What a day in Fredericton! The low pressure system and cold front that caused us to cease operations early yesterday was long gone by the time this morning rolled around. Today presented with light winds, clear skies, bright sun and puffy cotton all clouds. It also provided a bit of relief from the scorching humidity of last week.

Due to excellent media coverage yesterday, the crowds came out in droves to see the pretty yellow airplanes.

Dolores Furlong, an enthusiastic young lady in her sixties, stood watching at the sidelines as the planes came and went. Watching, that is, until she saw the Harvard perform a battle break off runway 33. The steep pitch up and bank convinced her on the spot to sponsor the aircraft and take to the skies herself. Having once taken flying lessons, she eagerly clambered into the big ol Harvard. Upon her return to terra firma she exclaimed, “What a wonderful thing, to be able to go up in these vintage aircraft!”

Amongst the 8 sponsored rides today, 94-year-old Frank Jackson had to have been the oldest. But he was also special for another reason: he brought with him his flight training records from the BCATP, which showed that he graduated number one in the very first class of Cornell students in Canada. Don’t let his age deceive you though – this spry young fella still has an eye for the ladies! Although he was all smiles after the flight, the first sight of a Cornell after all those years brought this grown man to tears. It was absolutely our honor to be able to take this veteran, to whom we owe so much, back in time aboard one of our humble aircraft.

All told, it was another ordinary extraordinary day on the road with Yellow Wings. Many thanks to our hosts at Capital Airways, in particular Jerry and Nick, for their great hospitality.

Tomorrow we are off to Halifax, where this weekend’s event will be held at the Shell Aerocentre on Saturday.