In 1989, the USSR was represented by a large number of aircraft at Abbotsford. Making their North American debuts were two MiG-29 Fulcrums (a single and two-seater), an Su-26M aerobatic plane, a Ka-32 helicopter and the An-225 Mriya, the world's largest aircraft. The MiG-29 demonstration pilot at Abbotsford was Anatoly Kvotchur, who had ejected out of a Mig-29 at Le Bourget, France just months earlier. History was made at Abbotsford on the last day of the show when Major Bob Wade, Canadian Armed Forces CF-18 Hornet pilot, became the first western pilot to fly a modern fighter jet from the USSR. Major Bob Wade took the controls of the Mig-29UB two-seat aircraft with Soviet test pilot Valery Menitsky. Other highlights at the show included the first appearance at Abbotsford for the only airworthy Lancaster bomber in North America and the return of the USAF Thunderbirds for the first time since 1981. Attendance at the 1989 show reached a record 321,000 people. The show was completely sold out with an estimated 60,000 people turned away on Saturday alone.
