Aircraft to transport Canadian royals, leaders and dignitaries
The
Royal Canadian Air Force
(RCAF) maintains specialised aircraft to transport
Canada's monarch
and/or other members of the
royal family
(at which time the aircraft is designated as the Royal Flight), the
governor general
,
prime minister
, other senior members of the
Government of Canada
, and other dignitaries.
[1]
[2]
A small fleet of dedicated executive government transport aircraft are organised into two RCAF squadrons. Other RCAF combat and transport helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, chartered civilian aircraft, and occasionally scheduled commercial flights may also be used to meet Canada's VIP air transport requirements.
History
[
edit
]
Members of the royal family have been flying in the
United Kingdom
since two
Westland Wapitis
were delivered to the
Royal Air Force
's
No. 24 Squadron
at
RAF Northolt
in April 1928. Between the following year and 1935,
Prince Edward, Prince of Wales
, himself purchased 13 aircraft; he became the first member of the royal family to be a pilot and,
[3]
when he acceded to the throne in 1936 as King Edward VIII, the
King's Flight
was formed as the world's first
head of state
aircraft unit.
[4]
Challenger 601
used as a VIP transport by the
Royal Canadian Air Force
Staff prepare meals for Queen
Elizabeth II
and
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
, aboard a Canadian Forces Air Command
CC-150 Polaris
Royal Flight, en route to the Queen's engagements for her
Golden Jubilee
in 2002
Executive air transport in Canada can be traced to the formation of the
Royal Canadian Air Force
(RCAF) in the 1920s; the only
Very Important Person
(VIP) death in the history of the RCAF was
Minister of National Defence
Norman McLeod Rogers
on 10 June 1940, near
Newtonville, Ontario
. The RCAF maintained aircraft such as the
Lockheed Lodestar
,
Canadair North Star
,
Canadair CL-66
, and
Canadair CL-44
-6 until, following the 1968 unification of the country's three armed forces branches into the
Canadian Forces
, long range VIP transport was carried out using a modified
Boeing 707
designated as the
CC-137 Husky
and short range VIP transport used various combat fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Dedicated VIP transport aircraft did not enter the Canadian Forces until the early 1980s, when 12
CL-600S Challenger
business jets were purchased by the Governor General-
in-Council
from
Canadair
, which were thereafter given the designations CC-144, CE-144, and CX-144, and painted in the contemporary red and white livery of the Canadian Forces. These jets flew with
414 "Black Knight" Squadron
at
CFB North Bay
until July 1992, and with
434 "Blue Nose" Squadron
at
CFB Greenwood
until May 2000, when eight aircraft were either sold or retired, the remaining two being transferred to
412 Transport Squadron
for dedicated executive transport, where the livery was changed to a dark Air Force blue.
At times, the use of executive air transport has been a contentious issue. In 2002, the Governor General-in-Council, on the advice of Prime Minister
Jean Chretien
, purchased two additional Challenger jets for exclusive royal, viceregal, and ministerial transport. Use of these planes by
ministers of the Crown
came under heavy criticism, partly due to the high cost of operation?approximately
CAD
$11,000 per hour
[5]
?as well as questions over prioritisation of other military aircraft procurement. Government ministers have typically explained that the use of the Challenger jets is necessary, due to time constraints and/or security issues. Also, Governor General
Adrienne Clarkson
had used a
chartered
aircraft to fly from Ottawa to her cottage in
Muskoka, Ontario
, and it was later revealed that Governor General
Michaelle Jean
was flown to
The Bahamas
on a Canadian Forces Challenger. Both times, the press reports of these actions brought criticism towards the vicereines from some corners; however, the governor general's mode of transport is directed by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
.
[6]
Present arrangements
[
edit
]
CC-150 Polaris
No. 001 in 2014
Royal Canadian Air Force CC-150 Polaris at
Yellowknife Airport
, transporting
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
, and
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
, July 2011
All dedicated VIP transport aircraft in the Canadian Forces are operated by
437 Transport Squadron
and
412 Transport Squadron
.
Attendants
on flights operated by these squadrons are select volunteers from various services in the Canadian Forces and serve in their posting for two or three years; they must undergo an intensive training period and additional security background checks prior to VIP transport duty.
The
437 Transport Squadron
, based at
CFB Trenton
,
[7]
operates five
Airbus A310-300s
, all designated as
CC-150 Polaris
; four are configured as normal airliners with cargo transport and aerial refuelling capability, while one, No. 001, is operated in a VIP configuration.
[8]
This latter aircraft, known officially as
Can Force One
,
[9]
has a galley, spartan bedroom (wall panels added to provide privacy with small bed and sofa),
[10]
sitting room, office space, and a shower approximately the size of a small phone booth. The executive suite includes a
satellite telephone
, two computer work stations, and a small refrigerator and, at the rear portion of the aircraft, is a normal passenger cabin, used to carry regular military passengers, members of the VIP party, or reporters. The squadron's information officer stated of the interior in 1997: "It's no more luxurious than a good
motor home
."
[8]
The aircraft is referred to as the
Royal Flight
when carrying the King or another member of the royal family.
[8]
[11]
[12]
When
taxiing
, the
royal standard
of the most senior royal individual on board will be flown from the port-side cockpit window.
412 Transport Squadron
, based at
Macdonald?Cartier International Airport
(formerly
CFB Ottawa
, and previously at
CFB Uplands
), is the only RCAF unit dedicated exclusively to executive transport and currently operates Canada's four
CC-144
-designated
Bombardier Challenger 604
and
Bombardier Challenger 650
business jets in a VIP configuration.
In November 2023, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau
took his first flight aboard a refurbished
Airbus A330-200
purchased from
Kuwait Airways
.
[13]
The new aircraft, known as Airbus 002, replaced the previous
Airbus A310-300
known as Airbus 01. The RCAF's designation for the new fleet of nine Airbus A330-200 aircraft that will replace the aging CC-150 Polaris is
Airbus CC-330 Husky
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Department of National Defence
.
"Air Force > Aircraft > CC-150 Polaris"
. Queen's Printer for Canada. Archived from
the original
on 5 December 2010
. Retrieved
11 December
2009
.
- ^
Department of National Defence
.
"Air Force > Aircraft > CC-144 Challenger"
. Queen's Printer for Canada. Archived from
the original
on 5 December 2010
. Retrieved
11 December
2009
.
- ^
Pigott, Peter (2005).
Royal Transport: An Inside Look at the History of Royal Travel
. Toronto: Dundurn Press. p. 15.
ISBN
978-1-55002-572-9
.
- ^
Francillon, Rene (November 1999). "Fit for a King: Wings for Sovereigns, Presidents and Prime Ministers".
Air International
.
57
(5). London: Key Publishing Ltd.: 289?290.
- ^
Cheadle, Bruce (25 October 2006).
"PMO officials not required to publicly post cost of Challenger flights: Tories"
.
CNews
. Canoe. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008
. Retrieved
12 May
2007
.
{{
cite news
}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link
)
- ^
Harris, Kathleen (12 July 2006).
"Fed jets idle under Tories"
.
CNews
. Canoe. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012
. Retrieved
12 May
2007
.
{{
cite news
}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link
)
- ^
Murphey, D.C. (29 November 2002).
"437 Squadron's support to Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee visit"
.
Contact
.
37
(46). Trenton: CFB Trenton
. Retrieved
4 September
2008
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
a
b
c
Keene, Tony (1997).
"Canada's Royal Flight: A Visit to 437 Transport Squadron"
.
Monarchy Canada
. Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada. Archived from
the original
on 21 April 2009
. Retrieved
11 December
2009
.
- ^
"Canada looking at replacing VIP aircraft and fleet as they hit 31st birthday | CBC News"
.
- ^
"Air Transport"
.
- ^
MacLeod, Kevin S.
(2008),
A Crown of Maples
(PDF)
(1 ed.), Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada, p. 60,
ISBN
978-0-662-46012-1
, retrieved
12 March
2010
- ^
Pigott, Peter (1 January 2005).
Royal Transport: An Inside Look at the History of Royal Travel
. Toronto: The Dundurn Group. p. 185.
- ^
"Trudeau takes first official flight on new VIP federal government jet"
.