The Beechcraft CT-134 Musketeer is a military training derivative of the Musketeer built by

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general avi ...

for the Canadian Armed Forces. The CT-134 was a single engine, low-wing, four-seat

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft co ...

with fixed

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

and a limited aerobatic capability.

Design and development

In the early 1960s the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

’s standard elementary training aircraft was the de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk. Flight instruction was completed by student pilots on the DHC-1 before they progressed to the then-brand-new

Canadair CT-114 Tutor The Canadair CT-114 Tutor (company model CL-41) was the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and later Canadian Forces, standard jet trainer between the early 1960s and 2000. It was designed and produced by Canadian aircraft manufacturer Canad ...

jet trainer. A decision was made by RCAF HQ to remove the DHC-1s from service and not replace them, as it was felt that the CT-114 was easy enough to fly that initial training was not needed. The CT-114 quickly developed a wash-out rate of near 95% amongst student jet pilots and it was clear that an elementary trainer was needed. Due to the RCAF's previous customer relationship with Beechcraft while operating that company's Expeditor twin-engine aircraft, a hasty purchase of twenty-four B23 Musketeers was made in 1971. The first CT-134 arrived at

CFB Portage la Prairie Canadian Forces Base Portage la Prairie is a former military airport of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) located adjacent to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada. Today the airport is operated as Portage la Prairie/Southport Airport. History ...

on March 23, 1971.Milberry, Larry: ''Sixty Years - The RCAF and Air Command 1924–1984'', page 384. McGraw Hill Ryerson Canav Books, 1984. The new trainers were designated CT-134 Musketeer in the then Canadian Armed Forces. The aircraft purchased were standard Model B23s equipped with the O-360-A4G engine of , modified by the addition of a cowling

strake On a vessel's hull, a strake is a longitudinal course of planking or plating which runs from the boat's stempost (at the bows) to the sternpost or transom (at the rear). The garboard strakes are the two immediately adjacent to the keel on ea ...

, horizontal stabilizer strake and ventral fin to improve spin recovery performance. They were initially serial numbered as 13401-13424, but were re-numbered 134001-134024 to avoid confusion with other CF aircraft serial numbers. The initial batch of CT-134s was replaced in late 1981 with a purchase of twenty-four more aircraft. These were 1982 model Beechcraft C23 Sundowners and were designated by the CF as CT-134A Musketeer II. These were numbered 134025-134048. The CT-134 was approved for limited aerobatics, including loops, rolls,

chandelle The ''chandelle'' is an aircraft control maneuver where the pilot combines a 180° turn with a climb.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 102. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. lazy eightsDAOT: ''C-12-134-000/MC-000 Canadian Forces Technical Order Operating Checklist Musketeer CT 134,'', CFTMPC, 10 Jul 79

Operational history

Both batches of Musketeers served with 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School and the Canadian Forces Flying Instructor School at CFB Portage la Prairie

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

and the Canadian Forces Central Flying School in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

until they were replaced by

Slingsby Firefly The Slingsby T67 Firefly, originally produced as the Fournier RF-6, is a two-seat aerobatic training aircraft, built by Slingsby Aviation in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England. It has been used as a trainer aircraft by several armed forces, as ...

s operated under contract by

Bombardier Aerospace Bombardier Aviation is a division of Bombardier Inc. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. Its most popular aircraft included the Dash 8 Series 400, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of regional airliners, and the newer CS ...

in 1992. During their 21 years of service the CT-134 and CT-134A fleet at 3 CFFTS trained about 5000 Canadian military pilot graduates. In operational service the CT-134 suffered very few accidents. One of the few serious accidents occurred on 23 March 1990 when Musketeer 134229 had an engine failure on take-off from Erickson Municipal Airport at

Erickson, Manitoba Erickson is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of Clanwilliam – Erickson within the Canadian province of Manitoba that held town status prior to 1 January 2015. It is located on Highway 10 on 32-17-18W in south central Manito ...

, while giving familiarization flights to

Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...

. The accident was caused by

fuel starvation In an internal combustion engine, fuel starvation is the failure of the fuel system to supply sufficient fuel to allow the engine to run properly, for example due to blockage, vapor lock, contamination by water, malfunction of the fuel pump or in ...

and the aircraft was written off.Milberry, Larry: ''Aircom: Canada's Air Force'', pages 82–83. Canav Books, 1991. Maintenance of the CT-134 fleet was primarily carried out by the CFB Portage la Prairie Base Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Organization, with Depot Level Inspection and Repair (DLIR) being conducted by Field Aviation at

Calgary International Airport Calgary International Airport , branded as YYC Calgary International Airport, is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately northeast of downtown and covers an area of 20.82 squa ...

in Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Upon retirement the CT-134s and CT-134As were not sold for flying use due to the structural problems they all suffered from years of aerobatics. Instead they were donated to museums or used for air force and civil maintenance training. Some CT-134s still serve as monuments at a few current and former Canadian Forces Bases as well as Royal Canadian Legion halls, a distinction held by very few light aircraft in this class. In Canadian military service the aircraft was referred to by student and instructor pilots by the nickname Muskrat.

Variants

;CT-134 :Military version of the B23 Musketeer, powered by a Lycoming O-360-A4G powerplant of 180 hp, 24 built. ; :Military version of the C23 Sundowner, powered by a Lycoming O-360-A4K powerplant of 180 hpDAOT: ''C-12-134-A00/MC-000 Canadian Forces Technical Order Operating Checklist Musketeer CT 134A,'', CFTMPC, 06 Jan 83 24 built.

Military operators

; * Canadian Armed Forces/Canadian Forces ** 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School ** Canadian Forces Central Flying School ** Canadian Forces Flying Instructor School

Specifications (Sundowner 180 / CT-134A Musketeer II)

References

External links

Canadian Forces Official CT-134 Musketeer history page
{{Canadian Forces aircraft CT-134 Musketeer 1970s United States military trainer aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft