Above: Three-quarter view of the left side of CT-156 #56108 on display at the 2003 London Airshow.
Since 2000, the Canadian Forces has contracted out its pilot training to a consortium led by Bombardier Aerospace under a 20 year contract (currently running until December 2021), thus ending the service of the CT-114 Tutor in the training role in the CAF; the Tutor is now operated solely by 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Snowbirds. Bombardier is running an innovative, comprehensive multimedia training system, using CT-155 Hawk and CT-156 Harvard II trainers for the air component, that is being offered to other nations as the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program.
For further details on NFTC, visit their website: www.nftc.net .
To date, six countries are sending students to NFTC: Canada, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Each of the member countries also supplies instructor pilots based on the number of students they have in the system. Additionally, pilots from the Finnish and German Air Forces are currently serving as instructor pilots, and members of the French and Swedish Air Forces will also soon serve in that role. These countries are considering participation in NFTC, and are invited to send instructor pilots to "try it out."
The NFTC curriculum is divided into four phases; NFTC itself is responsible for Phases II, III, and IV. Basic Training, Phase IIA, is conducted with 24 Raytheon CT-156 Harvard II aircraft, part of 2 Canadian Forces Flight Training School (2 CFFTS), under the control of 15 Wing based at CFB Moose Jaw. The first part of our examination of NFTC aircraft focuses on the CT-156.
The CT-156 is a version of the Raytheon T-6A Texan II trainer, now entering service with the USAF. The T-6A itself is a derivative of the Pilatus PC-9 turboprop trainer, originally developed in Switzerland. Digital fuel control systems allow a "jet-like" throttle operation, thereby easing the transition to jet aircraft.
This full left-side view of the CT-156 shows the markings to advantage. The overall dark blue scheme with white cheat line makes for an extremely attractive aircraft. The NFTC logo is applied to the tail, the only non-standard marking so far seen on these aircraft. The tip of the aircraft's tail is 10 feet, 8 inches off the ground.
CT-156 #156118 at the 2003 Trenton International Airshow. The huge bubble canopy provides exceptional visibility for both student and instructor. NFTC students could spend a total of 141 flying hours in the Harvard II: 95 in Phase IIA of the NFTC curriculum, which all pilots passing through NFTC take, and 46 more in Phase IIB, which is for pilots in the fast jet stream.
All 24 of NFTC's CT-156s are operated by 2 CFFTS at CFB Moose Jaw, Manitoba. They share this base, which was formerly home the the Canadian Forces' Tutor fleet, with the Snowbirds. A line of explosive cord can be seen running down the centre of the hinged canopy; this helps to break the large plexiglas pieces up during an ejection sequence before the seats fire.
A close head-on view of the Harvard II, dominated by the Hartzell 4-bladed propeller and 1100 shp Pratt & Witney Canada PT6A-68 engine. This engine propels the CT-156 to a maximum level speed of 257 knots and a maximum altitude of 31,000 feet. The Bren Carrier in the background is from the era of the first trainer to carry the Harvard name.
The student and instructor pilots sit on Martin-Baker Mk.16L lightweight zero-zero ejection seats. The cockpit canopy opens to the right, allowing crew ingress/egress from the left wing. Some familiarization discussions are going on in this photo.
The CT-156 has a very spacious and up to date cockpit layout, with all of the modern amenities, including liquid crystal instrumentation and GPS. Note the inverted gull wing, reminiscent of the F4U Corsair. The CT-156 is 33 feet, 4 inches long witha 33 foot, 5 inch wingspan.
