Major Brent Handy

Snowbird 1 – Team Lead, Canadian Forces Snowbirds

Major Brent Handy from Wyevale, Ontario joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1999 and graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Aviation Technology from Sault College in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.

After receiving his pilot’s wings in 2003, Maj. Handy served as a flying instructor on the CT-156 Harvard II and CT-155 Hawk at 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School. In 2007, he was posted to 4 Wing Cold Lake for fighter pilot training, where he continued to serve as a CF-18 fighter pilot with 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron.

After a brief year instructing the CT-155 Fighter Lead-In Training at 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, Maj. Handy was selected to join the Canadian Forces Snowbirds in 2011. He served as Snowbird 9 for two years, then remained with the Snowbirds and at 2 Canadian Air Division as a Standards Pilot until his retirement from the Regular Force in 2019. Concurrently, Maj. Handy pursued his passion for aerobatic flight, becoming an accomplished civilian airshow performer. In 2015, he was granted an unlimited altitude waiver, and went on to establish the civilian aerobatic team, the Northern Stars, along with fellow RCAF veterans.

Following a dream of long-term travel with his family, Maj. Handy spent a year sabbatical living full time and travelling internationally on a 42’ sailboat before returning to Canada and re-enrolling in the Canadian Armed Forces in 2021.

Maj. Handy served as a senior flight instructor again at 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School until returning to the Snowbirds in 2023 as Team Lead for the 2024 season. Maj. Handy brings over 5,500 flying hours to the team and is an accredited Aerobatics Competency Evaluator for the International Council of Air Shows.