AERO Gatineau-Ottawa pilots getting ready to take off, here's how they prepared

From the cockpit to the classroom Pilots with the Snowbirds and Red Arrows dropped by classrooms at CHEO today to bring smiles to kids. CTV's Dave Charbonneau reports.

The Royal Canadian Airforce is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and to mark the occasion, Canadian, British and U.S. pilots will fly together at the AERO Gatineau-Ottawa.

Pilots from the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, British Royal Air Force Red Arrows, and the Canadian Snowbirds will mesmerize sky watchers with their flying skills, as they perform for the first time in the Ottawa-Gatineau region this weekend. CTV Morning Live looks into the training and coordination between the teams while getting ready to hit the skies.

Wing Commander, Adam Collins with the Red Arrows, told CTV Morning Live the secret to their maneuvers in the sky is all about training. He says the pilots in all three teams are well experienced, citing frontline and different airplane experience.

"It starts off as a building block approach, the basic maneuvering, looping and rolling with a small number of aircrafts and then we gradually build a complexity of aircrafts," he said. "So, a lot of training, a lot of time (and) a lot of hard work."

Maj. Jeff Downie with the Thunderbirds adds that the training process required months of coordination and scheduling between the three teams. He says representing the three nations together is "very special" for all the participating pilots.

Downie notes that the three shows slightly differ between one another when it comes to how they’re put together, the number of aircrafts and the time for maneuvers.

Captain Richard MacDougall with the Snowbirds says while joining the military as a pilot isn't an easy task, aircraft enthusiasts should never give up on their dream when it comes to becoming a pilot and participating in such a show.

"It took me a couple of attempts to join the military as a pilot, so had I given up after the first time, I wouldn't be here today," MacDougall added.

Downie also has a little advice for the nation’s future pilots and it's to find your passion and chase your dream.

The AERO Gatineau-Ottawa show is expected to take off Friday, with an airshow between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday will have similar shows including both a ground and an airshow. The ground show will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The airshow will start at 11:30 a.m. with the Thunderbirds, then the Red Arrows around midday and the final performance by the Snowbirds around 4:30 p.m.

Around 25,000 people are expected to be watching over the weekend.

More information is available at aerogatineauottawa.com.