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The New Zealand-designed CT-4 Airtrainer has marked 50 years since the arrival and beginning of its operations in Australia.
The Airtourer Association will honour the CT-4 at the President’s Fly-in in Tamworth from 17 to 19 October, highlighting its significance in military flight training across the Asia-Pacific since the 1970s.
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Held at Tamworth Airport and the former base of the BAE Ansett Flying school, the celebration will commemorate the generations of both military and civilian pilots that trained with different models of the CT-4. The Airtourer Association will also pay respects to Cliff Tait, who delivered the first CT-4A Airtrainer to the Royal Australian Air Force and recently died at age 95.
“For fifty years, this aircraft has introduced thousands of pilots to flight. Its simplicity, aerobatic capability and reliability have made it a trusted platform for air forces and training schools worldwide,” said Stephen Burrows, CEO of NZAero, the facility which manufactures and services CT-4s.
Developed in Hamilton, New Zealand, the aircraft has been used in Air Forces across the world, with over 150 units being operated in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, and Singapore, as well as being trialled in the United Kingdom, United States, Israel, and South Africa.
“With more than fifty years of continuous service and production runs across three decades, the CT-4’s story remains one of New Zealand’s greatest export success stories in aviation engineering, a legacy that continues to inspire new designs from the same Hamilton factory that started it all,” said Burrows.
“As we look ahead to the next generation CT-4G, it is fitting to honour the heritage of innovation and craftsmanship that has defined this aircraft for half a century.”
The aircraft has been used continuously since 1973 in the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), making it one of the longest-serving trainer aircraft in the modern aviation industry.
Earlier this year, NZAero signed a deal with the RTAF to modernise the existing fleet by upgrading systems and digital avionics.
