Fighter jets and Snowbirds in skies over Mississauga as pilots prep for CNE air show

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Published August 31, 2023 at 2:41 pm

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be flying over Mississauga the next few days.

As home to Canada’s biggest and busiest airport, Mississauga is used to its skies being filled with planes of all types and sizes.

But once a year, as Labour Day weekend approaches and comes to pass, the airspace over the country’s seventh-largest city is at times dotted with any number of Canadian and American fighter jets impressively streaking across the sky as they tune up for the annual Canadian International Air Show at the CNE in Toronto.

And this year is no different, with performers that include the beloved Canadian Forces Snowbirds (see video below) and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and their F/A-18 Super Hornets among the jets prepping for Canada’s largest and longest-running air show.

The show, in its 74th year and enjoyed by masses of people annually on the shores of Lake Ontario, runs this Saturday through Monday from noon to 3:30 p.m. each day.

The main show takes place overhead the water and can be viewed from the waterfront and CNE grounds as well. 

The Snowbirds are returning to the air show this year after missing the 2022 event due to operational issues with their aircraft.

Other performers this year include Canada’s CF-18 Demonstration Team, a United States Air Force P-51 Mustang Heritage Flight with an F-16 demo team, and iconic 81-year-old air acrobat Gord Price (and his Yak-50), and more.

Aircraft participating in the event each year use both Pearson Airport in Mississauga and Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto as home bases for their air show operations.

As the show unfolds, spectators each year are treated to a number of impressive acrobatic feats and jaw-dropping stunts in the skies above.

Canadian military officials said last year that the CF-18 Demonstration Team selects its members each year from across Canada.

“The CF-18 Demonstration Team is a truly national team; its members all come from Royal Canadian Air Force units across the country, and all are selected for their superior performance, dedication to excellence and the desire to represent Canada’s operational air force,” Canadian government officials said earlier in an online description of the team.

Air show organizers call the event “a jam-packed air display showcasing modern military jets, vintage warbirds and thrilling aeorbatics.”

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