VERDICT: We gave 5 out of 5 tickets and here’s why!
This guide forms part of our complete Fraser Valley Day Out Guide, featuring scenic road trips, amazing destinations, practical travel advice and honest first-hand travel experiences from across the region.
A spectacular Fraser Valley tradition featuring fighter jets, warbirds and the Snowbirds’ final Tutor performance
There are certain Fraser Valley events that have simply become part of our summer, and the Abbotsford International Airshow is definitely one of them.
We love attending the show every year, so several weeks before the 2026 event we purchased our carload pass and made sure the weekend was firmly in the calendar.
The show is the largest in Canada and one of the top airshow events in North America. Our favourite aircraft from the past includes the USAF F-35, F-22, B-1 Bomber, Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, A10 Thunderbolt and the Avro Lancaster. Way back in 1971, before our time, the Vulcan Bomber even flew across the skies of Abbotsford. The same year the inaugural flying display of the newly formed Snowbirds.
This isn’t an event where we simply arrive in time for the first aircraft to take off. For us, half the fun happens before the flying even begins.
We drove to the onsite parking access at the Abbotsford Airport. Arriving about 10.15am, there were hundreds of vehicles already parked.
We like to arrive before any of the flying events, walk around the entire show site and explore the static aircraft displays. There’s even a Canadian Military display with Helicopters, Hummers etc. It gives us plenty of time to get close to aircraft and other exhibits that we would normally never get the chance to see, talk to some of the crews and, of course, take far too many photographs.
Then we find our spot, get comfortable and wait for that unmistakable sound of the first aircraft firing up. Sunscreen, refillable water bottles, foldable chairs and personal umbrellas. The umbrellas were a blessing, providing some added protection from the sun. It can get very hot on the open airfield. Large patio umbrellas are frowned upon as they block views for everyone else.
The attraction isn’t limited to what happens overhead either. The event includes hundreds of thousands of square feet of exhibits, a STEM zone, children’s interactive activities and more than 40 food trucks.
As we walked around we eyed up our favourite food trucks for lunch.
Who Presents The Show? Today, the main voices presenting the Abbotsford International Airshow are the duo of Roy Hafeli and Ken Hildebrandt. However, Bob Singleton’s voice is synonomous with past Airshows, as he presented for some 40 years. Today he returned, especially for the Snowbirds final farewell.
2026 would be the final Abbotsford International Airshow appearance of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds flying their legendary CT-114 Tutor jets.
More Than 60 Years of Airshows in Abbotsford
The Abbotsford Airshow dates back to 1962, when the Abbotsford Flying Club and Abbotsford Rotary Club joined forces to create an aviation event at Abbotsford Airport.
What started locally grew into something considerably bigger.
In 1970, the Canadian government designated Abbotsford as Canada’s National Air Show, and today it remains one of the Fraser Valley’s largest annual events.
Our First Stop: The Static Aircraft Display
Before we start watching the sky, we start at ground level. Heading toward to Control Tower end of the airfield it was very clear this would take a while. Everything from the huge Super Galaxy to a perfect Sopwith Camel replica!
Walking the static display is one of our favourite parts of the Abbotsford Airshow because the sheer variety of aircraft can be extraordinary.
The 2026 lineup includes some seriously impressive aircraft.
C-5M Super Galaxy
This is difficult to miss.
The Lockheed Martin C-5M Super Galaxy is one of the largest military transport aircraft in the world. At roughly 75 metres long with a wingspan approaching 68 metres, it absolutely dwarfs many of the aircraft parked around it.
It is designed to transport oversized military equipment across intercontinental distances.
Standing beside one really puts its size into perspective.
B-52 Stratofortress
Few military aircraft are as instantly recognizable as the Boeing B-52.
The strategic bomber first flew in the 1950s, yet upgraded B-52s remain in U.S. Air Force service more than seven decades later.
With eight engines and a wingspan of approximately 56 metres, it is another aircraft that demands a photograph.
RCAF CC-177 Globemaster III
Canada’s massive CC-177 provides strategic airlift capability for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
It can transport troops, vehicles, helicopters and other oversized cargo around the world and has also played an important role in humanitarian and disaster-relief missions.
KC-135 Stratotanker
The KC-135 is essentially a flying gas station.
Its primary role is aerial refuelling, allowing military aircraft to remain airborne much longer and travel far greater distances without landing.
T-38 Talon
At the opposite end of the size scale is the sleek Northrop T-38 Talon.
This supersonic trainer has spent decades preparing generations of U.S. Air Force pilots for high-performance fighter aircraft.
RCAF CC-130H Hercules
The Hercules has become one of the most recognizable military transport aircraft ever built.
Its ability to operate from relatively short and rough runways has allowed different versions of the Hercules to serve around the world for decades.
CH-149 Cormorant
Canada’s distinctive yellow-and-red CH-149 Cormorant is primarily used for search-and-rescue operations.
Its large cabin, long range and ability to operate in difficult weather make it particularly well suited to Canada’s enormous and often challenging geography.
RCAF CF-18 Hornet
Seeing a CF-18 flying is impressive.
Standing underneath one is completely different.
It gives us the chance to look at the aircraft’s twin engines, landing gear, cockpit and aerodynamic design before seeing what the Hornet can actually do once it gets airborne.
Other expected static aircraft range from a German Bundeswehr A319 to general-aviation and aerobatic aircraft including the Pitts Special S2-B, Nanchang CJ-6, Yak-18T, Lancair Legacy, Van’s RV-7, Piper aircraft and even a Sopwith Pup replica.
Aircraft appearances can change right up to showtime, but that uncertainty is part of the fun. We never know exactly what we might discover as we walk onto the field.
Then the Flying Begins
We got back to our seats and with freshly topped up water, we were ready. At 24° C, temps were heating up, so we were pleased to have umbrellas on hand. Free water stations were situated throughout the show – this was fantastic! Eventually our attention shifts.
This is when Abbotsford becomes a completely different place and your adrenalin kicks in.
Engines start, aircraft begin taxiing and suddenly thousands of people are looking in exactly the same direction.
For us, the high-performance jets are always among the highlights.
Canadian Forces SkyHawks
The Canadian Armed Forces’ SkyHawks open a very different kind of aerial display.
Instead of engines and afterburners, this one is about parachutes, precision and teamwork.
The team has been performing since 1971 and specializes in Canopy Relative Work, where parachutists manoeuvre their canopies close together to create formations in the sky.
It’s a surprisingly graceful way to begin an afternoon that is about to become considerably louder.
CH-148 Cyclone
The CH-148 Cyclone is Canada’s primary shipborne maritime helicopter and normally operates alongside Royal Canadian Navy vessels.
At Abbotsford, the demonstration provides an opportunity to watch a large military helicopter perform precision manoeuvres at close range.
The Cyclone is designed for missions including maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and search-and-rescue support.
Helicopter demonstrations can sometimes be overshadowed by fighter jets at airshows, but watching an aircraft this large hover and manoeuvre precisely in front of the crowd gives us a completely different appreciation of what both the aircraft and crew can do.
Canadian Armed Forces Joint Force Demonstration
This isn’t simply another aircraft flying past the crowd.
The Joint Force Demonstration recreates elements of a modern military operation using Canadian Army troops, artillery, CH-146 Griffon helicopters and CF-18 Hornets.
The idea is to demonstrate how ground and air forces work together during an operation.
For spectators, it also means plenty happening at once, helicopters, ground forces, simulated battlefield activity and fast jets arriving overhead. It was great to see.
CF-18 Hornet Tactical Demonstration
Now we’re talking.
Fast jet demonstrations have always been among our favourite parts of Abbotsford.
The CF-18 is Canada’s frontline fighter and has been serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force since the early 1980s.
Seeing one cruise past at an airport is one thing.
Seeing a demonstration pilot put the aircraft through high-speed passes, steep climbs and tight turns is something entirely different.
And then there is the sound.
You don’t simply hear a CF-18 at full power.
You feel it.
MiG-17F Fresco; A Cold War Fighter Returns
One of the most unusual aircraft on the 2026 program is the MiG-17F.
Developed in the Soviet Union during the early Cold War, the MiG-17 became particularly well known through its combat use during the Vietnam War.
It comes from a completely different era of fighter design than today’s computerized aircraft.
Its swept wings, compact fuselage and classic Soviet fighter profile make it immediately recognizable.
For aviation enthusiasts, seeing a MiG-17 actually flying rather than sitting inside a museum is something special.
Red Bull Air Force
The Red Bull presence brings a completely different type of aviation to Abbotsford.
Canadian aerobatic pilot Pete McLeod flies the Extra 330 LX, an aircraft capable of an extraordinary 420-degree-per-second roll rate and certified for forces up to approximately +/-12G.
Aaron Fitzgerald demonstrates the remarkable aerobatic capabilities of the BO 105 helicopter. This particulr demonstrates was absolutely crazy. Flying helicopters upside down seems very unusual. The skill needed was incredible.
Then there is the Red Bull Skydive Team, adding wingsuit flying, canopy formations and high-speed parachute work.
After watching huge military aircraft and fighters, these smaller aircraft and human-powered aerial displays demonstrate another side of extreme flying.
Historic Warbirds
Modern jets may produce the biggest noise, but historic aircraft provide some of the biggest character.
The 2026 performer lineup includes legendary Second World War aircraft.
P-38 Lightning
There is virtually nothing else that looks like a Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
Its distinctive twin-boom design made it one of the most recognizable fighters of the Second World War.
The P-38 could exceed 400 mph and served as a fighter, bomber escort, ground-attack aircraft and reconnaissance platform.
It was also the aircraft used during the famous 1943 interception mission that resulted in the death of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
P-47D Thunderbolt
Then there is the enormous Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
Nicknamed the “Jug,” the P-47 was one of the heaviest single-engine fighters of the Second World War.
It carried eight .50-calibre machine guns and developed a reputation for absorbing considerable battle damage while still bringing its pilot home.
Seeing historic aircraft like these in flight is one of the reasons we continue returning to airshows.
They stop being museum exhibits.
For a few minutes, they become living aircraft again.
Fast Jet Stats – How Fast Are They?
Here’s where things become interesting.
CF-18 Hornet
- Maximum speed: approximately Mach 1.8
- Around 1,900 km/h at altitude
- Twin General Electric F404 turbofan engines
- Role: Multirole fighter
- Entered Canadian service: 1982
MiG-17F Fresco
- Maximum speed: approximately 1,145 km/h
- Around Mach 0.93
- Engine: Klimov VK-1F turbojet with afterburner
- Role: Fighter
- First flight of MiG-17 family: 1950
CT-114 Tutor – Snowbirds
- Maximum aircraft speed: approximately 763 km/h
- Typical Snowbirds performance speeds: roughly 185–590 km/h
- Engine: General Electric J85 turbojet
- Role: Former jet trainer / air demonstration aircraft
- Entered RCAF service: 1963
Extra 330 LX – Pete McLeod
- Roll rate: approximately 420 degrees per second
- G rating: +/-12G
- Purpose-built unlimited aerobatic aircraft
The numbers are impressive, but speed alone doesn’t explain an airshow.
What makes the demonstrations memorable is seeing what these aircraft can do within a relatively small piece of sky directly in front of us.
The Moment We Have Been Waiting For: The Snowbirds
Then comes the performance we have been anticipating all afternoon. We felt sadness in many ways as we have seen the Snowbirds perform over many years.
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds; Nine red-and-white aircraft appearing together over Abbotsford is one of those unmistakably Canadian sights.
But this year feels different.
The Snowbirds have flown the Canadian-built CT-114 Tutor since the team was established in 1971.
The Tutor itself entered Royal Canadian Air Force service in 1963 and served as Canada’s primary jet trainer until 2000.
For more than half a century, however, the aircraft most Canadians associate with the Tutor has been painted red and white.
Farewell to the CT-114 Tutor
The 2026 season marks the end of an extraordinary era.
After more than six decades of RCAF service, the CT-114 Tutor fleet is being retired following the 2026 airshow season.
That means the Snowbirds’ performance over Abbotsford in 2026 is the final Abbotsford Airshow appearance for the team in the CT-114 Tutor.
And that’s a much bigger moment than simply changing aircraft.
Generations of Canadians have grown up watching these same little jets.
The Tutor has a maximum speed of approximately 763 km/h, although the Snowbirds generally perform between roughly 185 and 590 km/h.
Speed isn’t really their party trick anyway.
Precision is.
Nine aircraft fly remarkably tight formations before separating into opposing passes, rolls and dramatic crosses, trailing those unmistakable white smoke lines across the Fraser Valley sky.
The Canadian government has announced that the future Snowbirds will fly the CT-157 Siskin II, the Canadian designation for the Pilatus PC-21.
The new aircraft will eventually allow the team to rebuild its familiar nine-aircraft formation, but the new Snowbirds capability isn’t expected to become operational until the early 2030s.
So this isn’t goodbye forever.
But it is goodbye for now. And more importantly, it is goodbye to the Tutor.
After watching the Snowbirds at Abbotsford for so many years, we know this final Tutor performance is going to feel different.
There may be faster jets on the program. There may be louder aircraft.
But few have the emotional connection with Canadian spectators that those nine little red-and-white Tutors have earned.
Some Incredible Aircraft Have Flown Over Abbotsford
One of the reasons Abbotsford has developed such a reputation among aviation enthusiasts is the extraordinary variety of aircraft that have appeared here over more than six decades.
The show has welcomed aircraft and demonstration teams representing different generations of aviation.
Recent programs alone have included the spectacular USAF F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team, the F-16 Viper, F-35 Lightning II, CF-18 Super Hornet and numerous historic warbirds.
The 2024 RCAF centennial celebrations brought particularly strong Canadian military participation, including a four-aircraft RCAF Heritage Flight combining the CF-18 with the T-33 Silver Star, P-51 Mustang and P-38.
The U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon and Canada’s new CC-330 Husky also appeared on static display.
Over the decades Abbotsford has built its international reputation by bringing together aircraft that we simply don’t get the opportunity to see every day.
That’s what keeps us coming back.
We never quite know what is going to appear over the Fraser Valley next.
Why We Keep Coming Back
We have attended the Abbotsford International Airshow many times, yet somehow it never becomes routine.
Maybe it’s because every year is different. Maybe it’s because aviation technology ranging from Second World War fighters to modern military aircraft is gathered together on the same airport.
Or maybe we’re simply suckers for the sound of a fighter jet on afterburner.
Probably all three. We still enjoy arriving early, walking the static aircraft displays, taking our favourite photographs and watching the crowds build as everyone waits for the first aircraft.
Then the engines start. And once again, the Fraser Valley has an airshow. The 2026 show will be remembered for plenty of impressive aircraft, but for us there will be one image that stands above the others. Nine red-and-white Tutors. One final Snowbirds performance over Abbotsford.
After more than five decades, that really will be the end of an era.
Before You Go
by My Return Ticket
Local Tip
Here are a few:
– Buy a Car Pass and load up friends and family (saves on cost per person)
– Get there early and choose your spot
– Bring foldable chair
– Bring Sunscreen and apply regularly
– Bring personal umbrella – not patio umbrella
– Bring refillable water bottle – there are many free water stations
Finally explore the Kids zone and static displays before the air displays start.
Information Verified: 08/09/2026
The Bottom Line
Incredible show once again and particularly with the Snowbirds giving their last ever performance in Abbotsford. (The Tutor jets are being retired and replaced) This is without doubt a 5 Ticket Day.
Nearby Fraser Valley Attractions
- Fort Langley
- Canadian Museum of Flight
- Mission Raceway Park
- Abbotsford International Airshow (2025)
- Sunday Brunch in Chilliwack at the Golf Club
- Tulip Festival (Seasonal)
- Chilliwack River Valley Road Trip
- Hiking Mt. Cheam, Chilliwack
- McDonald Park and Dark Sky Preserve
- Tuscan Farm Gardens
- Westminster Abbey, Mission, B.C.
- Hiking Teapot Hill, Chilliwack
- What Makes Canada Day Special; Featuring Canada Da Parade
- Fraser Valley Heritage Train Tour
With every trip, we offer feedback to travel companies along with honest views for you, the reader. We rate adventures on a scale of one to five tickets, judged on quality, service, memorability, and price. A perfect ‘Ticket Rating’ of a five-ticket score means the experience was flawless and we’d eagerly return. Your desire to go back is the ultimate measure of a trip’s worth. Exclusive to My Return Ticket.
