CT-114 Tutor
ICAO CL41A 1960s Canadian jet trainer that survives as the Snowbirds display aircraft. Live CT-114 Tutor positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No CT-114 Tutor is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- Canadair
- Role
- Display flying and training
- Class
- L1J — Landplane, 1 jet engine
- Crew
- 2
- First flight
- 13 January 1960
- In service
- 1963
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the CT-114 Tutor
The Tutor stopped being Canada's jet trainer in 2000, but it did not stop flying, because the Snowbirds — the Royal Canadian Air Force display team — still use it. Nine aircraft in formation, painted red and white, on an airframe designed when Diefenbaker was prime minister.
It is a straightforward aircraft: one engine, side-by-side seating, straight wing. That simplicity is part of why it lasted, and part of why replacing it has been repeatedly postponed on cost grounds.
Sightings here are almost entirely Snowbirds transits between display venues, which is when the team flies in civil airspace with transponders on.
Callsign prefixes
- SNOWBIRD
- Royal Canadian Air Force display team
- CFC
- Canforce — Royal Canadian Air Force
How to recognise it
- —A small straight-winged jet with the two crew seated side by side, not in tandem.
- —A single engine with intakes in the wing roots, and a conventional tail.
- —Snowbirds aircraft are red and white; formations of nine are unmistakable.
Common questions
+ Are the Snowbirds still flying the Tutor?
Yes. The team has used the CT-114 since 1971 and no replacement has been funded, despite the airframe dating from the early 1960s.
+ Is the Tutor still a trainer?
No. Canada moved jet training to the CT-155 Hawk and CT-156 Harvard II around 2000. The remaining Tutors serve the display team and a small support role.
+ Why do the Snowbirds fly nine aircraft?
It is the team's traditional formation size, larger than most display teams. Nine allows formations that smaller teams cannot fly.