Chapter 2
Preening in Canada
August in the Northwest is a stunning aura of fall colors and gentle whispers of warm, clear weather. The magnificent Canadian Rockies, gift their snowcapped crowns to the autumn setting of quaking aspen and oak trees, which are just beginning to ignite with their vivid seasonal splendor. It was a perfect setting for British Columbia’s 1975 Abbotsford International Airshow.
The window of opportunity for faithful aviation pilgrims to land at the celebrated airport was open until 1100 Pacific daylight time, and then the window closed as final preparations for the annual airshow commenced.
Like a colorful fashion show, the planes paraded through the landing pattern. Engines hummed as they entered the upwind leg at 1,000 feet AGL (Above Ground Level) and then quieted to a gentle purr as they made a descending one-eighty turn onto final approach. The control tower was maxed as it speedily cleared one aircraft after another. Like graceful gliding falcons in their finery, each enjoyed a long rollout on the runway as they strutted their pride before an eager and admiring crowd.
Highlights of the show included the Canadian Snowbirds in their CT-114 Tutors, built in 1960.
The Snowbirds are a long-standing aerobatic military squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force, first performing as a demonstration team in 1971. They are officially known as “431 Air Demonstration Squadron," operating nine jets, two being low-level and knife-edge specialists.
The CT-114 was built in 1960, and is strictly maintained. It is taken apart and rebuilt from the ground up. Although it is 20 years past it retirement date, it is still considered the best jet for the aerobatic flight maneuvers of the Snowbirds. Watching the Snowbirds is a heart-thumping experience. Their entrance takes your breath away as you get caught up in their sonic boom, while executing the Canada Burst. Some of their other outstanding maneuvers are the Heart, the Downward Bomb Burst, the solo Head on Crosses, and their signature nine-abreast exit.
Abbotsford Airshow Canadian Snowbirds with U.S Mount Baker (3,286 m) in background
Other military aircraft were there to flex their air supremacy muscles. In demonstration of their bombing accuracy, they playfully pelted the runway targets with sacks of flour. Refocusing, they demonstrated their humanitarian assistance with rapid response air-medevac (medical evacuation) teams. From cliffhanging episodes to capsizing at sea, they could rescue; they could save. Daring wing-walkers, battered about by fierce relative winds, hung upside down as their Super Stearman biplane carefully maneuvered around the staging area. Mini-jets, mono-coupes, helicopters, and skydivers, along with a feathered bird or two, added to this happy cavorting begun by the Wright brothers in 1903. They, along with the static displays, conformed to a strategy that was orchestrated to thrill thousands of fans and appease G-force addicts.
Endorsing the event was His Majesty King Ali Hussein bin Talal and the royal entourage from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. His Majesty was an avid and skilled pilot himself, rated in everything from jets to helicopters. When it came to daring aerobatics, he was fully capable and personally challenged to give any taker the best run for their money.
At a reception following the airshow, His Majesty took the time to meet several of the performers. Reaching out with an enthusiastic handshake, he generously thanked each flier for his outstanding performance, genuinely meaning each expression of praise. True royalty has the gift of so naturally putting others at ease.
When the king greeted Dave, they energetically swapped ideas on various aerobatic maneuvers. Taking a thoughtful pause, the king remarked casually, “You should come to Jordan to fly sometime.” With a spark of excitement Dave replied, “I would really enjoy that, Your Majesty.”
There it was. From a pleasant off-hand exchange came the beginning of a life changing experience.
While the king loved to fly, he was strongly discouraged from his aerobatic escapades by his many wise and cautious counselors. That did not stop him, of course, but perhaps it slowed him down a little.
It was likely that in Dave he could vicariously live out some of his bold barnstorming aerobatic fantasies. It was not long before a December 1976 Seattle Post-Intelligencer article read:
“Flying Prof” Off to Jordan
Rahm Guest of King Ali Hussein
By Al Watts P-I Aerospace Writer
Dr. David Rahm, the “Flying Professor”
of Bellingham, caught the eye of a king
last August and as a result flew
to Jordan yesterday as a royal guest.
An airshow aerobatic pilot and a geology
professor at Western Washington State
College, Rahm, 42, was invited to Jordan
by King Ali Hussein who saw Rahm
perform last August in the international
airshow at Abbotsford, B.C.
He was flown to the Middle Eastern country
on a Royal Jordanian 727 tri-jet purchase
from the Boeing Co. The new plane left
Boeing Field yesterday morning.
Rahm said before his departure that he
was uncertain what he would do in Jordan
as the king’s official guest: “I don’t know
if I’ll be flying in airshows or what.”
Ali Hussein, a former military pilot and
aviation buff, invited Rahm to Jordan
while both attended the Abbotsford show.
"He was pretty enthusiastic about my
performance. He told me, ‘As far as I’m
concerned you can come to Jordan
tomorrow.’"
Rahm said his trip is not of political nature
and that he is seeing Ali Hussein because
the king himself is an aerobatic pilot.
“I’ve heard rumors the king has a Pitts Special
(a world championship class stunt plane).
If he’s really got one and I can fly it, I’ll go
bananas,” Rahm said.
In airshows, the professor with a Ph.D. in
geology from Harvard flies an Austrian-built
Bücher Jungmann, considered one of the
best stunt biplanes ever built.
Rahm, at Western since 1968 and at
Washington State University prior to that,
often takes his university geology students
into the air to give them a better perspective
of the land and its features."
Other military aircraft were there to flex their air supremacy muscles. In demonstration of their bombing accuracy, they playfully pelted the runway targets with sacks of flour. Refocusing, they demonstrated their humanitarian assistance with rapid response air-medevac (medical evacuation) teams. From cliffhanging episodes to capsizing at sea, they could rescue; they could save. Daring wing-walkers, battered about by fierce relative winds, hung upside down as their Super Stearman biplane carefully maneuvered around the staging area. Mini-jets, mono-coupes, helicopters, and skydivers, along with a feathered bird or two, added to this happy cavorting begun by the Wright brothers in 1903. They, along with the static displays, conformed to a strategy that was orchestrated to thrill thousands of fans and appease G-force addicts.
Endorsing the event was His Majesty King Ali Hussein bin Talal and the royal entourage from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. His Majesty was an avid and skilled pilot himself, rated in everything from jets to helicopters. When it came to daring aerobatics, he was fully capable and personally challenged to give any taker the best run for their money.
At a reception following the airshow, His Majesty took the time to meet several of the performers. Reaching out with an enthusiastic handshake, he generously thanked each flier for his outstanding performance, genuinely meaning each expression of praise. True royalty has the gift of so naturally putting others at ease.
When the king greeted Dave, they energetically swapped ideas on various aerobatic maneuvers. Taking a thoughtful pause, the king remarked casually, “You should come to Jordan to fly sometime.” With a spark of excitement Dave replied, “I would really enjoy that, Your Majesty.”
There it was. From a pleasant off-hand exchange came the beginning of a life changing experience.
While the king loved to fly, he was strongly discouraged from his aerobatic escapades by his many wise and cautious counselors. That did not stop him, of course, but perhaps it slowed him down a little.
It was likely that in Dave he could vicariously live out some of his bold barnstorming aerobatic fantasies. It was not long before a December 1976 Seattle Post-Intelligencer article read:
“Flying Prof” Off to Jordan
Rahm Guest of King Ali Hussein
By Al Watts P-I Aerospace Writer
Dr. David Rahm, the “Flying Professor”
of Bellingham, caught the eye of a king
last August and as a result flew
to Jordan yesterday as a royal guest.
An airshow aerobatic pilot and a geology
professor at Western Washington State
College, Rahm, 42, was invited to Jordan
by King Ali Hussein who saw Rahm
perform last August in the international
airshow at Abbotsford, B.C.
He was flown to the Middle Eastern country
on a Royal Jordanian 727 tri-jet purchase
from the Boeing Co. The new plane left
Boeing Field yesterday morning.
Rahm said before his departure that he
was uncertain what he would do in Jordan
as the king’s official guest: “I don’t know
if I’ll be flying in airshows or what.”
Ali Hussein, a former military pilot and
aviation buff, invited Rahm to Jordan
while both attended the Abbotsford show.
"He was pretty enthusiastic about my
performance. He told me, ‘As far as I’m
concerned you can come to Jordan
tomorrow.’"
Rahm said his trip is not of political nature
and that he is seeing Ali Hussein because
the king himself is an aerobatic pilot.
“I’ve heard rumors the king has a Pitts Special
(a world championship class stunt plane).
If he’s really got one and I can fly it, I’ll go
bananas,” Rahm said.
In airshows, the professor with a Ph.D. in
geology from Harvard flies an Austrian-built
Bücher Jungmann, considered one of the
best stunt biplanes ever built.
Rahm, at Western since 1968 and at
Washington State University prior to that,
often takes his university geology students
into the air to give them a better perspective
of the land and its features."