Canadian American Strategic Review

CASR Home

Background Air Force

Background Projects

OP / ED SARP

Background Top Aces

DND Doc ICATS

Background  — Snowbird / SARP Project / Training Aircraft  Specs

Note: This page is intended to provide brief  technical descriptions for the CF / DND's Snowbird  Aircraft  Replacement  Project  (SARP).

Canadair CT-114 Tutor (Canadair CL-41A) – Snowbirds  431 ADS Crew: 2  Dimensions:  Span  11.13m x  Length  9.75m x  Height  2.84m Performance: max speed 763 km/h, ceiling 11,850m, range 1400km [1] Weights: empty 2220kg, gross 3532kg, MTOW 3860kg, land 3770kg Powerplant: 1338 kg  Orenda  (General Electric) J85-CAN-40 turbojet [1] Optional twin external fuel tanks (375L total) or twin display tanks (diesel fuel to produce smoke)  which reduce max. speed to 750 km/h.

Sic transit gloria: No Place for Long-in-the-Tooth 'Toots' The Tutor, began as a Canadair private venture, first flying late in 1960. Three years later, the first of  190 CT-114 pilot- trainers were delivered  to the RCAF. Assigned  to  Central Flying School, the Tutors  were natural mounts for display teams (first with the Golden Centennaires, then the Snow- birds). When CF Fighter Lead-In Training at Moose Jaw wound-up in 1999, it was displaced by NATO Flying Training in Canada, a private contracted training scheme with no place for the 40-year old Tutor.

Raytheon CT-156 Harvard II (Pilatus PC-9) – NFTC 'Basic' Trainer Crew: 2  Dimensions:  Span  10.19m  x  Length  10.16m  x  Height 3.26m Performance: maximum cruise 750 km/h, ceiling 9449m, range 834km[2] Weights: empty 2087kg, loaded 2230kg, MTOW  2954kg, land  2350kg Powerplant: 820 kW (1100 shp)  P&W Canada  PT6A-68 turboprop [3] [2]  USAF AT-6A can carry twin external tanks (or underwing training weapons). CT-156s carry neither. [3] PC-9s have the 708 kW PT6A-62.

The CT-156 Harvard II is leased from Bombardier to provide basic training. As NFTC manager, Bombardier is responsible for fleet (x 24) maintenance but actual  instruction is done by Air Force personnel from the CF Flying Training School. The CT-156's  power is high enough  to provide jet-like handling. Cockpit layout was modelled on the Hawk (below), even the ejection seats are similar models. NFTC student pilots spend 95 hours on CT-156s. Pilots selected for the fighter stream spend an additional 46 hours on the Harvard II before moving on to CT-155s.

BAE Systems  CT-155  Hawk  (115)  –  NFTC  'Advanced' Trainer Crew: 2  Dimensions: Span  9.94m x  Length  12.43m x  Height  3.98m Performance: max. speed  1000km/h, ceiling 1372m, range 2622km [4] Weights: empty 4442 kg, gross 9100kg, MTOW 9100kg, land n/a kg Powerplant:  26.6  kN  Rolls-Royce Turbomeca  Adour  871  turbofan [4] The CT-155 has seven hard points including wing pylons, two of latter being plumbed for twin external fuel tanks (590L capacity each).

CT-155  "But who does hawk at eagles with a dove?" The CT-155 is essentially a Hawk 100 with features of Hawk 127 fighter lead-in trainers (wingtip missile rails, extended nose, etc). NFTC pilots streamed for fighters move on to Phase III  jet training (80 hours) at  Moose Jaw then Phase IV Fighter Lead In Training (45 hours) at CFB Cold Lake before joining the CF's  CF-18 OTU.

Quite separate from NFTC, another jet trainer type now flies for the CF under contract –  the Dassault Dornier Alpha Jets flown by Top Aces Consulting for  ICATS  ( Interim Contracted Airborne Training Services. These are former Luftwaffe aircraft  flown by contracted with CF 'back-seaters' filling the gap left by the May 2002 retirement of  the last of  the CF's own 'spoofing' Electronic Warfare training aircraft.