Pulling power: 15 Wing teams take on annual Hawk Pull for charity
There has to be something rather ironic about four people using a rope to pull a CT-155 Hawk trainer fighter jet 25 metres for nothing other than charity. Considering the aircraft itself is capable of 6,000 pounds of thrust and nearly breaking the sound barrier, one would think it’s kind of capable of getting that far on its own – and quickly.
But when you have the competitive spirit of the 15 Wing students, instructors and commanders meshing with the desire to raise as much money as they can for the Government of Canada Charitable Workplace Campaign, the Hawk Pull challenge makes perfect sense.
“The idea is to pull the Hawk in the fastest time you can in the allotted space and the top three teams win a prize,” explained Capt. Robert Ofstie, Hawk instructor pilot with 2-CFTS Dragon Flight and one of the event’s organizers. “It’s very competitive, there’s natural competition between the various flights, we’ve been fostering that here and they’re working hard to beat each other.” and hope nobody strains a back or leg or something or some muscles,” Ofstie said with a laugh. “So far it’s been really good. We’ve been really tight on the times and things have been close and that’s great.” Included among the teams taking part was a crew of the highest-ranked officers at 15 Wing — including Wing Cmdr. Col. Denis O’Reilly, who was joined by Deputy Wing Cmdr. Lt.-Col. Devlon Paquette, Chief Warrant Officer John Hall and Master Warrant Officer Marc Charbonneau. “Last year, I think we finished in the top three, if I remember... well, I never let the truth get in the way of a good story, anyway,” O’Reilly said with a laugh. “We’re an older group and we like to lead from the front, so if we aren’t in the lead there’s no incentive for the younger ones.”
All joking aside, the event is one of pride for everyone involved, especially given how all the funds raised — teams paid $20 to enter, and a special charity luncheon was also held later in the day — went to a great cause.
“It’s all about the charities and giving back to the community so it’s nice with what we do every day,” said O’Reilly, briefly interrupted as another example of the aircraft they were pulling suddenly roared just overhead. “Towing a Hawk kind of connects us to the root of what we do every day... and healthy competition raises the bar for everyone when it comes to fitness and unit morale. It builds a sense of community when you do stuff like this, a bigger sense of team.”
In total, the 15 Wing United Way campaign is aiming to raise $40,000 for the year — and they rarely miss their target. “We’re extremely busy as it is, so everyone who is raising funds for this is doing it on their own time, so I’m extremely proud and impressed with the efforts of the team,” O’Reilly said.