A Chat with Lt. Matthew Strong on the Atlantic Canada International Air Show in Summerside (2015)

ATLANTIC CANADA INTERNATIONAL AIR SHOW August 22 – 23 2015

Joey: Lt Mathew Strong when did you get interested in performing in airshows?

Lt. Matthew Strong: I guess, at a young age. I started going to airshows when I was a kid. My dad use to take me to airshows and I really enjoyed it. Ever since then, I have been really interested in aviation. I was an Air Cadet growing up as well. I joined the military about five years ago and the opportunity came up to become involved with the aviation team and I am really enjoying it.

Joey: Who did you idolize growing up and did you have a family member in the air force?

Lt. Matthew Strong: My father was in the air force for thirty two years and just retired last year. I am pretty proud of that. As for who I idolized, I guess when I was a kid there use to be a guy named Capt. Steven “Bunt” Nierlich and he was a kind of idol.

Joey: When it comes flying the CF-18 Hornet, how much training goes into each and every performance?

Lt. Matthew Strong: So our pilot and groundcrew practice for two and a half weeks at the beginning of the season. It's every day, two times a day, two flights a day and there is also the training our pilots go though just to become a Hornet pilot a CF-18 Hornet, that training takes about five years from start to finish.

Joey: How does it make you feel when you are performing in an airshow for new fans?

Lt. Matthew Strong: I am not the pilot. Our pilot feels like he is giving back to the community. The entertainment value of the performance he provides really makes him feel good. It feels good for him to interact with Canadians and put on a good show! The rest of the team is really proud of him too! We all are very proud to be in the military and to serve Canadians. We really enjoy that.

Joey: What kind of maneuvers will you be doing and did you learn any new ones?

Lt. Matthew Strong: At the start of the season he had to learn some new moves but he mastered those and he learned them very well. All the moves he does are all scripted out and they practice them a lot and he is really good at what he does!

Joey: What made you want to dedicate your life to an airshow?

Lt. Matthew Strong: Serving Canada and serving Canadians is something I've always aspired to do with my life and I am really proud to do it.

Joey: How does it make you feel when you are flying?

Lt. Matthew Strong: I am not a pilot myself but it's an exhilarating experience and CAPTAIN DENIS ''CHEECH'' BEAULIEU tells me that it's an extremely exhilaratingexperience. There's a lot of adrenalin when you go fast. When you are doing a lot of those maneuvers it's pretty physically demanding on him but he's pretty good at what he does.

Joey: Do you practice any rituals before your performance?

Lt. Matthew Strong: CHEECH likes to listen to Metallica before each performance when he is at the other airport in Charlottetown. Before this show when he was getting dressed, he was listening to their black album, then he rocked out in the air.

Reporter – Joey Blacquierre