LONDON, ONT. -- The famed Snowbirds made a stop in London, Ont. Sunday afternoon as part of “Operation Inspiration”.
“Operation inspiration is our salute to our front line workers throughout Canada for all the efforts they are doing to stop the spread of COVID-19,” says Cpt. Joel Wilson, a Brantford native who is the pilot of Snowbird 7.
Designed to be a morale boost for Canadians during the pandemic, it was delayed by one day due to the snow that hit parts of southern Ontario Saturday.
“The weather didn’t cooperate, but that’s OK,” added Wilson. “There was no timeframe for this, and I’m glad we got to do it today.”
The squadron took off from the GTA around 12:45 p.m. Sunday and make its way south to Hamilton and then east to the Niagara region.
It then turned west toward Brantford, Woodstock and eventually landing in London around just before 2 p.m.
The group took a break and resume flying around 5 p.m., doing flyovers past Stratford, Kitchener and eventually Barrie.
The Snowbirds had asked people to watch from their homes, but at the London International Airport Sunday, CTV News saw well over 100 people standing outside vehicles with cameras to get a glimpse of the famed pilots.
“We prioritized the residential areas to make sure people could stay home and continue to social distance but also hopefully get a show from us,” says Wilson.
With a number of shows across the county cancelled due to COVID19, but Wilson says It was also a joy for those operating the aircrafts to get inside and take flight.
“It’s good in the circumstances. It’s always great to fly the jets, but really the cause is salute those front-line workers and all Canadians doing their part to stop the spread COVID-19.”
SUNDAY: Let's try this again, shall we? #opinspiration #cfsnowbirds #rcaf pic.twitter.com/m2z9xZFyad
— CF Snowbirds (@CFSnowbirds) May 10, 2020