Biography

Major Ian McLean - SB1 (Team Lead)

November 10, 2005

Major Ian McLean, 44, of London, Ontario, is in his second season as Team Lead for the Snowbirds and flies the No. 1 aircraft.

After enrolling in the Canadian Forces in 1980 and completing Basic Officer Training, he attended both primary and advanced flight training on the CT-134 Musketeer and the CT-114 Tutor aircraft.

Following his Canadian Forces Wings graduation in 1982, Maj. McLean was selected to fly the CC-130 Hercules transport aircraft at 435 Squadron in Edmonton where he performed in Strategic, Tactical and Search and Rescue missions.

In 1987, Maj. McLean was selected for the Fighter Pilot training. Upon completion of the CF-5 Freedom Fighter and the CF-18 Hornet courses, he was posted to Bagotville, Quebec, where he completed the first of two tours with 425 Squadron as a front line fighter pilot.

In 1990, Maj. McLean was posted to Wing Operations in Cold Lake, Alberta, as Deputy Maple Flag Officer. As well as co-ordinating Maple Flag, he participated as an Operations Officer in the Gulf War.

In 1993, Maj. McLean was posted to 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Cold Lake where he completed a three and a half year tour, again as a front line pilot. During this time, he upgraded to Mass Attack Lead. Upon completion of this tour, he was assigned to instruct on the CF-18 and moved to 410 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron still in Cold Lake.

Shortly after joining 410 Squadron, Maj. McLean successfully completed a tryout with the Snowbirds. For the 1998 and 1999 show seasons he flew the No. 7 aircraft on the Outer Left Wing. During his tenure as a show pilot, he also acted as Squadron Operations Officer and Deputy Commanding Officer.

Maj. McLean was then chosen for an exchange position with the Royal Air Force in High Wycombe, England, where he spent two years as the Chief of Master Air Attack Planning for the Royal Air Force Joint Force Air Component Headquarters. In this role, he participated in operations in Sierra Leone aboard the carrier HMS Illustrious, and in Saudi Arabia during the Afghanistan campaign following the events of Sept 11th, 2001.

Upon his return to Canada in 2002, Maj. McLean commenced his third operational Hornet tour as the Squadron Weapons and Tactics Officer at 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Bagotville.

Maj. McLean brings to the 2006 team over 5,500 hours of total flying time including over 1,300 hours on the CF-18 and over 1,600 hours on the CT-114 Tutor aircraft.

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