I was very appreciative that they did!

The Sandman and the F-15Cs from 173rd Fighter Wing are understood to have been fully retired at the time of this post.

When the F-15C landed in London, Ontario, it had less than 20 flight hours remaining on its airframe. This would be its final airshow. The Sandman was one of the prominent highlights of the static display at Airshow London this year.

Moments later, the B-17 crashed, but the crew that bailed survived. Kingsley was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on April 9, 1945. The Sandman stenciled on the nose of the F-15C is a reference to the B-17 Kingsley flew on that day.

The Sandman paint honours David Kingsley, who's B-17 in June 1944 was riddled by enemy flak. Kingsley gave the order to bail, but realised one of his injured men was missing a parachute. Kingsley removed his own parachute for his crewmate and helped the man out of the aircraft.

The Fighter Wing sent 2 F-15s this year, one D model and one C model for static display. However, on arrival day, they gave us all a nice show working the pattern.

Antonov aircraft have a knack for drawing huge crowds at the airport every time one comes around. It was wonderful to be able to finally catch a new type in the air, and to really hear the engines roar as it effortlessly climbed over our heads.

In 2022, Antonov Airlines created nose art on several of their aircraft, named after cities that had been attacked by Russia. This particular aircraft was one of them, and was named Be Brave Like Mykolaiv.

While I had photographed the AN-225 Mriya several years back when it made its second visit to Toronto during the pandemic delivering PPE, I had never had a chance to photograph an AN-124 in the air, until this moment.

Thank you!

That was, until Airshow London 2025 came to the rescue and VRC-40 Rawhides sent 162167-54 to the show. On a very windy day, the Greyhound beat up the pattern with multiple gear up, gear down passes over us, and gave us a proper greeting. I was satisfied!

Even better, they joined the twilight demonstration as well, leading to picturesque sepia toned displays and heighted the various lighting on the all-black aircraft. The PC-12 can be used for cargo, transport, and a multitude of special missions.

While I would have preferred without sticks in the way, sometimes that is nature for you. So here is the scene as I saw it. Did you enjoy this series? Tomorrow, the top 10 countdown for aviation moments begins to wrap up the year!