I feel the need - the need for speed!
I'll apologize now for shamelessly stealing this line from Tom Cruise and the movie Top Gun, but I just can't help it.
Nearly a week after my flight with the Fraser Blues aerial demonstration team, I still haven't come down from my high.
If you were in Gibsons Harbour last Friday night, you might have seen the Fraser Blues fly-past as part of the opening ceremonies for this year's Sea Cav.
Linda Doerksen from Coast Cable, Pauline Montgomery from The Local and I got the thrill of a lifetime as the Fraser Blues took us on a special media flight.
These guys can truly kick some serious asphalt!
I had the pleasure of flying with team leader, retired Colonel George Miller. Miller was fantastic at giving me a birds' eye view of Gibsons and showing me a little of what formation flyers do.
I've never done anything like this before, so the chance to take a flight in an historic plane such as the Navion was a huge thrill.
It's quite amazing seeing our beautiful Sunshine Coast from the sky. We got to twist and turn and dive so close to the water, I wanted to reach out and touch the surf.
In his spare time, Miller is the manager of the Langley airport. For more than 35 years he was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. An experienced pilot of many different aircraft, Miller's tours of duty included flying F-86 Sabres both in Europe and with the Golden Hawks (Canada's first jet military aerobatic team). He also flew with the Snowbirds.
The other guys were also a blast.
Ken Morley is the Yankee with the group, from Winlock, Wash.
He flew F-102s for the Air National Guard in Hawaii and later flew for a major airline in the Pacific Northwest.
The third member of the team here to perform was Willie Paterson.
Paterson is a civilian pilot and flight service specialist at the Nanaimo control tower. Paterson first learned to fly in Scotland.The Fraser Blues have two other members. One pilot could not attend last weekend because of personal matters; the other was off fighting forest fires in the B.C. interior.
The Fraser Blues are one of only three civilian formation-flying teams in Canada. They perform roughly 35 shows from May to November all over the Pacific Northwest.
This is a pretty expensive hobby. All the members work, have families and other commitments and are flying on weekends to community events and festivals like Sea Cavalcade.
We're certainly fortunate to have such a talented bunch of guys who take the time to put on such a fantastic show.
This was the second year this group has been here, and they enjoyed every minute of it.
Here's hoping they'll be back next year to thrill us again.
