Snowbirds' Final Flight Season Kicks Off in Montreal

Canada's Snowbirds are about to give us one final, spectacular summer of red-jet aerobatics before hanging up their famous 55-year-old wings. Starting this Sunday with Montreal's Grand Prix, the Royal Canadian Air Force's aerial squad is launching its farewell tour in the aging CT-114 Tutor jets that have defined the group since 1971.

Defence Minister David McGuinty announced last week that the Snowbirds will be temporarily grounded until at least the early 2030s while the government secures a new fleet of CT-157 Siskin II training craft. For the next five months, though, the sky belongs to the Snowbirds one last time.

The schedule is intense. After Montreal, they're heading south to Chesterfield, Missouri in early June, then back to Canada for stops in North Bay and Barrie. They'll ring in Canada Day in Ottawa, perform for U.S. Independence Day in New York, spend late July and early August in Alberta and B.C., sweep through the Maritimes in late August, and close out the CNE in Toronto on Labour Day weekend. The season wraps—maybe—in California in October, though there's talk they might retire the jets at home instead, possibly at Calgary's Grey Cup in November.

Over 55 years, the Snowbirds have completed more than 2,000 performances across North America and beyond. Torontonians will get their final chance to see those bright red jets tear across the sky at the CNE labour day show. If you've never caught a Snowbirds performance, this is your last chance. The next generation of pilots and planes won't take flight for years.