Canadair CT-114 Tutor

Canadair · Canada · first flew 1960 · fighter

The Canadair CT-114 Tutor is a Canadian single-engine jet trainer used for decades by the Royal Canadian Air Force, best known internationally as the mount of the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, the 'Snowbirds.' Its side-by-side seating and low-wing layout made it unusual among subsonic jet trainers.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — WingsLow-mounted, straight
E — Engines1 × turbojet, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage9.75 m fuselage
T — TailConventional

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Spot it by:

Compact low-wing jet trainer with wing-root intakes, side-by-side seating under a broad canopy and a conventional tail; the side-by-side arrangement and clean wing-root intake design are distinctive.

Specifications

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

First flown as the CL-41 in 1960, the Tutor was selected as Canada's standard jet trainer and entered service in 1963. It trained generations of RCAF pilots and remained in service far longer than intended, serving into the 2020s. The Snowbirds aerobatic team has flown the Tutor since 1971 and is closely associated with it worldwide.

Variants

The CT-114 is the Canadian trainer version; a proposed armed export version, the CL-41G Tebuan, was built for Malaysia but not taken up in large numbers.

Where you'll see it

Operated exclusively by the Royal Canadian Air Force; the Snowbirds continue to fly the CT-114 in the aerobatic role as of the mid-2020s.

Related aircraft

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