The Warriors are lacing up to face the Winnipeg Ice tonight, March 6th, in the annual Snowbirds Night, the Snowbirds are also remembering a former pilot who passed away very recently.

Bob "Cowboy" Painchaud passed away suddenly while on vacation with his family in Honduras. He was just 57 years old and due to turn 58 on April 2nd.

Mark Keller was a close friend to Painchaud as well as a coworker in the late 1990's, he detailed more about their history.

"Bob and I flew the Snowbirds together in 1999, Bob was the commanding officer and I was the crew chief. Bob looked after everything on the team, and I looked after the maintenance and the technicians on the team. So we sat and flew together from airshow to airshow, I got to know Bob quite well and consider him a close friend."

Keller recalled his favorite thing about Painchaud.

"I'll say this. Over my two different tours with the Snowbirds, I flew with four different pilots all of them exceptional but Bob "Cowboy" Painchaud was a cut above. He would maneuver that airplane like nobody's business. He exuded this real confidence like he was sitting in a Lazyboy chair. It was really amazing to watch."

Keller added that he and Painchaud both flew in the Snowbird jet, that is currently on the pedestal right beside Mac The Moose, in 1999.