The CF-18 Demonstration
Team jet in fl ight above 3
Wing Bagotville, Quebec.
RCAF/ARC
NORAD 60
Team effort
The CF-18 Demonstration Team is drawn
from all over the country and consists of
seven members for each airshow. Besides
Capt Porteous there are eight technicians- each chosen for their specialty in areas
such as engines, airframe and avionics. The
technicians are divided into an East Coast
team from 3 Wing Bagotville and a West
Coast team from 4 Wing Cold Lake.
A safety pilot on the ground is in constant
contact with Capt Porteous during the
show. There are three safety pilots who
share the weekend taskings with the
team, including a familiar face to European
airshows – Capt Renaud ‘Grat’ Thys, a former
Belgian Air Component F-16 demo pilot.
The role of narrator and team co-ordinator
is filled by the public affairs officer, Capt
Jennifer Howell. The team makes efforts to
showcase not only the skills of the pilot, but
also what the maintainers do, to demonstrate
the range of careers in military aviation.
AFM: Can you talk us through
this year’s Hornet display?
Capt Porteous: “Our show is conducted
at 300ft above ground level [AGL]. In the
UK, you’ll see lots of dynamic manoeuvres.
I start with a ‘dirty’ take-off roll, and then
continue into a mixture of slow-speed and
high-speed elements. I also have a square
loop and a high-G 360 and high-alpha loop.
These really display the amazing agility of
the CF-18 Hornet. The Hornet is capable
of pulling 7.5G, and I have quite a few
manoeuvres which take me to that limit.
“Europe has different rules for airshows
than those in North America. In Europe you
cannot cross over the spectators, and the
distances from the crowd line are different.
For the rest of our schedule in North America
you’ll also see a ‘sneak’ pass where I’ll
disappear behind the crowd and blast
over them at 500ft AGL and 0.95 Mach.
“I love watching the tapes after and seeing
the people in the crowd duck from the surprise.
It’s a good one! I also have an on-crowd pass.
“We have a pre-approved package of
manoeuvres for the CF-18 demo, which have
been developed from years of experience.
Another consequence of the different
regulations is that we have designed two
different routines; each with a high- and low-
show variant. The routine you’ll see in the
UK is shorter as well. We have ten minutes
from start to finish, but it is still jam packed
with exciting – and loud – manoeuvres!”AFM: What are the meteorological
limitations for the demo?
Capt Porteous: “For our high show we need
5,000ft ceilings and 3nm visibility. We always
hope for high-show weather, but if we don’t have
the conditions we have a low show at 1,500ft
ceilings and 3nm visibility. Even though there
are some manoeuvres we cannot perform in the
low show, it’s still a really fun performance.”AFM: What preparations are required
before starting the airshow season?
Capt Porteous: “There’s a training syllabus
that we follow. It starts off in the simulator,
and then you move into the two-seat CF-18B
and fly with last year’s demo pilot. In my
case that was Captain Matthew ‘Glib’ Kutryk
who flew the CF-18 ‘Canada 150’ [CF-188
serial 188734 commemorating the 150th
anniversary of Canada’s confederation]. In
April we spend just over two weeks in Comox,
British Columbia practising twice a day. My
parents were able to see some practices
and I was able to visit my old schools and
Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron.
“As comfort grows we bring the elevation
of the show down. It involves a lot of
scrutinising of tapes and film. Eventually you
start to work on things like showmanship
and staging the manoeuvres in the
right place in front of the crowd.”AFM: How do you prepare for
an airshow weekend?
Capt Porteous: “Our co-ordinator, Captain
Jenn Howell, will have made contact with the
organisers at least 45 days in advance in order
to get maps of the airfield and show box. She’ll
also get details including contact information for
servicing, air boss,
where the food is,
what to wear, andall the little pieces. She then sends out what
we call an ‘over wing’ to the team with all
that information in an easy-to-read format.
“Airshows can have a lot of moving pieces,
so we try to make them as simple as possible
for everyone involved. Generally, we arrive
in location on a Thursday and we’ll recce the
airfield and assess anything out of the ordinary,
like towers, terrain and crowd lines. On Friday
we practise the show just like it’s the real thing,
with the safety pilot on comms and Jenn on
narration and playing music. It is important
to get that comfort at a show before you do
it for the public so it’s the best it can be.
“The demo team is a full-time job for
me between April and October. Based
on the schedule there isn’t really any time
for anything else. And because North
America is so geographically large, there
are periods in the schedule where we do
not return home between weekends.”AFM: What was the reason for
visiting the UK this summer?
Capt Porteous: “The Royal Canadian Air
Force has a long and close relationship
with the Royal Air Force and so it’s
important we come to help celebrate a
huge milestone like 100 years of air power.
We are very excited to be able to take
part in the celebrations this year. It will
certainly be a highlight of the season.
“It’s an honour to be chosen to represent
the Royal Canadian Air Force in such a visible
mission as the CF-18 Demonstration Team.
To be able to shed light on the role of NORAD,
and the men and women who maintain the
watch 24/7, 365, is very important. For
me, the best part of my job this summer is
interacting with the kids. Taking time to meet
them, chatting with them, and taking a photo –
that’s the part that is most rewarding.”Above: During all displays, a safety pilot on the ground is in constant contact with Capt Porteous. Here,
the CF-18 Demonstration Team runs through a training sortie, with narrator and team co-ordinator Capt
Jennifer Howell (centre left). RCAF/ARCAFM