| In response to unprecedented budgetary challenges that will require a dramatic decrease in flying hours for virtually all Canadian military aircraft and pilots, 1 Canadian Air Division (1CAD) of the Royal Canadian Air Force recently announced that the RCAF Snowbirds would be unable to support any U.S. air shows in 2014.
The announcement said, in part, “We recognize that this is difficult news for organizers who were counting on the appearance of the Snowbirds at their shows. The decisions we’ve made for the 2014 schedule enable us to focus on the teams’ core activities while minimizing the impact to the majority of our planned Canadian shows.”
In a separate email message to ICAS, 1CAD also strongly denied rumors that the cancellation of U.S. shows was somehow related to the lack of U.S. military demonstrations in Canada, emphasizing that the action taken by RCAF was, “…based purely and solely on budget considerations.”
U.S. shows impacted by the announcement include Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Salute to Veterans, also in Missouri; Oregon International Air Show in Hillsboro; Redding, California; and MCAS Miramar in San Diego.
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