Comox residents are being encouraged to keep their eyes on the skies over the next few weeks as the Canadian Forces Snowbirds make their annual return to Vancouver Island for pre-season training.
The Snowbirds are flying twice a day over Comox Valley from May 3 to 24 as they gear up for their 2025 season of air shows.
“We’re always excited to return to 19 Wing and the beautiful Comox Valley for spring training,” Capt. Phil Rochon, public affairs officer for the Snowbirds, said in an email. “Comox truly feels like a second home for the Snowbirds.”
While their flight times won’t be posted, an announcement on the team’s Facebook page says they will fly once in the morning, once in the afternoon and possibly a third time if required, subject to weather and operational requirements.
The Snowbirds, also known as the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, consists of about 80 Canadian Forces personnel, 24 of whom comprise the travelling show team, according to a Canada.ca FAQ page.
They leave their home base in Moose Jaw, Sask. and travel to Comox each spring to practise over different terrain.
The pilots fly the Canadair CT-114 Tutor, a Canadian-built jet that was used by the Canadian Forces as a basic pilot-training aircraft from 1963 until 2000.
Comox Valley residents who are hoping to catch a glimpse of the red, white and blue jets are encouraged “to keep your eyes (and ears) open — you never know when we’ll be overhead!”
The Snowbirds are training for a busy 2025 season. Their schedule shows stops in 22 cities this year — from Quebec to California — between June and October.
The Snowbirds will be making only one Island stop, in Nanaimo on Aug. 15 and 16.
Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said the city is very excited to be welcoming the Snowbirds back to the Harbour City.
“They are a very popular event in the city,” Krog said.
“People are proud of what they represent for Canada, and I think their presence will be particularly welcome as we face the challenges from the mad king in the White House.”
Krog said that following Tod Maffin’s Nanaimo Infusion festival a few weeks ago, which saw hundreds of Americans visit the city, that “the world has discovered Nanaimo.”
For out-of-towners coming to see the August air show, Krog had this to say: “I’d advise you to make reservations.”
B.C. residents who aren’t able to make it to Nanaimo can catch the Snowbirds at three other stops in the province in early August: Fort St. John on Aug. 2 and 3, Penticton on Aug. 6 and Abbotsford Aug. 8 to 10.
There will also be Snowbirds fly-pasts in Vancouver on July 19 and 23.
Rochon said fans can look forward to the classic Snowbirds performance they know and love, with a few old tricks from past seasons brought back to accompany their signature manoeuvres.
He said they’ll be announcing the 2025 team in the coming weeks, and they’re proud to have several members from B.C. and Vancouver Island in this year’s lineup.
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