Do you care that the new plane for the Snowbirds wil be a single-engine turboprop aircraft instead of a jet? Poll: New Snowbirds plane Kelowna MP Stephen Fuhr has fond memories of the CT-114 Tutor, but says it’s time the plane used for decades by the Snowbirds is retired.
And he has already tried out its replacement.
Defence Minister David McGuinty announced Tuesday the Canadian Armed Forces’ nine-jet aerobatic team will be grounded after this season, until the early 2030s.
The government is retiring the ageing CT-114 Tutor jets.
They will be replaced by the CT-157-Siskin II, also known as the Pilatus PC-21.
Fuhr, the Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, served 20 years in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
He was in Switzerland a couple of weeks ago with the Canadian ambassador to take delivery of the first of the PC-21s that will be used by the RCAF flying school.
“There was a big delegation there to receive the airplane, and I got a chance to fly it,” said Fuhr, during a stop in his riding on Wednesday.
“It’s a fantastic, fantastic airplane,” he said.
“I think it will be well-suited for the team moving forward, and as the minister of the Defence Investment Agency, I’m going to be looking forward to moving as quickly as I can to secure airplanes,....
