Take Off to Cold Lake for Maple Flag

If you’ve ever imagined yourself as a fighter pilot, you have to go to Cold Lake during Maple Flag.

Maple Flag is an air combat exercise held annually at 4 Wing Cold Lake Canadian Air Force Base. Air forces from around the world converge at the base to participate in simulated air combat training, reconnaissance and air support operations.

Although Maple Flag is a military exercise, for one day the public is given access to get an up close look at some of the fighter jets and transport planes and talk to the pilots, mechanics and support personnel.

My friends and I walked through the cavernous interiors of Hercules transport planes from New Zealand and France and marveled at the complexity of the cockpit controls.

We stood beside a 1000 pound bomb as an armament specialist explained the difference between smart and dumb bombs and I got to see AMRAAM and Sidewinder missiles that I’ve previously only heard about in movies or on the news.

By far the coolest part of the day was sitting in the cockpit of a Royal Netherlands Air Force fighter jet. I’ve never seen so many buttons and switches in such a tiny space. It’s also a very tight squeeze getting in and out.

If you’re interested in planes or just want to do something out of the ordinary, take advantage of the opportunity to get up close to military aircraft you wouldn’t normally be able to get anywhere near.