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For the third and final time we took the Skyvan photoship all the way to the Abbotsford airshow. Not just the airshow, as quite a lot of aircraft that joined us that week are not going to the event itself, but they just loved to fly for us! We were able to fly the Skyvan for 5 days this time, as we got some last minute awesome opportunities. We’ve had the ‘experience’ of seeing the weather change into all directions, our first flying day was kinda okay, but the second day was almost completely washed out. Our airfield of operation was once again the very lovely airfield of Chilliwack. From here you can normally see the nearby mountains, but on the first days of our photomissions we mainly had to look at rain and low clouds all the time.



But there’s always sunshine after the rain, and we got also plenty of that! First aircraft to take to the Canadian skies for us was the lovely Bulldog, followed by the 2-ship Harvard ‘Yellow Thunder’. They came well prepared with a ton of smoke, always cool for the photos. The ‘local stars’ came out again to pose behind the Skyvan, and so we had the chance to catch the yellow Navion again, a Cherokee and the entire fleet of Skydive Vancouver. They brought their Kodiak and the two awesome PC-6, flying a unique 3-ship for us. The final guest for the day was the Cap 10, in the almost sunset light and just in time to catch our first glimpse of the snowcapped Mount Baker in the background.





No Mount Baker on the next day, as it was raining from the morning onwards. We literally waited almost all day for the clouds to clear up, so we could have another flight with our sole customer of the day, a fantastic bare metal Cessna. The menacing sky provided the ideal background. Day 3 saw the excitement rising, as the first good ‘star value’ was expected behind the Skyvan photoship. Our photo area was still covered in clouds for a good portion, but we managed to fly a brilliant photomission with the Mustang and Corsair of the famous Erickson collection. It’s always amazing to see these genuine WW II warbirds fly for us.





Due to the cloud cover we had to take the Skyvan much higher than our normal altitude, that means that our maximum speed will start to drop. At 11000 feet we had that stunning view, but we knew our next ‘surprise’ guests would be a challenge. Two F-15E Eagles from Mountain Home joined us for a number of flybys, but unfortunately the weather did not allow for a lot of action. Time for our biggest ‘cool beans!’ attraction and one aircraft that has been on our wish list forever… finally we had a chance to fly with what will be the biggest aircraft to have joined the Skyvan in 16 years, the mighty C-5M Super Galaxy. What an incredible treat we got from these guys, it’s like seeing a giant whale float through the skies, and absolute incredible experience and yes the ‘biggest’ surprise we could deliver to the photographers onboard the photoship!




Unfortunately the C-17 demoteam did not make it to the Skyvan due to the cloud base, but we had another Globemaster on the schedule for Friday. More stars were ready to join us, the price for best join up certainly goes to the US Navy and their 2-ship Growler Legacy Team. The pilots really had to use their top ace flying skills to stick in formation with us – due to the fact that we were still flying at 11000 feet – but what an incredible show we got, Go Navy!!



Back on the ground in Chilliwack we were already welcomed by the next customer, our first asset from the Royal Canadian Air Force in the shape of the blue Griffon helicopter. We took them low over the terrain all the way to Abbotsford, where the Skyvan made a stop as we had to brief with pilots very eager to join us that late afternoon. First up on another photoflight was Nathan Hammond and his famous ‘Ghostwriter’ Super Chipmunk… but not alone, as we made his big wish come true. He was joined by Snowbird 1 for some unique 2-ship photos, both aircraft being built in Canada.








The pilots of the Erickson warbirds joined us again, this time with their B-25 and P-38. It is very cool to get some money shots for the airshow overhead Abbotsford airport, but unfortunately the immediate surroundings are about the worst backdrop you can wish for… even with the sun coming out at the last hour of the day, most of the photos are spoiled by the ugly scenery. That would change oh so much the week after when we met the crews at their home airfield in Madras, Oregon! After the warbirds the Ghostwriter joined us again, of course with the fireworks, that never disappoints.




A new day, and a steel blue sky, that means flying! We welcomed another two-ship with us, and RV9 & RV10. With the bad luck of the day before, everyone was thrilled to see the C-17 appear at the horizon and slowly make its way to the photoship. With Mount Baker clearly visible it was a very thankful subject in combination with the perfect background. From the RCAF we got the opportunity to shoot their C-130J, flying in the perfect way along the mountains for that picture perfect image.




		We had another photomission with the well-known P-51 Mustang ‘Val Halla’ , for many of us this was thé most perfect Mustang join up we had in 16 years. The combination of ideal weather, stunning scenery and expect flying skills from both Vince in the Skyvan and Greg Anders in the Mustang made for a memorable 20 minutes. It really was like filming a scene for a movie.






		We were able to add a fifth day of flying that started with another photoshoot with the Super Chipmunk, but this time over the mountains. It really does not get any better, and all pilots love to fly for us with the request to have Mount Baker in the background. At the end of the airshow we were given the opportunity to see the Snowbirds for a few passes over Abbotsford. We landed again at show site to brief with our final pilots for this project. Melissa Burns bringing the Extra, the giant bi-plane with wingwalker Sam, flying a unique 2-ship was super cool.




But our most unique aircraft of the project must be the E-Beaver. Yes, a fully electric Beaver and by joining the Skyvan photoship we also entered a new era of photomissions where in the near future we maybe will welcome more electric powered aircraft. Our final project with the Abbotsford airshow as once again a phenomenal success – all weather patterns included – and we look forward to discover new Canadian horizons.