The lineup this year isn't that bad, all things considered. All US military teams are out for the season due to the budget sequestration earlier this year. So that means no F-16, no F-22, no Blue Angels or Thunderbirds, etc.
But the CIAS has managed to cobble together a rather intriguing bunch of private operators for this year's show:
Along with the Snowbirds and CF-18 Hornet, we have:
AV-8B Sea Harrier Demo - this one really interests me as I haven't ever seen a VTOL demo before... the Harrier hasn't been here in a long while and this one's privately owned which is kinda cool.
Red Star & The Dragon - Viper 29 and BAC-167 Strikemaster heritage jet team.
CT-155 Hawk flybys (the Hawk is the Canadian Forces' current trainer. There is a bit of buzz that these are the planes that will eventually replace the jets the Snowbirds currently fly. They're much more fun to watch.
L-39 Albatross - Soviet high performance jet trainer - really nice smooth motion and very fast.
and then an assortment of prop planes/stunts:
Corsair Demo
Great War Flying Museum - Triplane, Biplane demo
Matt Younkin - Twin Beech demo
Kent Pietsch - crazy deadstick motherfucker does half his show with no power.
Mike Wiskus - perennial favourite biplane crazyperson
Lucas Oil Jumpers - parachute demo
Trojan Horsemen - six-plane WW2 era formation flying
Air Cadet Glider demo
so yeah, given what they have to work with, this should be the CIAS's best show in a while. There's certainly a lot more speed in the schedule than in previous years.
