Preparing for the big parachute exhibition

The Canadian Armed Forces parachute team the Skyhawks will be front and centre at Canadian Armed Forces Day celebrations Wednesday at the waterfront.

The team captain is Captain Jake Porter.

He says the team has 14 members for the North Bay show and is celebrating its 45th year of operation this year.

Captain Porter they are all about courage, dedication, teamwork and professionalism.

He says people will see the members parachute almost immediately after exiting the aircraft.

Captain Porter says they do controlled collisions.

He says people will see different formations, multiple jumpers heading straight to the earth at high speeds but they’ll break off just low enough to be thrilling but he promises you’ll also see nice safe landings.

Team member Master Corporal Jeremy Canfield says they paint a picture from the sky.

He says there’s no shortage of training they’ve undergone to prepare for shows like this one.

The Master Corporal says they have a big training camp in California with 8 jumps a day for 5 weeks.

He says everything may look dangerous but their goal is always safety.

Master Corporal Canfield says skydiving is a blast with the best part meeting the kids after.

Due to the events, Memorial Drive from Queen Street to Main Street will be closed from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m