Getting Tanked

CAPTION: Members of the 2^nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment sit around a LAV III tank Friday morning. They will be giving rides this weekend at the Atlantic Canada International Air Show this weekend.

Air Show offers more than airplanes

Ryan Quigley

Journal Pioneer

Though the Atlantic Canada International Air Show this weekend will have a lot of plane displays, they won’t be the only attraction.

The Canadian Army will be providing visitors with armoured vehicle rides during the event.

Attendees will be able to ride in one of the Canadian Army’s vehicles such as the LAV III. The 22 foot long Light Armoured Vehicle will take people along for a 5-minute ride around the fields surrounding Slemon Park.

During media day at the field, I participated in one of the rides in the gunner seat. As I climbed into the tank, the back was white, with bench seats adjacent to each other on the walls, surrounded by helmets and other gear. Over head was two hatches for viewing outside, while at directly ahead when walking in was a monitor sat attached to the wall.

Arriving into the gunner seat, I was able to poke my head out through one of two hatches, one for the turret man, one for the commander. Sitting in the seat you were surrounded by metal and a wide array of switches, levers, scopes, buttons and one joy-stick.

As I looked around, I was allowed to move the tanks top piece, with a 25 mm chain gun attached. As you moved the toggle from side to side, the top part of the tank would move, while the bottom half would continue on straight. It was a weird feeling.

As we moved from the parked position, we headed from the runway to an open field. As we drove, the ride was bumpy but had a good feel to it. Driving them in video games and watching them on TV doesn’t live up to the experience of the actual experience of moving through terrain in one of the toughest vehicles known to man.

The tank moved quickly for its size, much like a bear in full pace and was soon over.

“Pretty cool eh?” remarked a member of the crew to me.

I agreed. As we parked, one of the men in uniform greeted us, remarking to the driver, “Just like driving momma’s mini-van eh? You never forget.”

Talking to Sgt. Jim Butler of the 2^nd battalion Royal Canada Regiment said the rides have been wildly popular in the past.

“I just did Canadian Forces appreciation day in St. John’s, NFLD. and we had at least 2500 people come through for a ride. Kids were waiting in the lineup three hours just to go for a two minute ride,” he said. “I’ve done this a few times now and it’s one of the best parts of doing this job.”

They will try some different formations and maneuvers during the rides, said Butler.

“We’ll go up and have two vehicles going. We’ll make it an exciting ride for the children.”

Butler talked about how the vehicles have been used in wars such as in Afghanistan.