Snowbirds Not Coming To Windsor, But Blue Angels To Fly Over Downtown Detroit, Tuesday

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File photo from Windsor’s 2009 Air Show

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds air demonstration team won’t be coming to Windsor as part of this round of Canada’s cross-country salute to front-line workers fighting COVID-19 but the United States Navy’s Blue Angels will be flying over downtown Detroit on Tuesday.

The Snowbirds announced on April 29th that their signature nine-jet formation would fly over cities across the country starting in Nova Scotia and working west across Canada.

In response to a question about the Snowbirds coming to Windsor, the Snowbirds’ official Twitter account said a trip to Windsor was not feasible.

“We cannot make it everywhere in this vast country,” Snowbirds officials said on Twitter. “This is not something we do lightly however we are limited by fuel range and are tied to specific locations for overnight in order to keep our 22-member team safe.”

“Travelling during a pandemic is not as simple as normal times,” the Snowbirds account said. “We have a squadron member from Windsor and would love to make it there however it just wasn’t feasible this time around.”

We have a squadron member from Windsor and would love to make it there however it just wasn’t feasible this time around. We hope to get back sometime soon

— CF Snowbirds (@CFSnowbirds) May 11, 2020

“We hope to get back sometime soon,” they said.

The Snowbirds flew over London on Sunday and their route took them north to Barrie. Windsor was not included on that route.

The US Navy’s Blue Angels will however be flying a proposed route that takes them over downtown Detroit and the Detroit River on Tuesday, the demonstration announced Monday.

The proposed route indicates the Blue Angels will cross the downtown Detroit area twice between 11:30am and 11:51am on Tuesday, May 12th, 2020.

Graphic updates: Your #BlueAngels are heading your way #Detroit, #Chicago and #Indianapolis!

Note: previous posts list overhead times for Indy in CDT. Below is in EDT. Also, the Chicago route ends along the waterfront.#AmericaStrong#InThisTogether#HealthcareHeroes pic.twitter.com/YDIVC49pHI

— Blue Angels (@BlueAngels) May 11, 2020

The Blue Angels say the times are subject to change and ask residents to observe the flyover “from the safety of their home-quarantine”. They say residents should “refrain from travelling to see the flyover” and that “social distancing should be practiced at all times.”

The Blue Angels are seen in this official photo provided by the U.S. Navy (“The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.”)