Canada to pause Snowbirds after 2026 show season as CT-114 Tutor fleet retires

Canada’s Snowbirds will stop flying after the 2026 air show season as the Royal Canadian Air Force retires the CT-114 Tutor, ending the aircraft’s 55-year run with one of the world’s best-known military demonstration teams.

The Canadian government said on May 19, 2026, that it plans to acquire the CT-157 Siskin II, the Canadian designation for the Pilatus PC-21, for a possible future Snowbirds team.

The new aircraft is expected to become operational in the early 2030s, leaving the team off the air show circuit for several years at a minimum.

Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty announced the decision at 15 Wing Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, the Snowbirds’ home base. The announcement was made alongside Royal Canadian Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet.

The CT-114 Tutor first entered RCAF service as a jet trainer in 1963. The Snowbirds have flown the aircraft since 1971, using modified Tutors for low-level aerobatic demonstrations across Canada and the United States. Canada said 2026 will mark the Tutor’s final air show season before the fleet is retired.

The decision leaves the future of the Snowbirds in a long transition. Canada has committed to fielding a future air demonstration team, but the Snowbirds’ return depends on aircraft acquisition, training, certification and rebuilding a demonstration operation around the new aircraft.

The CT-157 Siskin II will also serve as a Canadian military training aircraft. Canada said the future Snowbirds capability will remain based at 15 Wing Moose Jaw and will “ultimately rebuild” to the team’s familiar nine-aircraft formation.

The gap follows previous efforts to keep the Tutor flying longer. Canada had been working to extend the aircraft’s service life to 2030, but feasibility studies identified issues with the engine and escape system. Speiser-Blanchet said those engineering challenges changed the plan and led to the Tutor’s retirement after the 2026 season.

The Snowbirds operate as 431 Air Demonstration Squadron. The unit has 86 Regular Force, Reserve Force and public service personnel, including 56 Regular Force members, according to Canada’s Department of National Defence. Those personnel will continue to support RCAF missions and modernization projects during the transition.

The RCAF said it will continue to support air shows, events and public engagements across Canada with aircraft and personnel while the Snowbirds’ new aircraft are brought into service.

The Snowbirds have performed more than 2,700 aerial displays for more than 140 million spectators in North America, according to the Canadian government.The post Canada to pause Snowbirds after 2026 show season as CT-114 Tutor fleet retires appeared first on AeroTime.

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