Canadian Business Aircraft Association

For the second year in a row the Calgary Mosquito Society was present at the Canadian Business Aircraft Association (CBAA)'s convention and trade show. You may be asking yourself what connection does the CMS with its goal of restoring vintage aircraft have with modern multi-million dollar biz jets? The CBAA represents the business aviation interests in Canada, with members in all sectors of the aviation community from operators and manufacturers to suppliers for the last 50 years (that includes aerial survey). Besides, there are no boundaries when it comes to a love of aviation.

Thanks in no small part to our connection with the CBAA, a large percentage of CMS members are aviation professionals employed in the business aviation community. As CMS board member Jack McWilliams reported, "With our second appearance at the CBAA we have been able to engage new support and renew old ones. The CMS has members who are second generation aviators whose family were involved with the Mosquito either flying or manufacturing in Canada." This includes one member from Florida who watches our progress through the Mosquito Bytes newsletter.

Representing the interests of all Canadian business aircraft owners and operators, the CBAA's annual trade show includes numerous static displays of some very high-end business aircraft. (Peter Cromer)

The volunteers manning the booth put in a full day bringing convention attendees into our 10x10 foot booth where their questions were answered or they were brought up to speed on recent developments. (Peter Cromer)

One of our hardest working volunteers is also one of our oldest; Bob O'Connor, former Mosquito observer, has been present at almost every one of the society's public appearances. During a short break he was caught chatting with former Snowbird pilot Dan Dempsey. Not only an accomplished pilot, Dan has also written A Tradition of Excellence, a terrific book about Canada's aerobatic performers as well as volunteering to fly the Vintage Wings of Canada F-86 Sabre. (Peter Cromer)

Airdrie Air Show

2011 marked the return of the Airdrie Air Show and considering this was only its second show, it's become a great attraction for aviation enthusiasts in the Calgary area. There were several important changes that really improved the show; it moved from a weeknight to a Saturday/Sunday affair and better arrangements for public busing and parking ensured that more than 27,000 people flowed in and out of the airpark smoothly.

Among the numerous displays and food vendors was the CMS - easily spotted by the crowd of people assembled around our new tent. Thanks to Jack McWilliams and Colette Provost the CMS volunteers had a brand-new tent to block out the sun and a flashy new display board to catch our guests' attention. Further more; Jack managed to arrange for the display of a genuine Mosquito tail wheel assembly, courtesy of our friends at the Ventura Memorial Flight Association.

As CMS board member Scott McTavish said, "Those of us who haul the CMS gear around to the various shows enjoy meeting with the many concerned aviation fans who want to see both the Hurricane and Mosquito restored. Sometimes that means that we have to answer the same questions over and over, but it's always worth it." That one-on-one exposure and our willingness to answer everyone's questions resulted in over a dozen memberships and a very respectable donation box.

If everything goes according to plan we'll be back for the 2013 air show with large pieces of Mosquito and Hurricane on display.

All weekend long a team of volunteers manned our booth, answered hundreds of questions and promoted our society. Most visitors remembered the Mosquito story from the newspapers and were interested in being brought up to speed on current developments. (Peter Cromer)

A special thank you has to be given to CMS board members Jack McWilliams and Colette Provost for obtaining a tent and professional display board for our use. Thanks to their computer-savvy shopping skills we paid well below market value for both. Another thank you must be given to our friends at Kenn Borek Air Ltd. for their assistance in refurbishing the display's large Velcro panels. (Peter Cromer)

The Airdrie Air Show attracted a number of interesting performers, including the West Coast F-16 demonstration team. The Falcon burned up the sky and turned a pile of money into a lot of noise. Download a larger version of this image here. (Peter Cromer)