First on this list is the Waterloo Air Show that takes place August 20-21 at the Region of Waterloo International Airport outside of Toronto.  I’m working airside security at this one so there won’t be many photo opportunities but I’ll do my best to grab a few shots of what looks to be a fantastic group of performers and static displays including the Snowbirds and the CF-18 demonstration team.

The end of the month marks the unofficial end of Summer and in Toronto that means two things.  The end of the CNE and the Canadian International Air Show, better known as the CNE Air Show.  This will be my second year working in Boss Control on the Ontario Place island.  Absolute best seat in the house to see a fast paced over-water show from the likes of perennial favourites the Snowbirds to the V22 Osprey making its first appearance and the Heavy Metal Jet Team who put on a great show at Oshkosh.  Dates for this show are September 3rd, 4th and 5th.

September 16th marks probably what will be my last road trip of the year to watch airplanes.  Vintage Wings of Canada and the EAA Canada chapters come together for Wings over Gatineau, a one day event which promises to see the skies full of birds- military, private, old and new.  I’m a member of both groups but this one is strictly for pleasure and picture taking.  Gatineau is located just across the Quebec border from Ottawa.

The Canadian air show calendar might be more compressed than the US but there’s lots to see in that time.

The Lockheed SR-71A holds all the records for high and fast flight.  85,068.997 feet and 2,193.167 MPH.  It flew for 24 years providing unparalleled reconnaissance capabilities.  From 80,000 feet, the Blackbird could survey 100,000 miles of the Earth’s surface per hour.

The USAF Museum’s SR-71 was the first to fly an operational sortie and was retired in March 1990.

  Each Pratt & Whitney J58 engine produced 32,500 lbs thrust on afterburner.

It’s doubtful that a manned reconnaissance aircraft like the Blackbird will ever be built again.  Satellites and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have taken the SR-71’s place.

HM Airship R-100 arrived in St. Hubert Quebec after an Atlantic crossing from Cardigan, Wales.

The picture above shows in floating over the Toronto skyline

The de Havilland Comet flew for the first time.  Plagued by problems with metal fatigue and a poorly designed wing, the world’s first jetliner suffered a number of spectacular crashes.

The 1^st flight of a delta-wing jet airplane is made with the Convair XF-92A.

The North American X-15 rocket plane makes its 1^st powered flight at Edwards Air Force Base in California.  Carried aloft by a B-52, a single rocket engine generated 57,000 pounds of thrust.

In 1967 on it’s 188th flight, the X-15 piloted by Pete Knight reached a top speed of 4,159 mph, a record that still stands to this day.  Astronaut Neil Armstrong flew the X-15 in 1962.

The Canadian Aviation Corps is authorized by the Minister of Militia and Defence to be formed. This is the beginning of Canada’s military air force.  The Corps consists of 2 pilots and a mechanic. The aircraft, a Burgess-Dunne, never sees military service and the Corps is disbanded a year later.

The CAC was:

Capt. E.L. Janney, Lt. W.F.N. Sharpe and Lt. H.A. Farr. 

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is launched during the Space Shuttle mission STS-48 carrying the Canadian designed Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) which measures wind, temperature and emission rate from the aurora.  The satellite was decommissioned in 2005 but continues to orbit.

The 1^st successful flight into the eye of a hurricane is made by a three-man American crew flying a Douglas A-20 Havoc. They demonstrate that valuable scientific information can be obtained in this manner, which is still done today.

Millionaire film producer and amateur air racer Howard Hughes shatters the world land plane speed record in his H-1 Racer.  The speed was 352 mph.  It marked the last civilian built aircraft to hold that honor.