Golden Hawks

This article is about the aerobatic team. For the sports team, see Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.

Golden Hawks
The Golden Hawks, 12 May 1959
Active	1959–1964
Country	Canada
Branch	Royal Canadian Air Force
Role	Aerobatic flight demonstration team
Size	7 Aircraft
Garrison/HQ	RCAF Station Chatham, RCAF Station Trenton
Colors	Gold
Aircraft flown
Fighter	Sabre

Hawk One performing at the Portage-la-Prairie airshow, 2009

Golden Hawk Sabre displayed at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Hamilton, Ontario.

The Golden Hawks were a Canadian military aerobatic flying team established in 1959 to celebrate the 35th anniversary or the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the "Golden" 50th anniversary of Canadian flight, which began with the AEA Silver Dart in 1909.

Background

Initially a six-plane team was envisioned as performing for only one year with the Canadair Sabre 5, but the Golden Hawks were so popular after their 1959 show season that the team was re-established for 1960, again under team leader S/L Fern Villeneuve. They continued performing for three more seasons until they were disbanded, ostensibly for financial reasons, on February 7, 1964, having flown a total of 317 shows across North America.

Not only did the team perform standard loops and rolls in very tight formation, they also introduced their own trademark maneuvers. One of the Golden Hawks' signature stunts was a low-level flypast by one of the solos with his canopy open, waving at the spectators. The Golden Hawks pioneered the bomb burst maneuver and a two-aircraft head-on coordinated solo program which virtually every military team since has adopted in various ways. The legacy of the Golden Hawks lives on with the Canadian Forces Snowbirds and the Hawk One demonstration team estabished at Vintage Wings of Canada in 2009 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada.

Tributes and survivors

In Oakville, Ontario, 540 Golden Hawks Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron is named for the air demonstration team.

During the 1980s, 851 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron based in Prince Edward County, Ontario owned a Sabre that at one time was used by the Golden Hawks. From 1961 to 1977 the same Sabre was on display at Pinecrest school in Bloomfield, Ontario. The Sabre currently resides in Barrie, Ontario.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, Hawk One, a fully refurbished Canadair Sabre 5 in Golden Hawk colours owned by Vintage Wings of Canada helped to celebrate the Centennial of Flight in Canada. Hawk One continues to perform in air shows and flypasts across Canada.

In 2009, T-33 "133500" Golden Hawk Support Aircraft was transferred to London International Airport and is now with the Jet Aircraft Museum - The T-33 Foundation of Canada.^{[citation needed]}

Accidents and incidents

• March 12, 1959 - A Golden Hawks Sabre crashed into a wooded area near RCAF Station Chatham while practising a co-solo routine, killing F/L Sam Eisler.

• August 10, 1959 - A Golden Hawks Sabre landing at McCall Airfield, Calgary, Alberta, with the rest of the team collided with a Piper Pacer while turning base leg about two miles west of the field. The Sabre pilot, F/L Jeb Kerr, and two occupants of the Pacer were killed. The Pacer had not been authorized to enter the control zone.

• 1959 - A solo Golden Hawk Sabre piloted by F/L G.T. Price was struck by a bird over Bedford Basin, Halifax, Nova Scotia shattering the windscreen and canopy. Although the pilot's helmet visor was torn away and his vision was temporarily impaired, F/L Price was able to land safely with the assistance of F/L R.E. Annis, the other solo pilot.

• February 22, 1961 - Golden Hawks Sabre pilot F/O Jim McCann was killed during formation practice after the right wing of his aircraft was severely damaged during a collision with another Sabre.

• April 1961 - Golden Hawks pilot F/O Bill Stewart ejected at low altitude during a practice routine near Chatham because of an engine malfunction.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Dempsey, Daniel V. A Tradition of Excellence: Canada's Airshow Team Heritage.Victoria, BC: High Flight Enterprises, 2002 ISBN 0-9687817-0-5; Second edition 2007. ISBN 978-0-9687817-1-5.
• Fast, Beverley G. Snowbirds: Flying High, Canada's Snowbirds Celebrate 25 Years. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Lapel Marketing & Associates Inc., 1995. ISBN 0-96993127-0-7.