A CF-188 Hornet jet soars through Kamloops skies.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Angus Tsang

The skies over Kamloops boomed with the thundering sounds of two military jets as residents gathered to paid their respects on a dreary Remembrance Day on Sunday.

While some residents attended a Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph at Riverside Park downtown on Lorne Street, many others parked their vehicles at the Fulton Field Park near the airport to watch a pair of CF-18 jets from the 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron in Cold Lake, Alberta take to the skies just before 11 a.m. on Nov. 11.

“I definitely felt it in my head, the jets were going at almost sonic speed and that boom was just rattling my ears,” said Kamloops photographer Angus Tsang. “Those with high sensitivities to noise would need ear muffs.”

Tsang was one of numerous onlookers on a popular dog walking path near the airport who stopped to take in the sights and sounds of the spectacular homage. 

A Royal Canadian Air Force military jet flies through blue skies over Kamloops.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Angus Tsang

Every year the Royal Canadian Air Force conducts flypasts using various models of aircraft for Remembrance Day commemorations in select cities across the country which typically includes Kamloops, but this year the aircraft was different.

In previous years CT-155 Hawks would fly over the tournament capital but the aircraft was retired from flying service in March.

The Hawk was the main plane used by the 419 Squadron the late Kamloops-born pilot John Fulton was the founding commanding officer of, according to the Bomber Commander Museum Archives.

Fulton, nicknamed Moose, was a highly decorated pilot who served in the Royal Air Force in England in 1934 and completed a tour of operations with 99 Squadron in the Second World War.

The third Royal Canadian Air Force bomber squadron, Squadron 419, was formed in 1941 and Moose was appointed its commanding officer.

In July 1942, Fulton and his crew went to Hamburg on a raid and were taken down by enemy fighters. They crashed into the sea and were never found.

A CF-188 Hornet jet with the Royal Canadian Air Force lifts off from the Kamloops airport on Remembrance Day.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Angus Tsang

For over two decades the Hawk was the Canadian military’s advanced jet training aircraft.

Designed in the 1970s, the Hawks no longer meet the need of in-air training and are now at the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering in Borden, Ontario being used as maintenance trainers for aircraft technicians.

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For Tsang, photographing the Hawks sparked his passion for aviation photography and he has since taken in other air shows to hone his craft.

“I thought maybe I should do this more often and started gaining more experience,” he said. “I love learning the histories behind the aircraft, there is always more to learn.”

This year CF-188 Hornet jets blasted overhead. The powerful jets are used for many operations including air defence, ground attacks, training and aerobatic demonstrations, according to the Canadian government website.

READ MORE: Kamloops D-Day veteran, 104, reflects on wars past and present

The jets are 17.07 metres long, have a wingspan of 12.31 metres and a maximum speed of Mach 1.8.

The CF-188 has a spotlight on the left side of its nose to identify other aircraft during night missions and a false canopy painted under the fuselage to disorient enemy aircraft.

The aircraft is a variant of the American F/A-18 Hornet manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, and the first ones were delivered to Canada in 1982. Production of the craft stopped in 1988. The jets are located at military bases in Bagotville, Quebec and Cold Lake, Alberta.

Check out Tsang's Instagram for more photography. 

A military jet leaves Kamloops airport on Remembrance Day.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Angus Tsang

This Royal Canadian Air Force jet idled on the tarmac at Kamloops airport.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Angus Tsang

This CF-188 Hornet jet blasted through skies over Kamloops on Remembrance Day.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Angus Tsang

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