Foreward by Lieutenant General Fred R. Sutherland, CMM, CD. Honorary Colonel - 431 Air Demonstration Squadron

"Now look straight ahead for the nine twinkling lights as the Team Lead calls for the Snowbirds to check in." With these words, the ensuing pull-up of the 'trademark' nine-plane formation and the stirring sounds of Steven Vitali's musical tribute, In Flight, another Snowbird show begins.

For the next 30 minutes, audiences ranging in size from a few hundred in Canada's Far North, to several hundred thousand at other major showsites across Canada and the United States, will be treated to a display of aerial skill and professionalism by Canada's world famous air demonstration team. The show is, in every sense of the word, a virtual aerial ballet, choreographed with a precision in time and space that knows few equals.

Members of today's Snowbird team shoulder a significant responsibility - one which is subliminal, and thus unspoken, but which is very real. That responsibility is threefold. First, it is to execute the team's primary mission - specifically to demonstrate the professionalism of each member of the Canadian Forces. Second, it is one of 'stewardship,' that is, to maintain the very high reputation established by all those aircrew and groundcrew members who have preceded them in the team's proud history. Finally, it is to preserve the 'tradition of excellence' established by such eminent predecessors as the Siskins, Blue Devils, Golden Hawks and Golden Centennaires in a legacy that dates back over eight decades in Canada. Even today, these teams still evoke powerful memories from those fortunate enough to have seen them fly - each of them an integral part of Canada's proud aviation heritage.

Through his book, Dan Dempsey makes an invaluable contribution to the preservation of this 'tradition of excellence.' Only someone who has been there and who has established such credibility within the airshow team community, both past and present, could have elicited so many rich first-hand accounts of their experiences from members of that unique fraternity. Coupled with outstanding collections of photographs and art work, this book provides a truly superb chronicle of the distinguished history and proud legacy of Canada's aerial demonstration teams.

This wonderful book must and will serve as a constant and vivid reminder, to both the people of Canada and to our country's civilian and military decision makers, that the Snowbirds are the visible and very popular custodians of our airshow heritage. By discharging their role with such singular excellence during their 32-year history, and by touching millions of lives in such a positive way, they have become, in every sense of the word, a national treasure - a treasure which simply must be preserved for future generations of Canadians to see.

F.R. Sutherland, CMM, CD
Lieutenant-General (Ret'd)
Honorary Colonel 431 (AD) Sqn