Fraser Blues formation flying team recently flew a select few residents of Texada Island to Langley for a special ceremony as a lingering part of the Texada Fly-in.
Any airfield is dismal in winter. Langley airport, on a damp December day, was no exception with low clouds, poor light and a chill wind that cut through to the bone. Memories of summer at the Fly-in seemed so far away, fading like dust on the tarmac and smiles on sunburned pilots. It seemed likely no planes would land on the tarmac this day, until the smallest break in the clouds allowed pilots of three planes to view the runway below.
The planes fell through the clouds in formation lining up perfectly to land one at a time. They taxied along to the apron in front of Adrian’s Restaurant and one by one the propellers flickered to a stop. Canopies opened and familiar faces emerged.
For many years the Fraser Blues have attended the Fly-in to perform the formation flying displays that make them so famous. There is another connection to Texada that is less well known. The empty skies and well appointed airport of Texada led the Fraser Blues to choose the island for their practices year after year. When pilots of this level of fame stay on an island housing a large group of flying enthusiasts, firm friendships result.
This year, with their retirement not far away, the Fraser Blues were presented with a magnificent mural on canvas painted by Doby Dobrostanski. The painting depicts the Fraser Blues flying over Texada while a small boy and his dog look on.
George Miller, leader of the Fraser Blues, had long wanted a mural to hang in Adrian’s Restaurant at Langley airport where he is the airport manager. The people of Texada decided this was a great way to show appreciation for the years of friendship and aerial displays. The presentation took place at the Fly-in in July and has been hanging in Langley ever since. There was just one last job to be done before it was over.
The painting needed to be sealed after it had been hanging for a while so the Fraser Blues flew Dobrostanski and several of the Fly-in organizers and the island’s Powell River Regional District director Dave Murphy for the occasion.
Dobrostanski carefully completed the treatment of the canvas on the painting he lovingly created and donated. With the last brush stroke the painting was sealed and so were the friendships between the people of Texada Island and the magnificent Fraser Blues.
