La fin des Snowbirds au Canada?

Video from the channel Radio-Canada Info about Canadair CT-114 Tutor, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 2:29. Language: French. Video type: News.

Radio-Canada report according to which the Canadian Armed Forces could ground the Snowbirds' Canadair CT-114 Tutor aircraft. In an interview with CBC, Defence Minister Bill Blair states that these aircraft have outlived their service life. He adds that safety issues can be managed this season, but that doubts remain.

According to the report, the Tutor has been in the Royal Canadian Air Force's fleet since 1961 and served for more than three decades as a training aircraft, until its retirement in the early 2000s. Of the 191 aircraft ordered, 26 remain in inventory, and several can no longer fly. The latest upgrade extends its life until 2030.

The minister wants to keep the squadron flying with better aircraft, perhaps fighter jets as the US team does. Retired Major-General Richard Bastien sees this as difficult, because the F-18 fleet, of around 80 aircraft, is already small.