advanced trainer aircraft<\/a> at the Canadians Forces Base Moose Jaw.<\/p>\nSuzanne Lalande wrote in an email on behalf of the Department of National Defence that \u201ca plan for the responsible retirement of the CT-114 Tutor fleet is in development.\u201d She told Capital Current the plan will \u201crespect the significant place the Snowbirds and CT-114 occupy in Canadian aviation history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Home to 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, Moose Jaw has a Snowbird Tutor displayed outdoors, in front of the city\u2019s tourism office. While some have suggested more such outdoor displays as a future for the jets, Ornge pilot Devon Dries believes there are more respectful ways to preserve the jets than allowing them to become \u201cfull of pigeons.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMany old Tutors are on posts or stuck rotting outside in the elements,\u201d the Ottawa plane-spotter wrote in a direct message to Capital Current. \u201cThey are too valuable and iconic to deserve being grounded forever without first giving other organizations the opportunity to purchase some of them and keep them flying.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Snowbird-ASM.webp\")
One of two Snowbird jets is seen here on display in the Canada Aviation Museum. The process of getting a plane on display requires detailed planning for space, programming, safety of the aircraft and its role in the museum itself. [Photo @ Michael Sword]<\/p>\n
Brennan-Lee agreed, saying many other old jets are on display at military bases. He wants to see most of the retired Snowbirds displayed at bases and museums. He would also like to keep a few in use by the air force or private collectors, so others are able to experience the jets.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that people who grow up without the Snowbirds aren\u2019t going to know what they\u2019re missing. You have to see it. It\u2019s one of those fun things that you should keep around,\u201d said Brennan-Lee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Preservation in museums is what many fans hope for, allowing the planes to remain accessible for generations. The Canada Aviation and Space Museum already displays two Snowbird Tutor aircraft. <\/p>\n
The museum has collected and displayed aircraft since 1960. Gregory Kobylinski, a museum guide, said aircraft are selected because they were built in Canada, operated in Canada or help tell the story of Canadian aviation history. The Tutors were originally built in Quebec by Canadair, but the new Siskin jets will be shipped from Switzerland.<\/p>\n
They (the Snowbird Tutors) are too valuable and iconic to deserve being grounded forever.<\/p>\n
Devon Dries, pilot and plane spotter<\/p>\n
Kobylinski and fellow museum guide Joseline Baulieu said exhibiting a new plane requires consideration around issues like the aircraft\u2019s weight, floor capacity and exhibit design.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurators want to play musical aircraft, but it takes a lot of planning,\u201d said Baulieu. Unlike smaller artifacts, curators have to account for the weight, size and fragility of the aircraft, as well as the stability of the rooms they are displayed in.<\/p>\n
If any of the retired Snowbirds\u2019 Tutors are eventually displayed in the aviation museum, substantial behind-the-scenes work will be required before they are ready for exhibition. It could be years before the aircraft are publicly accessible.<\/p>\n
The Snowbirds\u2019 final flyover will be Nov. 15 at the Grey Cup in Calgary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chris Griffin was raised as an aviation fan by his father, a former helicopter and airplane pilot. In…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":934630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739,103480,103481],"class_list":["post-934629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa","tag-ottcity","tag-ottnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/934630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"9](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Snowbirds-flying-2-.webp\")
The Snowbirds aerobatics at AERO Gatineau-Ottawa took place Sept. 20. Joining them in formation for one fly-by was the Swiss-built plane set to take over from the Tutor jet as the stunt flying plane of choice for the aerobatic team. [Photo @ Asia Gustafson]<\/p>\n