(Photo: Airdrie news photo file)

It's official, the Airdrie Air Show will be moving to Springbank this July.

The Airdrie Air Show Society found out that they would no longer be able to hold the event at the Airdrie Air Park and into the future late last year due the new runway at the Calgary International Airport.

"We were all terribly disappointed, there's just no hiding that," says Chair and Show Producer Sarah van Gilst. "Once we sort of had to accept the inevitable and have a little good cry over it we didn't want to give up so we wanted to keep an air show in this community. We do believe that Calgary, Airdrie and the surrounding communities want an event like this, not everybody gets to hold an airshow."

Held in Airdrie since 2009, van Gilst and the organizing committee immediately was in talks with Springbank Airport about moving the airshow. After reaching an agreement, the committee approached the Calgary Airport Authority over the requirements needed to host the new airshow, now titled Wings Over Springbank.

Needing emergency services on scene, Wings Over Springbank patiently waited for the go ahead and support from Rocky View County at their last council meeting on March 24th.

The show will be held July 18th and 19th this year and van Gilst couldn't be happier with some of the guests and aircraft they're able to bring to Springbank including two Bombers from the Commemorative Air Force in Texas.

"We've had confirmation that the Commemorative Air Force down south is going to bring up a B-17 and a B-25 which is a very rare opportunity to see some of these older aircraft."

"The Snowbirds are confirmed as well as the CF-18 demonstration team and the SkyHawks parachuting team are also going to be coming."

Other performances will include Super Dave Mathieson and Brent Handy, an ex-Snowbird pilot now flying with Redline Aerobatics.

Wings Over Springbank will be the first airshow back in the community since 1975 and van Gilst says they're expecting anywhere from ten to 20,000 people.

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Bradley Jones - airdrienews@goldenwestradio.com