corteges along the Highway of Heroes, they should STFU. Soldiers are also instruments of war and I don't see anyone protesting them.

As to the people who complain strictly on the basis of noise - it happens only three afternoons of the year, not all the performers are loud jets and the show generates a lot of business for the city. And, obviously, people really like the show.

This year's lineup was a bit conservative (perhaps to give the complainers a rest after last year's stellar lineup which was very jet-heavy) but here's hoping we get something really loud next year!

Lots of people protest soldiers, war, and any other senseless violence existing in today's world. Just cause you don't 'see' it doesnt mean it doesnt exist.
Get your head outta the sand.

Don't you remember your high school education? Canadian soldiers are peace keepers, spreading joy and flowers with each step. (I actually believe that, minus the flowers bit... but now that I think about it, the flowers would be a welcome addition).

Don't like it, don't go, and won't miss it when it's gone.

I really don't see how the air show honours our soldiers, most of whom don't fly planes anyway. It's about people getting a buzz from war technology. Unlike the Highway of Heroes or Remembrance Day, air shows don't carry a characterization of war as a sacrifice and necessary evil; they're just about the gee-whiz-bang-ness of supersonic jets and fighter planes.

I don't see the point of protesting either, because then you have people jumping down your throat about not loving fun or not being a patriot, but I'm just waiting until the day it goes away.

Wow, the youth of this City is a shallow lot.

The EX is an outdated grotesque shit spectacle to begin with, but having an airshow over the city is just dumb.

Time to axe both 'traditions'.
Go stand on a bridge.

"What if something goes wrong and a plane crashes in the city?"

Guess we'd better close Pearson, then. There's hundreds of daily flights over the city 365 days a year. My god, think of the numbers!

Anyway, the air shows takes place over the *LAKE* for exactly that reason.

@James - its ONE weekend. I live downtown and hear the noise as well but its not like they fly the planes at 2am.

It's annoying. I'm not fussed about planes, or sonic booms, and I'm sorry, the thrill of the so-called miracle of flight went out a few decades ago. I've seen planes fly. Oh look, there goes another one. Woooooooo. If I was IN the plane, it might be another story. But I'm not. I'm on the ground, periodically having my ears bleed as something momentarily zips overhead. Not particularly exciting.

I don't know if I'd be fussed enough to protest it, but I wouldn't mind if it went away.

it's not only the 2 or 3 thousand at Ontario Place, there are many others in locations stretched from Tommy Thompson Park in the east to the Humber Bay Bridge in the west...and whenever the sound of a plane can be heard those days, people will look up and try to catch a glimpse....

Fighter jets are the most bad-ass example human invention. I say we bow down to their awesomeness.

I love me some planes, but a lot of people have negative associations with the noise from fighter jets these days. Also, the Air Show as currently formulated kind of sucks - no way to check out the aircraft up close (unless you sneak onto the Island Airport). It probably makes sense to move it away from downtown (to make the protesters happy) and to somewhere with a publicly-accessible apron (to make the plane-lovers happy).

That said, you could probably keep an aerobatics display or two. Civilian prop planes aren't that offensive and a glider display is both silent and a thing of beauty.

I find it sad that some people want to shut down the CNE Air Show. Sure it is a tradition that's been around a long time but it's also more than that. It is an awesome form of entertainment that thousands of people come to see every year. It shows the history of aviation to the younger generation who have only read about it books or seen it on TV. It shows the current technological achievements being made in the aviation world, some of which is Canadian technology. It changes the lives of some people who end up making aviation a big part of their lives whether it be a career or recreation.

Over the years the CNE Air Show has introduced aviation to many people, some who became big names in aviation history and others who have made a living from it or become part of it just for the enjoyment of it. For those who haven't or can't become involved in aviation it becomes part of their dreams.

I have been going to air shows since I can remember and going to an air show still sparks off all those wonderful emotions I experienced as a child looking up at the planes zipping back and forth across the sky. Going to an air show has a lot of meaning to me and it's sad that some people want to take that away. How about I take something away from them that has some kind of meaning.

Over the years we have lost some air show events due to increasing insurance costs and funding problems. Air shows like the annual shows that were hosted by London and Hamilton no longer exist because of these reasons. They were always amazing air shows and I looked forward to them every year. The local air show scene is slowly starting to come back but it isn't what it used to be and many never be.

The air show runs for a short period of time. There may be some rumbling once in a while but it's not hours of solid noise. If you can't handle that for a bit then living in a city that is far from quiet was probably a bad decision on your part. Don't let your mistake ruin something for somebody else.

Maybe it's not such a bad thing to be reminded every once in a while what it feels like to have squadrons of screaming fighter jets flying over your own city. These are machines of war, seeing (and hearing) these things overhead always reminds me in a small way how real war is, how sheltered we are, and that armed conflict doesn't just happen as 2 minute clip on the nightly news.

I live under a main flightpath near the airport, I hear the loud engines of giant commercial airliners every day, so I have absolutely no problem when I see/hear the jet fighters as they come and go from Pearson, and neither do any of my neighbours, we all look up in awe. However, you complainers can't handle 3 days of 4 hour flights? Yeesh.

Here are some rebuttals for the common reasons you complain about:

1. Environment: Planes will use/create high amounts of fuel/carbon footprint, but that's cuz there isn't an environmentally-friendly resource that can provide and sustain the enormous power jet engines need. Maybe you should get to work on that.
2. Too much noise: Um, you live downtown, don't expect peace and quiet, ever. Sirens, crowds, music, traffic, etc.
3. War machines: Yes they are. Imagine if we didn't have'em.
4. Frightened pets: The dumbest excuse IMO. A dog/cat will run and hide in terror from a vacuum, and it's more likely that the 30 mins you take to vacuum, will scar your pet infinitely more than a 5 sec flyby.
5. Not a lot of people watch it: Take a stroll along the lakeshore, start from Humber Bay and go all the way to Cherry Beach, and then tell me that.

James, my favourite part of your premise is that you're doing all this hardcore work at home during the Saturday, Sunday and Monday afternoons of the Labour Day long weekend. No wonder you're so grumpy! Those hours are criminal. Maybe you should start walking in the Labour Day parade and push for some job action to cut down your hours.

If the CNE had something else going for it, I say get rid of the airshow. But, alas, it doesn't. No point getting rid of something that is one of the major things holding the 'tradition' of the CNE alive. Let's face it, nobody really likes the CNE. They only go because they've always gone. Remove one of the major symbols of tradition and I bet you'd see huge drops in numbers. Even if those people never went on the airshow weekend, the removal of that one tradition could be enough for people to claim 'the CNE isn't what it used to be' and stop going.

Actually, Shannon, the city's not full of "fricking whiners" -- the 40 comments on this thread and the 70 on another show the overwhelming majority are in favor of the Air Show remaining put.

My Air Show experiences are of my father, my brother and I taking my grandfather, who flew a plane in World War 2, to see the show. He, and many other veterans look forward to this all year, and it would be a damn shame if a few hours of noise resulted in this show EVER being taken away. It sure is nice to have the internet as a tool to voice your displeasure.

And to those suggesting they put the airshow somewhere else in the GTA - Buttonville or Downsview perhaps? Good idea - let's move it so it can fly over top of slam-packed residential areas like Markham and Vaughan, thus risking lives rather than just your ears. And I'm sure the 1 million-plus people north of Steeles won't mind the noise either, right?

How do you feel about dudes wearing camouflage? I live at Avenue and St. Clair and wasn't bothered at all.

No insults on my end my friend, but please tell me where an airstrip in the GTA can be found that isn't surrounded by dense neighbourhoods, cultural and recreational facilities?? I'm positive one does not exist.

There aren't too many things left in this city with any sort of prolonged history, and it would suck if we had to do without one more, but that's just one man's opinion.

Umm...you said it reminds you of a war you don't support, referring to airplanes. Making a similar "war-driven" comparison, I asked how you feel about those in fatigues. I'd say that's a fair comparison, don't you?

Would you complain about a parade or boisterous celebrations if a Toronto sports team won a championship (haha, I know right!)? Suck it up for a few hours and take comfort that long before you were around, people were dealing with the exact same issues you are for a few hours over the course of one weekend. Sometimes life just ain't perfect.

The insipid comment was directed to the people actually at the protest, so you're safe from that one. And yes, I apologize, thick was a bit harsh. Selfish still stands though. If we planned everything in a manner as to not possibly inconvenience even one person in the city, at any given time, we'd be living in a boring and uneventful place.

Parades close streets, festivals create noise and traffic, and almost every medium to large scale event in the city will disrupt someone, somehow for a few minutes or hours of the year. The actual amount of tangible disruption caused by the air show is pretty minute however, in the grand scheme of things. If you can't cope with the occasional jet fly-by, I do not know how you can tolerate living here for the rest of the year.

And to the person questioning how much the air show supports the CNE, or Toronto, I wouldn't have paid the CNE admission without it, as the only reason I went was for the show. Same with the other 5 people I was with. I'm certain there are many more like me. In fact, I'm largely in support of re-configuring the whole CNE approach, and developing its grounds.

In response to James:
I understand your concerns, but for all your arguments on how the air show disrupts your working from home, I'd say that incessantly posting comments also disrupts working from home. Your points are tiresome.

The air show is about airplanes - sure you use some of them in war, but I think people go more because of their fascination with planes. I mean, my grandpa is constantly out at the airport in Waterloo watching planes take off and land. I think to label the airshow as a 'warshow' is a little bit ridiculous.

As for it being a major disruption - I think residents are really pushing it here. I used to live on Queen Street West, and yes you can hear some of the planes inside. Nevertheless, the planes come by maybe once every few hours - for a few minutes at maximum... if that is enough to disrupt your workflow, you've got some sort of problem. And if you really cant work without hearing noise - I suggest you go live in the woods. I mean fire trucks, ambulances, streetcars - make far more noise, more often - should we get rid of them as well?

People who don;t like the Air Show have been on the wrong end of the "Plane on a Treadmill; Will it take off?" too many times. BTW - It takes off.

I wish I could find everyone complaining about four days of noise a year and just scream at them at the top of my lungs for the other three hundred and sixty one. My god is the modern world ever full of whiny little children.

Nice strawman, but I didn't say any of that.

However, I do think the concerns of all residents, including refugees, should be taken into consideration.

I still haven't heard an explanation as to why these planes need to fly over the city versus the lake other than "advertising"