Snowbirds’ final air show livestream set for Oct. 16 in Moose Jaw before Tutor jets retire

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Members of the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds will perform their final air show on Friday in Moose Jaw, Sask., before their decades-old CT-114 Tutor jets retire.

The RCAF plans to livestream the annual season home closer online at 2 p.m. ET on its Facebook page, according to a notice posted by the service.

The Snowbirds also have one more chance to see the CT-114 Tutors in action before the aircraft are sent to the airbase in Trenton, Ont., for disposal.

The team is scheduled to fly over the Canadian Football League Grey Cup game in Calgary on Nov. 15.

Capt. Philip Rochon, public affairs officer for the Snowbirds, said the moment is bittersweet for the pilots. “It’s like saying goodbye to a good friend,” he said.

Rochon said the Snowbirds received an outpouring of support over the summer from Canadians across the country who shared memories of past shows and their encounters with an iconic “piece of Canadiana.”

He also said the team is looking forward to the future, noting the new aircraft that were announced.

Defence Minister David McGuinty announced in May that the old Tutors will eventually be replaced by Swiss-made PC-21 Pilatus aircraft, known as the CT-157 Siskin II, which the RCAF is also acquiring for pilot training.

The Snowbirds will go on a multi-year hiatus until the replacement aircraft are delivered and the team can be trained on the new planes, which could take until the early 2030s, with no set timeline stated in the report.

The decision to ground the team followed range of problems related to planned upgrades to the Tutors’ engines and escape systems that would have kept them in the air until 2030, including parts obsolescence.

RCAF Commander Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet said last month that she found Canadians’ response over the past season “heartwarming” while speaking at the AERO Gatineau-Ottawa air show.

She said the demonstration team is significant to Canadians and to the RCAF, and that the Tutor aircraft is 63 years old and it was time to move forward. “However, the Tutor aircraft is 63 years old and it is time to move into the future and make sure that we’re doing things for the right reasons,” Speiser-Blanchet said.