Prince Albert’s Centennial Air Show
Prince Albert - Saturday,August 11, 2012
Images by: Terry Bilash
Sunday, August 5th it was air show time in Prince Albert. This remarkable “free” show brought a host of vintage and amateur built aircraft to the city’s airport.
The Prince Albert Herald reported that “thousands” attended and in another story declared the event a total success.
The World War II training planes were not the only outstanding aircraft on display as there was a B-25 Mitchell and an B-26 Intruder on hand. The B-26 can be tricky to identify as the US airforce changed its name a couple of times as it was also known as an A-26. The B-25 served in all theatres during the war including the raid from a carrier on Tokyo and even took part in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion attempt on Cuba. The B-26 only saw limited service in WWII but was on hand for Korea and Vietnam, while most Canadians know the aircraft for its work as a converted water bomber for forest fire fighting.
The star of the show was a Canadair built version of the North American F-86 Sabre painted in the colours of the Golden Hawks. This particular aircraft an F 86 E is powered by a Canadian Avro Orenda engine is a Sabre Mk.5 built in 1954 carrying the serial number 1104 and makes its home in Ottawa.
Terry’s pictures of the show include Tiger Moths, a Stearman, a military version of the Beech 18 designated an Expediter which flew as multi-engine training aircraft out of CFB Moose Jaw. Click on “the pictures” to see the ground displays.