Snowbirds to Pause After 2026: CT-114 Retired, PC-21 Incoming
Video from the channel AIR FLIGHT SPACE about Canadair CT-114 Tutor, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 7:38. Language: English. Video type: News.
What's announced
The channel Air Flight Space presents this explanatory video in the format of a briefing. According to the video, the Snowbirds will close out the 2026 season, which started on May 24 in Montreal and ends with a final display scheduled for October. Afterward they will take a temporary operational pause while the CT-114 Tutor is retired and the Pilatus PC-21 arrives as its replacement.
Background
The video explains that the Canadair CL-41, designated CT-114 Tutor in Canada, has been in service for over 60 years, 55 of them with the Snowbirds. The 21 remaining aircraft would have reached the end of their service life. The plan was to extend its service to 2030, with cockpit upgrades made in 2020. According to the RCAF commander, Lieutenant-General Jamie Speiser-Blanchet, that plan is no longer viable because of problems with the structure, engines, and ejection and escape systems. That is why they will be retired in 2027.
What it means
The squadron will be temporarily disbanded and its personnel will move to other RCAF units. The team will be re-formed at 15 Wing Moose Jaw once the new aircraft arrive. The choice of the PC-21 is part of the FAcT crew training program: it costs 9 billion Canadian dollars, is managed by SkyAlyne (a joint venture of CAE and KF Aerospace), and already includes 19 aircraft designated CT-157 Siskin II. The Minister of National Defence, David McGuinty, is negotiating with Pilatus for an additional order for the Snowbirds.