Canadian Snowbirds CT-114 Tudor all'Air Show Wings in Force 1990
Video from the channel EFP Network about Canadair CT-114 Tutor, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 12:37. Language: English. Video type: Air show.
Airshow and team
The video shows the Snowbirds' performance at the 1990 Wings in Force festival, for Westover base's 50th anniversary. It was one of only three performances the team gave in the United States that year. The team is the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, based in Moose Jaw (Saskatchewan), led by Major Dan Dempsey, from Edmonton (Alberta). 1990 was the team's 20th anniversary, and that season it had already given its official 1,000th performance. Its members serve two years, with the veteran half training the newcomers.
What can be seen
The footage alternates between the flight of the nine aircraft, the announcer's narration, interviews with pilot Jeff Hill, and the pre-flight check by Corporal Rick McNabb of the ground crew. McNabb checks the panels, the landing gear, the pitot tube, the airbrakes and the smoke nozzles. Formations such as Canada Goose, Double Diamond and Big Diamond can be seen, along with a maple-leaf break, a heart in the sky, several head-on passes by the two soloists, and a final break dedicated to the base's anniversary. In formation, each pilot keeps a margin of about 12 inches from the neighbouring aircraft, at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour.
The aircraft on display
The CT-114 Tutor is a Canadian-built jet trainer that the Canadian Forces then used for basic pilot training. It weighs about 7,000 pounds, carries a J85 engine, and reaches 470 miles per hour with the smoke tanks.