Harmon Field Day Aircraft

This page is from a heritage partnered project. It was written in 1998 by students from Stephenville Integrated High School and edited by their teachers. It has not been vetted by the heritage website's academic editor.

In the 1990s Stephenville hosted Harmon Field Day every two years. During this event aircraft from all over the world visited the town.

The F-16 and The CF-18A Hornet

Two of the most famous aircraft to frequent Harmon Field Day festivities were the F-16 and CF-18A Hornet. Canada's newest fighter aircraft at the time, the F-16, was originally designed for an air superiority day fighter. Its capabilities were subsequently enhanced to make it one of the best all-weather fighters. This aircraft has outstanding manoeuvrability and agility. It can obtain speeds above mach 2 and can fly as high as 50,000 feet. The CF-18A Hornet is a single seat twin-engine with all weather weapons systems. The Canadian Forces first received this aircraft in 1982. The Hornet was usually stationed in CFB Cold Lake and CFB Bagotville. It could reach heights of 50,000 feet. It also had nine external weapon stations with a capability of up to 7,710 kg of mixed ordinance.

The KC-10A, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, KC-135, and the C-5A Galaxy

Some of the bigger aircraft that appeared during the 1996 Harmon Field Day were the KC-10A, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, KC-135 and C-5A Galaxy. The KC-10A first entered service in 1981 as a duel-role freighter and tanker. This aircraft was capable of long range deployments by providing both fuel and "mother ship" navigation capabilities and could fly at speeds of 610 mph. The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was the world's most popular and widely used turbine-powered heavy transport. There were more 2,000 of these versatile, four-engine aircraft in more than 50 versions, all produced by Lockheed Systems Company. This aircraft had many uses. It was the largest ever to land and take off on an aircraft carrier without using a tail hook arrest and for being equipped with skis and wheels. The largest cargo aircraft in the world, the C-5A Galaxy, could carry every piece of equipment in the U.S. Army's inventory. When teamed with the C-141 Starlifter, the United States could carry fully-equipped, battle ready divisions to any point in the world on short notice. The C-5A could carry its cargo over 6,400 miles.

Visiting Helicopters

A few helicopters visited as well. Two of them were the Boeing Vertol CH-113 Labrador and the CH-124 Sea King. The Labrador was used exclusively in search and rescue. It held twin engines and could stay airborne for five hours. It also had a top speed of 240 km/hr. Labrador helicopters were in service from coast to coast at CFB Gander, CFB Trenton and CFB Comox. The CH-124 Sea King was a twin turbine powered anti-submarine warfare chopper (ASW) which operated off the flight deck of a destroyer escort vessel. This aircraft could carry a crew of four and 840 lbs.

During the number of Harmon Field Days held, numerous types of aircraft visited. Most of these aircraft were here during the operational days of Harmon Air Force Base.

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