Shearwater September 6th 2003,

 

in July 1948, RCAF Station Dartmouth, soon to be renamed HMCS Shearwater, hosted the very first air show and static display of naval aircraft in Canada. The format of what would become the Shearwater International Air Show or SIAS began to crystallize in 1981 in a air show that hosted many foring visitors. Growing to the Nova Scotia International Air Show in the 1990's during this time the Canadian Army increased their participation and the "dynamic demonstration and armored fighting vehicle rides made that particular service a major contributor to the overall success.

This years show was hampered with the reminisce of a tropical storm on the arrival days. Therefore it was not possible for the participating aircraft to get in to Shearwater before Saturday. Witch made Saturdays a unique arrival show when the fog finally lifted. Followed Sunday by an dynamic air display in front of a single day record crowd estimated to be in excess of 65,000.  

On Sunday the aerial portion of the show was opened by the Sky Hawks under their distinctive Canadian flag canopies.

The Canadian Forces was represented with displays by such diverse aircraft as the CF-18 jet fighter and the oldest (Sea King) and newest (Cormorant) helicopters in the air force inventory..

The US Navy EA3B Prowler put on an exceptional performance and their S3B Viking patrol and tanker aircraft made for interesting duo. The United States Air Force demonstration of a KC 135 simulating the air-to-air fuelling of a Navy Prowler showed the versatility of this USAF force multiplier.  Following Ed Shipley putting his F-86 Sabre through its paces, and the display by the aggressive A-10 Thunderbolt 2, the two hugely dissimilar aircraft teamed up for the USAF Heritage Flight demonstration.

On the static the highlight was the EP-3 of the US Navy a plane not often seen on a static display. At  the end the Snowbirds arrived at centre stage and proceeded to do what they do so well