What’s New at the 2026 Abbotsford Airshow
The 2026 Abbotsford International Airshow (August 7, 8 & 9) brings the strongest Red Bull lineup in the show’s history: Aaron Fitzgerald’s aerobatic Bo 105 helicopter, Canadian air racing legend Pete McLeod, and the Red Bull Skydive Team, all on one flight line. Add to that Tom Larkin’s pyro-equipped MiniJet during the Friday Twilight Show, the U.S. Navy E/A-18 Growler Demo Team, and a 200-drone Friday-night show, and you have one of the most varied programs we’ve ever put together.
A bigger, faster, more unusual 2026 lineup
Every year the Abbotsford International Airshow tries to give Fraser Valley audiences something they can’t see anywhere else in Canada. The 2026 program does that on three different fronts: a Red Bull contingent that turns one weekend into a tour of the brand’s best aerial talent, a fighter-pilot-turned-MiniJet act with a fire-breathing twist, and a few smaller surprises spread across the three days.
If you came last year, expect a different tempo on the flight line. The pace is tighter, the acts are stacked closer together, and there’s a much heavier rotary, freefall, and small-jet presence than we’ve featured before. Below is everything new for 2026, in the order you’ll see it across the weekend.
Red Bull takes over the flight line
It’s rare to see two Red Bull acts at the same show. We have three.
The Red Bull Air Force is one of the most decorated aerial sports groups in the world, and the team is sending its helicopter, freestyle aerobatics, and skydive divisions to Abbotsford for 2026. The combined effect is a different kind of show: a continuous thread of high-skill, high-risk performances that runs from rotor blades to jet exhaust to canopy lines. You can watch one act, blink, and the next Red Bull pilot is already in the air.
Aaron Fitzgerald and the helicopter that breaks the rules
Aaron Fitzgerald is one of the only pilots in the world who can do sustained aerobatics in a helicopter, and his Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is one of the only civil helicopters certified to let him do it. The aircraft uses a solid titanium, rigid rotor head instead of the teetering or articulated systems found on most helicopters. That single piece of engineering is what makes loops, rolls, and backflips physically possible without tearing the airframe apart.
Fitzgerald’s resume is just as unusual as the machine. He’s a former U.S. Army 82nd Airborne paratrooper, a Medal of Valor recipient from his time as an LAPD pilot, and a working Hollywood aerial coordinator with more than 100 film and TV credits. When he hits the cyclic over Abbotsford, the routine includes vertical climbs into 360-degree backflips, full barrel rolls, nose-down pirouettes, and aggressive stalls that pivot the aircraft on its tail. None of it is computer-assisted. It’s a raw mechanical conversation between pilot and rotor.
For most spectators, this will be the first time they’ve seen a helicopter fly upside down on purpose.
Pete McLeod brings the Extra 330 back to BC
Canadian air racing fans already know Pete McLeod. He grew up in Red Lake, Ontario, took his first flight in his family’s bush plane at six weeks old, earned his pilot’s license at 16, and by 25 was racing against the world’s best in the Red Bull Air Race Master Class. He’s the first Canadian and the youngest pilot ever to qualify for that championship, with multiple podium finishes and a historic win in Las Vegas on his record.
His aircraft for 2026 is the Extra 330 LX, the Formula 1 car of aerobatic flying. It has a steel-tube fuselage, a carbon-fiber wing, and is rated for plus or minus 12 G. Its roll rate hits 420 degrees per second, faster than the human eye can fully track. Pete’s freestyle “Unlimited” routine puts all of that to work: knife-edge passes that use the fuselage itself as a wing, gyroscopic tumbling moves like the Lomcevak, vertical power loops, and high-G turns that pull visible vapor off the wingtips.
If you’ve only ever seen Pete on a Red Bull Air Race broadcast, this is a different beast. There’s no race line, no pylons, just a Canadian world-class pilot with permission to do whatever the airframe allows.
The Red Bull Skydive Team adds a non-motorized headliner
The third Red Bull act brings something to the Abbotsford program we’ve never had: a freefall and canopy display from one of the most experienced parachute teams on the planet. The Red Bull Skydive Team is built around competitive canopy pilots and wingsuit specialists who fly inches apart at speeds north of 200 km/h.
Their routine starts at altitude, often jumping from a high-altitude aircraft (and on some shows, from the Red Bull Bo 105 itself). What you’ll see from the ground is a four-stage performance: wingsuit formations slicing across the show line, low-pull demonstrations that delay parachute deployment until the last safe moment, canopy relative work that builds shapes in the sky, and a swoop landing where the pilots level off inches above the grass and slide across it at highway speeds.
It’s a useful counterweight to the jet noise. After three engine-driven acts in a row, watching three humans in nylon wings outglide everything around them resets the whole tone of the afternoon.
Tom Larkin’s MiniJet, and a Twilight Show twist
Tom “Lark” Larkin might be the most unexpected act on the 2026 schedule. He’s a former U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle pilot, a T-38 instructor, and a current major airline captain with more than 10,000 flight hours. He’s also flying one of the smallest jets in the world: the SubSonex JSX-2, better known as the MiniJet.
The aircraft weighs 500 pounds empty, runs on a PBS TJ-100 turbojet producing 250 pounds of thrust, and tops out at nearly 300 mph. It’s rated for plus or minus 6 G, and its tiny footprint lets Tom keep the entire routine right in front of the crowd. There’s no need for the long, looping turns big fighters use to come back around. The MiniJet stays “in the lap” of the audience for the whole display, with high-speed whistling passes, vertical climbs that point straight at the clouds, and short-field landings that bring the jet from 200 mph to a full stop in seconds.
What makes Tom’s story worth telling is how it started. He grew up afraid of heights and prone to motion sickness, then watched a mini-jet display at an airshow and decided to face the fear head-on. He earned his pilot’s license in 62 days. He now uses every MiniJet performance to remind kids in the audience that the thing they think they can’t do is often the thing they should try first.
The Friday Twilight Show: pyro and afterburners after dark
This is the part most people miss if they only buy a Saturday or Sunday ticket. During the Friday Night Twilight Show, Tom Larkin’s MiniJet swaps its day-flying configuration for wing-tip pyrotechnics and specialized lighting. It becomes a glowing comet trailing showers of sparks across the dusk sky.
Pair that with the North Star Drone Show, a 200-drone illuminated performance flying Friday only, and the Twilight Show is genuinely a different event from the daytime program. If you can swing it, the Friday ticket is the best value on the calendar this year.
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A few more 2026 firsts worth knowing about
While the Red Bull and MiniJet acts are the headline news, the 2026 program has a few other additions you’ll want to look out for:
– U.S. Navy E/A-18 Growler Demo Team: A first-time appearance in Abbotsford for the Navy’s premier electronic warfare aircraft, a variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet built for jamming radars and missile guidance systems. It will fly alongside the CF-18 Hornet Tac Demo for the first time at our show.
– MiG-17F Demo Team: A Soviet-era jet that almost never appears in Canada. Expect deep cuts of Cold War silhouette and unusual engine note compared to anything else on the schedule.
– Melissa Burns: At 22, she became the youngest woman ever named to the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team. She’s one of the few performers on the 2026 lineup flying piston-driven aerobatics at a competition level.
– Expanded interactive S.T.E.M. Zone: New flight simulators, soldering stations, and Lego builds, plus the return of the Aviation Workshop for Women.
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds and the Canadian Forces SkyHawks Parachute Team are both back, anchoring the program the way they have for years.
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How to plan your weekend
The 2026 Airshow runs Friday August 7 through Sunday August 9 at Abbotsford International Airport. Insiders accessed pre-sale tickets in early April, and general public tiers are moving quickly. If you want to see the most new content in a single day, Friday is the answer this year: it’s the only day with the North Star Drone Show, and the only day Tom Larkin’s MiniJet flies its pyro-equipped Twilight routine.
For the full performer roster, schedule, and ticket options, head to our tickets page] or the 2026 performers list. Park early, bring sun protection, and look up.
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FAQs
What are the dates of the 2026 Abbotsford Airshow?
The 2026 Abbotsford International Airshow runs August 7, 8 & 9, 2026 at the Abbotsford International Airport in British Columbia.
Who are the Red Bull performers at Abbotsford 2026?
Three Red Bull acts are confirmed for 2026: Aaron Fitzgerald flying the aerobatic Bo 105 helicopter, Canadian air racer Pete McLeod in the Extra 330 LX, and the Red Bull Skydive Team performing wingsuit, canopy, and swoop-landing routines.
Is the Friday Twilight Show different from the Saturday and Sunday shows?
Yes. The Friday show includes the 200-drone North Star Drone Show and Tom Larkin’s pyrotechnic MiniJet routine, both of which only appear on the Friday program.
Are the Snowbirds flying at Abbotsford 2026?
Yes. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds are a confirmed performer for the 2026 show.