Page 13 - June 2020

Then three of the candidates will be chosen as new pilots
Snowbirds
The Snowbirds are the current Canadian Forces
air display team otherwise known as 431 Air
Demonstration Squadron. The Snowbirds
represent the entire Canadian Forces, not just
the Air Force like other military display teams.
Team pilots are all members of the Royal
Canadian Air Force whereas the support staff
may be members of the RCAF, Royal Canadian
Navy (RCN) or Canadian Army. Squadron's
home base is 15 Wing Moose Jaw Air Base,
Saskatchewan.
The squadron flies 9 Canadair-built CT-114
Tutor jet trainers in their displays. While on the
road, the team also has a spare Tutor and a
support Tutor. Typically, with Snowbirds 8 and
9, either one can be designated as the Lead
Solo. The Lead solo is usually the senior pilot
between the 2, so one year, Snowbird 8 could
be the lead solo, then Snowbird 9 would be
designated lead solo and a new opposing solo
would be brought onto the team. Also, the
team always has two spare jets on the road.
Snowbirds 10 and 11 are flown by the teams
Advance and Safety pilots, who also will do
commentary at the various show sites. The
Squadron Public Affair's Officer will usually fly
with one of the Advance and Safety pilots while
on the road. Overall, 431 (Air Demonstration)
Squadron now consists of approximately 85
people - including pilots, technicians,
maintenance officers, logistics personnel and
support staff.
Every candidate to become a Snowbird pilot
must be recommend by their Commanding
Officer and must have a minimum of 1300
flying hours. Typically each year, six candidates
will be asked to demonstrate their potential at
the home base in Moose Jaw; by flying in the
various "open" positions.
for the coming year. Candidates for the formation team
leader have to hold at least the rank of major and must
have performed a previous tour with the "Snowbirds". The
technicians are also carefully selected for the team and the
team deploys with 10 technicians on the road drawn from
the ranks of the squadron.
The normal show season last from March to October and
during this time, the team typically performs at
approximately 70 airshows across North America. The
aircraft in the team are carefully rotated throughout the
show season to account for both scheduled maintenance
and for fatigue management. Usually, the airplanes in the
formation fly as close as 1 to 2 m apart and commonly
during a show, they are typically approaching speeds of 600
km/h. If a formation pilot is ill on the road, the team will
normally continue without him. The exception is when the
team lead is unavailable as the show must be aborted.
The Tutor aircraft is no longer the primary training aircraft
of the Royal Canadian Air Force having been superseded by
contractor-supported Raytheon CT-156 Harvard II
turboprop and BAe CT-155 Hawk jet trainers. The Tutors will
however remain the mount for the "Snowbirds" until at
least 2020. The aircraft have been upgraded recently with
improved ejection seats and avionics systems. Their white
smoke is generated by diesel fuel piped from fuselage
mounted drop tanks into the jet exhaust. The airplane,
which is 11,12 m in length and 2,82 m high, has a maximum
thrust of 1220 kg, a maximum weight of 3260 kg and a
maximum speed of 782 km/h.