The good news is that the Snowbirds were back in the air on Thursday but instead of flying to Ottawa for their annual flypast of Parliament Hill, they headed to their home base of Moose Jaw. The team was grounded 10 days ago when a hitch was discovered in the timing system of the ejection system parachutes. The RCAF hasn’t offered much detail about the issue, which is the latest involving the emergency egress equipment on the 50-year-old Tutor trainer but it did suggest the problem is resolved in announcing the resumption of public displays July 9-10 in Kelowna, B.C.
The RCAF apologized for missing the Ottawa flight but said safety comes first. “This was a tough decision, but after not flying for a period to time, the team must conduct several practice flights and our technicians need to conduct some maintenance work on the jets.”