15 Wings Armed Forces Day hopes to be a spectacle of thunder and fire

The Friendly City will bear witness to a mass attack at 15-Wing Moose Jaw in May as planes will fly overhead and deliver a spectacle of thunder and fire.
Well, that's the plan. Organizers of 15 Wing's Armed Forces Day are still talking to the sole pyrotechnic firm licensed to do air shows. If organizers can settle the contract, the show will start off with a bang.
"(Armed Forces Day) will be on May 2, the day after the Snowbirds' acceptance show and we hope it will be an uncharacteristically warm day," said Lt.-Col. Kurt Saladana, chief of staff for 15 Wing Moose Jaw.
To attract crowds, organizers have added a couple new planes and new flight routines.
Organizers hope to get Canada's newest plane, the C-17 transport plane and a combination of fighter jets for the mass attack demonstration.
"We're going to call 4 Wing Cold Lake and see if we can get a mix of jets for the display. The mass attack would be a demonstration of a low-level delivery, a show of a multi-pronged attack," Maj. Jon Clow of 15 Wing said.
Clow of 15 Wing hopes to get F-18s to join the demonstration but emphasized Canadian jets don't actually make low-level deliveries. It is safer and more accurate for planes to drop bombs and shoot rockets from above 5,000 feet.
The free show has been bumped to May from August for a number of reasons.
Organizers are trying to attract larger crowds without competing with lakeside cottages and Buffalo Days.
The Snowbirds have a busy schedule with the celebration of 100 years of powered flight in Canada. It has planned 100 flights in 100 communities across Canada. That busy schedule leaves the aerobatic demonstration team available in May.
The F-86 Sabre jet is making a comeback for the show. It has been rebuilt, repainted and nicknamed Hawk 1 for the show.
"There hasn't been a flying F-86 Sabre in Canada for many years. It was used in the '50s and '60s during the Korean War. It's a vintage fighter," said Clow.
Armed Forces Day is a chance to show off Canada's military prowess, according to officials.
"We're proud to wear the uniform," Saladana said. "We want people to come out and meet us and see what we do."
For video from the announcement, go to www.mjtimes.sk.ca.