REGINA – A Saskatchewan proposal went sky high on Friday when a member of the Snowbirds flying team asked his long-time girlfriend to marry him mid-flight.
During the Snowbirds home opener in Moose Jaw, Sask., Capt. Greg Hume-Powell proposed to girlfriend Emily Simpson while he flew in air show.
“To be able to do a proposal like I did is quite an honour to be able to do it while being on the Snowbird team and representing the country,” Hume-Powell said.
“It’s kind of a nice privilege that I was able to do.”
The proposal happened when some of the pilots performed a regular Snowbirds maneuver and drew a heart in the sky.
“I’m kind of off-stage with the four other Snowbird pilots and setting up the next maneuver,” Hume-Powell said.
“We had about a window of 30 seconds to get something out on the radio. I stole the radios and made my proposal to Emily over the loudspeakers.”
Hume-Powell waited until he was on the ground to hear Simpson’s answer and give her the engagement ring.
“I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to say no but I obviously couldn’t get distracted from obviously the important job of flying an air show,” Hume-Powell said.
Hume-Powell said Emily was surprised by the proposal and ended up saying ‘yes.’
“The funny thing about it was a couple of years ago, she told me she would say no if I ever proposed to her in public at an air show,” Hume-Powell said.
The couple has been together for about six-and-half years and live in Regina.
They first met while working as lift operators in Whistler, B.C. around eight years ago
“When I was on deployment off of the coast of Somalia, when I was flying Sea Kings, we were kind of pen pals for a while,” Hume Powell said.
“I then came back to Canada and we kind of sparked up something.”
Not only was Hume-Powell’s flight special due to the proposal, it was also his first official show with the Snowbirds.
Hume-Powell said being on the Snowbirds has been a childhood dream ever since he went to a show on the west coast.
“We have a great sense of teamwork on the team and they were nothing but supportive and they were actually quite excited when I said I wanted to propose to my girlfriend,” Hume-Powell said.
The Snowbirds, which are an are based out of Moose Jaw, are a military aerobatics squadron.
Hume-Powell said the Snowbirds will be heading out for its air show season on Wednesday with 24-26 members on the show team.
The team travels throughout Canada and the United States during the season.
There are about 80 people who work with the squadron full time.
The newly-engaged couple has yet to pick a date but Hume-Powell said the Snowbirds will definitely be part of the big event.
“It’s a big family, the team, and the entire military is a big family for that matter,” Hume-Powell said.
Greg Hume-Powell has also submitted photos to Your Saskatchewan. Check out his work below.
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