Goodbye, CT-114 Tutor. Snowbirds prepare for their last Canadian show in the original aircraft, as the Pilatus PC-21 replacing the Tutor taxies in the background.
https://i.redd.it/j5dm0gxryqqh1.jpeg
Goodbye, CT-114 Tutor. Snowbirds prepare for their last Canadian show in the original aircraft, as the Pilatus PC-21 replacing the Tutor taxies in the background.
https://i.redd.it/j5dm0gxryqqh1.jpeg
21 Comments
Oh no 🙁 I missed it. That sucks.
From jet to prop?
Looking forward to the new planes year..🙂
It’s incredibly sad that the government didn’t order these aircraft 5 years sooner. All they did was rely on two “life extension projects” for the tutors but never planned for replacements which were obviously going to be needed.
Now we have at least a 4 year hiatus which due to inevitable delays, will probably result in a 5-6 year hiatus or a full on quiet cancellation of the program in the coming years.
This was all avoidable.
That Tutor is only 20 years younger than WWII
Stronger engine, back to better reliability, hopefully less crashes…
Saw them this afternoon. It was a very memorable, and somewhat emotional show. On one of the last passes, hearing #1 say « I’m not crying » was wonderfully touching.
On a positive note, the Siskin II display, while short, was quite impressive. Very quick acceleration and very tight turns. I’m cautiously optimistic about the next chapter.
Their last show in Moose Jaw was wonderful but also difficult to watch. Such an amazing legacy. Listening to turbo-props buzzing around won’t be the same, at all.
TIL the name Snowbirds came from a contest run at an elementary school in Moosejaw.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowbirds_(aerobatic_team)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowbirds_(aerobatic_team))
I don’t love this transition to propellor based planes. It demonstrates an alarming lack of ambition for Canada. I get it, its practical and affordable and so on. But that’s just ho-hum excuses to me.
At least go with some BAE Hawks.
Imagine you are a modern G-7 country in 2026 and you’re waiting 4 years to fly prop planes. Not inspiring at all.
What we really should do is move forward on the next purchase (F-35, or whatever it is), and keep the best remaining airframes f-18s for the Snowbirds.
Has anyone said why they don’t paint the new planes in the old livery and keep the snowbirds team going?
From a jet to a fucking turbo prop. Wonderful /s
Where is that photo taken?
Seems they never traveled to Newfoundland on their final tour… I’m not holding my breath for the new ones to travel here on the new tour..
Can we just call them Harvard 2.
I am still a little sad we are not replacing it with another jet.
Hard to get excited for a prop plane.
Honestly, I’d love to see our Hornets become the new Snowbirds. Take the 20 (or some number) best airframes to cycle them through. The rest of the Hornets airframes to be used as parts.
Having Hornets as the Snowbirds?
SO MUCH BETTER than some prop plane.
It’s kind of embarrassing really.
It’s been a good long run!!! They will be missed. I remember BBQ’ing at a friend’s cottage a few years ago in Nova Scotia and I turned my back to look out at the Northumberland Strait and saw them doing the big heart maneuver. I go running into the cottage where everyone was sitting around scrolling their dumbphones, “Hey look, the Snowbirds! Get outside ASAP!!”. The first time I saw them was in 1986 in CFB Chatham, New Brunswick. I was 7 years old. There’s a lot of great memories!
The Pilatus looks like it has a propeller.
This makes me a bit sad. The Tutors are such unique aircraft and the Snowbirds are amazing to watch in them.
Has anyone heard whether they will be keeping some of them flying and airworthy?
It would be nice to see a couple of them still flying around to shows in a more static display capacity. They’re great historical aircraft.