By John Crook, EAA 1203173, Salmon Arm Flying Club, Salmon Arm, British Columbia
My wife and I moved to Salmon Arm, British Columbia, in 2019 to a small house under the approaches to Salmon Arm Regional Airport. Each morning as we got used to the sound of flocks of Canada Geese flying low and slow while honking overhead, another sound filled the air – the rhythmic drone of what initially resembled a multi-engine aircraft. As we looked up, the synchronized hum got louder. Just then, a double diamond of small single-engine aircraft flew directly overhead – a tight formation of RV homebuilt aircraft.
Shortly after I joined the Salmon Arm Flying Club Wednesday morning coffee club, the RVs turned up after flying from nearby Vernon. They broke off their tight formation after flying over the airport, and taxied to the ramp in good order. After shutting down, the pilots joined us for Timbits, coffee, and some hangar flying yarns.
As it happened the RVs are a popular feature of the Shuswap and Okanagan Valleys in B.C. They call themselves the “Vernon Snowflakes,” a highly disciplined formation flying team of 11 pilots with between 700 and 20,000 hours of flying experience. The combined flying time of the group amounts to almost 10 full years in the air as private, commercial, military, or airline-rated pilots. Seven of these intrepid flyers are EAA members. Some built their own RVs and others acquired them. Two members are building an RV-10 and an RV-7, respectively, with help from forgiving wives and sympathetic, enthusiastic friends.
The Snowflakes fleet is a mix of taildraggers, tandem seaters, side-by-siders, and tricycle designs, including:
- RV-4 C-GEAU Chuck Ross
- RV-6A C-GRBK Rob Kennett
- RV-7A C-FUXI Franz Fux, EAA 708373
- RV-7A C-FBJV John Swallow
- RV-9A C-GLGG Steve Swallow
- RV-7A C-FRVJ Stuart McLean, EAA 1028568
- RV-8 C-FIFF Ron Townson, EAA 9000599
- RV-4 C-GWYR Hammy McClymont, EAA 525033
- RV-9A C-GVYT Steve Foord, EAA 1311765
- RV-6A C-GDMF Dave Fish, EAA 700860
- RV-9A C-FAJO Mike Hewson, EAA 1479475
Founding of the Vernon Snowflakes
The Snowflakes started flying formation in the autumn of 2003. There were initially three pilots — Chuck Ross, Larry Williams, and Rob Kennett. They were joined two years later by Stan Nelson, Roman Rotach, and Franz Fux. Chuck, Rob, and Franz are still active in the group.
The name Snowflakes was suggested by Stan’s wife when someone made the somewhat disparaging remark that the team thought it was the internationally renowned Canadian aerobatic team, the Snowbirds. The logo for the snowflake was developed by Roman, and was based loosely on a plaque seen at an airport, possibly Fredericton, in 2009 when Stan, Roman, and Rob participated in the cross-Canada flight to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada.
Things became a lot more organized when John Swallow joined and began to lead the group. John served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) flying the superior, Canadian-built, and Orenda-powered CF-86 Sabres in Germany. He was selected for the Golden Centennaires (RCAF’s contribution to Canada’s Centennial celebrations in 1967), the first formation team to fly the Canadair CT-114 Tutors before they formed as the Snowbirds. The Snowbirds fly the Tutors to this day.
Flying Program
The Snowflakes practice two or three times a week, summer and winter. Practice flights take them to various airports in the Okanagan Valley and throughout the southern B.C. interior. The job of leading the flights is shared amongst the members as they practice flying different positions in the formation. The team appears regularly at community events like the Vernon Winter Festival and Salmon Arm Fall Fair.
The Snowflakes are well enough known in the Okanagan Valley and Shuswap Lake area that they are invited to fly over major community events. First among these is Remembrance Day, November 11 (Veterans Day in the U.S.). The challenge is timing. Community Remembrance Day services are miles apart so arrival times for the 11 a.m. services must be planned carefully. Last year nine aircraft flew over Cenotaphs in eight communities to remember and honour Canada’s war dead.
The Snowflakes also fly salutes for veterans celebrating significant birthdays. They have also flown memorial flights for fellow pilots who have gone west, often with the “missing man” element.
Videos
Brad Armstrong, pilot, aircraft owner, and friend of the Snowflakes, enjoys making videos of their flights. Examples from his YouTube Channel “letsflyinter” include:
Many Snowflakes pilots are well into retirement after careers as commercial or airline pilots spanning the world, bush pilots in Canada’s north, or serving in the RCAF. Although they pride themselves in their close formation flying, they are a fun bunch who take flying seriously, but they tend to be a bit goofy on the ground. Some of this tomfoolery comes out in their videos.
Travels
Four of the Snowflakes made it to AirVenture at Oshkosh in 2019, but it was not your average arrival. Steve Foord, Chuck Ross, Rob Kennett, and Hammy McClymont left Vernon on Friday, July 19, and arrived at Wittman Regional Airport on Monday, July 22. They would have made it by the Sunday, but rain made parking on the grass at OSH untenable, so they had to camp 35 miles away at Wautoma on Sunday night and fly into the massive event on Monday. Camping at OSH was okay and they were lucky not to get rained on.
If you make it to the interior of British Columbia, you’ll find a long aviation history going back 100 years including the first flight over the Rockies with a stop in Vernon, and several early but still active flying clubs which house vintage aircraft and ultralights. A jewel in the valley just north of Kelowna International Airport is the newly opened, purpose-built KF Centre For Excellence – Okanagan Aerospace & Aviation Museum with its airworthy de Havilland Mosquito and a restored Hawker Tempest which may fly soon, along with innovative displays.
When visiting, keep your eyes to the sky. You might just see the Snowflakes passing by.