Yellowknife (July 07/04) - Loops, rolls, springs -- Jim Hrymack's Pitts Special biplane can do just about anything imaginable in the air.

"I can even go straight up and then start coming straight down," the pilot says, pointing to a special mechanism on the wing which helps execute such an extreme manoeuvre.

During the day, Hrymack trains military instructors on the Air Force's new CT-156 Harvard 2 turboprop planes.

But in his leisure time, Hrymack prefers to fly upside down in his Pitts less than 50 feet off the ground.

Hrymack will put his pilot skills to good use as part of the Canadian Air Force's airshow in Yellowknife on July 24.

Those who come out to the spectacle will witness something called the squirrel cage where two planes come at each other from opposite directions and do loops with another plane in the background.

"It's going to look like chaos to the crowd," the military flight instructor says. "It's a little like the Snowbirds."

And after nearly 5,000 hours of military and civilian stick time, Hrymack says he has, "a very reasonable chance to get a tryout," with the famous birds.

Strangely enough, Hrymack joined the military as a soldier in 1983, but seeing all those planes whizzing through the skies motivated him to upgrade his education so he could change uniforms and become a pilot.

Currently stationed in Moose Jaw, Sask., Hrymack spent about three years in Yellowknife training instructors on Twin Otter planes for the 440 squadron.

He has fond memories of the North and recalls a time when he flew over a 50-mile long caribou herd.

"It's a little mini-Vancouver in the middle of the wilderness. I really enjoyed flying through the Arctic," he says.

Hrymack was in town for a few days over the long weekend to visit a few friends.

Before he left, he gave honorary Col. Bob Engle a ride in his Pitts.

"It's airmanship at its best," Engle said, before hopping into the front seat of the plane for a tour around the Yellowknife skies.

The plane flew from Regina in about 5.5 hours, with stops in Buffalo Narrows and Fort Smith to refuel.