HAWK ONE SABRE

The Vintage Wings of Canada “Hawk One” Sabre is was dedicated to Squadron leader Fern Villeneuve who was the first team lead of the famous Golden Hawks air demonstration team created in 1959 to celebrate the 50th or golden anniversary of the first powered flight in Canada. Hawk One was painted in those striking markings and flown on the 100th anniversary in 2009 and continued to fly on the airshow circuit until 2018.

The history of the North American F-86 Sabre (and its variants like the Canadair Sabre) is closely tied to the beginnings of the Cold War and famously with the Korean War battles with Russian MiGs. The Sabre, a swept wing, single seat air superiority fighter has long been recognized as one of the finest fighter aircraft of all time and the Sabre 5 and Sabre 6 models built by Canadair at their Montreal plant are considered the most capable of all Sabres due to their Canadian-built Orenda engines. Of the more than 9,500 Sabres constructed worldwide, more than 1,800 were built in Canada in six different variants, four of which saw operational service with the RCAF.

The Canadair Sabre saw service both in Canada and with 12 squadrons at Royal Canadian Air Force stations in Europe as part of a large NATO commitment. The most spectacular paint scheme ever to grace the already graceful lines of the Sabre was the livery of the RCAF's precision aerobatic team, the Golden Hawks. The Golden Hawks were created in 1959 to honour the 50th anniversary of powered flight in Canada and flew for five airshow seasons. The Vintage Wings of Canada Sabre continues to wear the same metallic gold paint scheme that was used to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada throughout 2009.

In 2018, Hawk One was sold to Jetfighter-3 Llc, Melbourne Beach, FL with c/r N386BB.