Sault-born CF-18 pilot, parents grateful for hometown flyover

It was a day that Major Dion Marson and his family won’t forget.

The Sault Ste. Marie native and CF-18 pilot wowed his hometown Saturday afternoon with a pair of thunderous flyovers as part of this year’s Bushplane Days.

During his special appearance over the St. Marys River, Marson — call sign “Gottem” — had a few seconds to soak in the moment by looking down and witnessing the thousands who came out to watch his performance along the waterfront.

He admitted it was hard not to crack a smile.

“It was a lot of fun for me,” he told SooToday. “It was a huge privilege and an honour to be invited to help celebrate the events that have been going on this weekend. I lived here for 18 years of my life, so it’s a very special place to me. I was happy to be able to support and see friends and family at the same time.”

Marson, a 36-year-old instructor currently posted with CFB Bagotville in Quebec, was followed by the Canadian Forces Snowbirds during yesterday’s memorable airshow festivities.

The military’s air demonstration team provided aerial tricks and formations on both sides of the border for nearly 30 minutes.

“It was great to coordinate and fly with the Snowbirds as well — a lot of them are very close friends of mine,” Marson said.

Authorized to fly over the city at 500 feet, the Sault-born pilot noted he was travelling at roughly 500 km/hour during the first of two back-to-back flyovers on Saturday, which he noted is around the minimum safe flying speed at low levels

On the second trip, his speed reached 800 km/hour — not quite breaking the sound barrier, but certainly creating a more intimate and roaring experience for observers.

According to Marson, the speed that Saultites witnessed didn’t even come close to the fighter jet’s full capabilities.

“If we’re defending our airspace and we need to perform an intercept on an aircraft that’s far away, we’ll try to go generally as quickly as we can without running out of fuel,” he explained. “It’ll be pretty close to around the 1,000 km/hour range.”

“In certain scenarios, we’ll fly the F-18 much closer to its limits, getting up to the 1,500 km/hour range,” he added. “So, I was below half the speed limit of what the F-18 is capable of in total.”

Marson estimated that during an average 90-minute flight, the jet will burn around 13,000 pounds of fuel.

“We offset those costs and help the environment by doing as much training as possible in our simulators,” he said. “A huge advantage of the future F-35 is that a lot of quality training will be done in state-of-the-art simulators without requiring fuel to even be burned.”

Watching from below in the VIP section at Clergue Park, Marson’s parents Dionisia and Paul couldn’t help but be filled with a tremendous sense of pride for their son.

“Whenever I see him fly, it gives me tears and goosebumps,” Dionisia said. “I don’t know how to describe it; I just can’t believe it’s him flying that jet. He’s worked super hard and continues to work super hard.”

“It was fantastic,” Paul added. “They had the Snowbird commentators right beside us, so they were giving us narration as the Snowbirds were performing. They introduced Dion as he flew down the river. It was great, and a beautiful day too.”

On Friday morning, Marson was spotted taking his jet for a cruise over the downtown core ahead of yesterday’s big performance.

His parents told SooToday he made the most of his visit by flying over a number of particular areas, including their house, as well as their camp in Batchawana Bay.

“His fly pass here was about a minute from the airport to our house — then he couldn’t land right away because the Snowbirds were going to take off,” Dionisia explained. “So, he went out to camp at Batchawana. People were lined up on the beach with Canadian flags as Dion flew by, and they got a nice view of him.”

"He flew right over our house and then went to the Legion to give respect to the veterans," Paul added. "As a salute to our veterans, he wiggled his wings to give a little wave and salute."

While Friday morning and Saturday afternoon were both filled with fun and leisure, Marson noted his regular work out east is much more serious.

As a Major, he takes on more of an instructional and supervisory role through a number of diverse training scenarios out of CFB Bagotville. He’s in the air roughly three to four times a week, while the Junior and Captain pilots he oversees will fly almost every day.

“It’s about making sure that Canada is safe at all times, and if anything were to happen, we’re ready for that call,” he said. “The whole goal of flying is to get more sets and reps, just like any training environment. The majority of what we do and the reason we have F-18s is less so for airshows and more so for insuring the defence of Canada and our allies.”

Years before earning his status as a Major, Marson had served overseas back in 2015 as a junior wingman — just shortly after graduating. Deployed in Kuwait, he performed operations in Iraq and Syria. Some of his work even involved dealing with ISIS.

It’s safe to say his parents are relieved to have him back on Canadian soil, both of whom are proud of the efforts he’s made for his colleagues at home.

“I was terrified during that time,” Dionisia said. “Since he’s been back, he’s trying to make a difference for his squadron and make some changes there to make life a little easier for all of them. They can tell he’s a good person — not just a good pilot, but a good person. That’s what makes us proud.”

Marson’s parents noted that Dion likely would have never entered this line of work had it not been for his older brother Taio, who is currently a Chinook helicopter pilot in Petawawa.

“If it wasn’t for Taio, Dion probably would have picked a different career,” Paul said. “He’s the one that went to Royal Military College and studied in computers for pilot. I remember Dion saying, ‘I want to do what Taio’s doing, but I don’t know if the military is for me.’ He became a new man — filled with confidence.”

In case the last few days weren’t thrilling already, the weekend was an extra special one for the Marson family as Dion, his wife, and their two-year-old son revealed to Dionisia and Paul that they’re expecting their second child.

“We found out Friday night — we’re super excited,” Dionisia said. “This will be our fourth grandchild.”

Hours after his memorable hometown flyover on Saturday, Marson joined the Snowbirds for a meet-and-greet at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre.

He took photos and signed autographs for dozens of locals of all ages.

“It was great to be at the Bushplane Museum in person and speak with everybody, including some veterans who were there as well,” he said. “It was just a great atmosphere of people who were grateful and respectful of one another, which is just another great characteristic of all of our people in Sault Ste. Marie.”

Marson will be flying out Monday morning shortly after 10:30 a.m. He’ll depart directly out of the Sault Airport and return to his regular duties at CFB Bagotville.