@ San Francisco, CA
October 2025
A nice shot of a Snowbird “Speedbird” as #9 pulls away from #5 during the 2025 SF Fleet Week airshow. The Canadian designed and built Tutors have been in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) inventory since 1963 and have been used by the Snowbirds team since 1971. One of the few teams in the world that still flies a 9-jet formation, they celebrate their 55th show season in 2026. The Snowbirds were also the first aerobatic team in the world to use music in their show.
While it was retired as the primary jet trainer for the RCAF in 2000, the Tutor continues to fly today as the iconic mount of the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Snowbirds. A Tutor Life Extension project, completed in 2025, outfitted the fleet with new avionics, ADS-B technology, and updated parachute systems to meet modern safety and airspace regulations. These upgrades are intended to keep the CT-114 airworthy until at least 2030.
