WOW Snowbirds

[Crimmsy]

A proposal was sent to NDHQ by a company that offered to buy, refurbish and lease back 20 Hawks for the same funding that is being spent on the operation of the Tutor...but what happened to that?

The Hawks that that company had their eye on were from the Swiss AF and those were sold to the Finnish AF last year. Here is a Swiss AF website with some details of the sale.

[no name]

Why do I have these visions of the Snowbirds being grounded because a new aircraft has yet to be purchased? Oh I can just hear the bickering years from now. "Don't buy/lease them new aircraft. They are a waste of money" etc....

Personally, I would like to see them in something new that would last half as long as the Toot did. Can we develop a Tutor II?

[Mitch Cronin]

...sigh...

[AuxBatOn]

Well, I was lucky enough to get a ride with them once. I didn;t often look at the instruments, but at one point I noted in the 9 plane diamond, (I was in the outside left point), we were at around 1000' pointing more or less straight down, and if memory serves me doing in the high 300's.

High 300's is a little fast for the Tutor considering the VNE is 420 ish!

Looking at videos I took from a flight I had with them, 200 in the vertical in a loop (both verticals, up and down) and 300 exiting. I'd say high 200's is more realistic

[AuxBatOn]

It would go something like this....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lQkb8ZarAc

I have to ask why does everyone go to the inventory available in Moose Jaw for training? Wouldn't the CF have to buy or lease 11 (and some spares) new aircraft?

For logistical reasons. Easier to maintain 1 type of airplane than 2. Corporate knowledge of the aircraft in 1 location, etc, etc.