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.
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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.
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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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