Airshow Announcer: Ric Peterson

The voice of any airshow needs to be knowledgeable, authoritative and at times, humorous.

Ric Peterson has spent the past 20 years becoming the best airshow announcer he can be.

Coupled with his experience as a broadcaster and race car announcer, Peterson’s vast experience and passion have created a seasoned microphone veteran with a flair for aviation. Quesnel Skyfest is lucky to have such a quality announcer at this year’s Skyfest – Quesnel’s International Airshow.

He’s announced all over the world and has the memories to prove it. “I have had the unforgettable opportunity to hold the control stick of an Avro Arrow at the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa, touched the...

Dan Buchanan

Skyfest 2017 is proud and pleased to welcome return performer Dan Buchanan.

Dan was a New York & Connecticut home builder and flat-track motorcycle racer. He then moved to Lake Tahoe, CA where he enjoyed the thrill of flying off mountain tops.

He had a spinal injury landing a hang glider in harsh weather, losing his ability to walk.

He then returned to college to pursue a career in mechanical engineering, landing him in Silicon Valley, CA. Despite this new handicap, Dan returned to the thrill of flying within six months, and since then his tenacity and adventurous spirit has allowed him to accrue more than 3,000 hours of flight time in Hang Gliders and Sailplanes.

After his first...

Canadian Armed Forces Parachute Team, the SkyHawks

The Canadian Armed Forces Parachute Team, The SkyHawks, is Canada’s only military parachute demonstration team. For over 40 years, we have represented Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces to over 75 million spectators worldwide under our signature Canadian flag parachutes.

Bringing our parachutes in close proximity to build formations in the sky, the team puts on a spectacular show. Performing these aerobatic parachute formations requires a high level of skill and courage; and is known as Canopy Relative Work.

Supported by the Canadian Army, the SkyHawks are based out of Trenton, Ontario, at the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre. There, they train alongside soldiers who help defe...

P-51 Mustang

ANNIE GALLANT
Observer Reporter

Aviation is about the aircraft and the people who fly them. And many believe the aircraft created and perfected for action during the Second World War are truly the most romantic, high-flying airships in the sky. One of the most successful is the P-51 Mustang which is considered to be the best piston aircraft of the Second World War and became one of the world's aviation elite. Jack Erickson has devoted his life to establishing the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon and the promotion of Second World War aircraft. Together with his general manager Mike Oliver and mechanic and pilot as well as director of maintenance, Jim Martinelli, the Ericks...

The Granleys

Skyfest 2017 is proud and pleased to welcome The Granleys to this year’s show.

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Brent Handy

NOTHING SCREAMS ‘AIRSHOW’ MORE THAN A RED BIPLANE!

Brent is an unrestricted, surface rated aerobatic pilot. His show experience began in 2012 when he flew in the opposing solo position for the Royal Canadian Air Forces Snowbirds.

He currently flies the Pitts Special at airshows across Canada and the United States. Brent also maintains a full time career on active duty with the Royal Canadian Air Force as a trainings and standards pilot, responsible for the Snowbirds.

Brent has served as a military flying instructor and also as a CF-18 Hornet fighter pilot.

Born in small town Wyevale, Ontario, Brent knew from a young age that he wanted to spend his time in the air. Brent’s e...

Kent Pietsch

Kent Pietsch, in his 800-pound Interstate Cadet with a 37-foot wingspan, stumbles a descent then scrapes his wingtip down the runway, the crowd gasps, not certain if this is part of the act or truly a tragedy unfolding before them.

It’s all part of this veteran airshow pilot’s spectacular show which he’s bringing to Skyfest. But Pietsch has other tricks in his bag, including a dead-stick routine from 6,000 feet and a rooftop landing on a moving RV. When Pietsch is at the controls of his plane, it’s impossible not to watch him perform. “If you can’t entertain, you have no business being out there,” he said. “The gratification is in knowing that people are enjoying themselve...

Precision Exotics

Precision Exotics is the latest evolution in the realm of exotic car driving experiences. Open to anyone 18 years or older with a current driver’s license is the option to drive a Ferrari or a Lamborghini for a top speed blast down a closed runway at an airshow near you. This great opportunity will be offered at a 50% discounted rate of $149 USD. However, if you’re under 18 or just prefer the thrill of riding vs driving, that option is available.

Precision has teamed up with some of the most recognizable names in the airshow industry and will conduct one of a kind, never before seen performances mixing exotic cars with stunt men and women and high performance aircraft as well as other...

Pyro Jet Truck: Rick Kopp

After going up and down the quarter mile for many years in a variety of race cars, Rick Kopp put aside his competition urges to entertain. The Burlington, Ontario racer now campaigns a jet truck in exhibition drag racing.

And not just any truck, but an International Transtar 4300 powered by a Westinghouse J34-WE- 48 Turbojet engine with a flaming afterburner from a T-2 Buckeye.

The engine in this monster has a single spool, 11 stage axial flow compressor and a single stage axial flow turbine. It produces a whooping 12,000 HP with 6,000 lbs of thrust…that’s Intense!

It is also equipped with huge flame throwing exhaust stacks that operate on propane and nitrogen propelled diesel. ...

Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Demo Team

Skyfest 2017 is proud and excited to welcome the Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Demonstration Team and its pilot, Captain Matthew Kutryk, flying his specially painted CF-188 Hornet commemorating Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation.
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Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds (431 Air Demonstration Squadron) is a Canadian icon comprised of serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Their pilots and technicians work as a team to bring thrilling performances to the North American public. Serving as Canadian ambassadors, the Snowbirds demonstrate the Skill, Professionalism and Teamwork inherent in the women and men of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Armed Forces....

Gary Ward

Gary developed an interest in airplanes as an early teenager, soloed at age 16 in a Piper J-3 Cub and has been passionate about aviation ever since. After high school and a tour with the USAF as a jet engine mechanic, Gary graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Gary started flying airshows in 1998 in a Pitts S2-B and then flew airshows in the Giles 202 from 1999 through 2005, and in 2006, he became the first pilot to begin flying airshows in the awesome new MX2!

The MX2 is the absolute latest in unlimited aerobatic aircraft. It is strong, fast, and very agile. The entire airframe is constructed of aerospace quality carbon fiber t...