Canadian Forces Snowbirds Cancelled Performances

USPA NEWS - UPDATE: Sunday June 18, 2023
"We sadly have to cancel our Sunday performance in Moncton-Dieppe due to the bad weather.
Thank you all for your patience over the weekend!" ~Capt Gabriel Ferris

Since the announcement was made in the early spring, Snowbird fans in Moncton, New Brunswick and throughout the province have been waiting with much anticipation for the beloved Canadian aerobatic demonstration team to perform over Moncton-Dieppe on the weekend of June 17th and 18th. Unfortunately, to the disappointment of many, Mother Nature had other plans.

On Saturday June 17th, The SkyHawks were scheduled to jump at 1:30 p.m., and at 2:30 p.m., the Snowbirds were scheduled to perform, but both performances were cancelled due to weather. About an hour after the scheduled performances over the city, the military did a reconnaissance flight to reevaluate and determine whether the conditions were safe for the Snowbirds to fly. Unfortunately, conditions still would not accommodate the air demonstration.

Capt Gabriel Ferris, who is the public affairs officer for the Snowbirds, explained why they had to cancel. "For us to be able to fly, we need a certain ceiling of clouds to be able to do so, or we have to cancel." Ferris went on to say, When they decided to cancel, the cloud ceiling was only 500 feet from the ground. “We’re looking for a minimum of 1,000 feet to be able to do anything in the air. We have different shows. We can do a high show, which requires about 4,000 feet, we have a low show and a flat show. So we were hoping to squeeze in a flat show, but sadly, it’s still 500 feet too short"

The much anticipated Father's Day performance on Sunday had to be cancelled due to the rain. It should be noted, although the performances by the Snowbirds had to be cancelled, the team gave a tour of their fleet of Tudor CT-114 aircraft to students from the Moncton Flight College and the team did have a chance to engage with fans that had come out for the event.

Sources have reported that the Snowbirds will be leaving Moncton on Monday morning and we heard from some optimistic fans who say they are planning to try and catch a glimpse of their departure.

According to the official Snowbirds 2023 Season schedule, after departing Moncton they will be attending engagements in Newfoundland on June 21st and 24th before traveling to Nova Scotia for a show over the Halifax Harbour on Canada Day.