Fighter pilots training over Kelowna

KELOWNA – Half a dozen of the Royal Canadian Air Force's elite fighter planes are over Kelowna today.

Sonic booms and roaring engines can be heard across the valley as six RCAF students from Cold Lake trained in six McDonnell Douglas CF-18 fighter jets.

Kelowna International Airport spokesperson Jasmine Patrick says the students and the planes arrived yesterday, July 12 and were at various locations over the Okanagan throughout the day.

"They're not (required) to tell us where they'll be flying," she said. "They were here overnight and will be leaving at the end of the day."

138 CF-18's were purchased in 1982 at a cost of roughly $4 billion. They were updated to current NATO standands in 2006 and 2010.

Airport operations have not been impacted.

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