Canadair CF-116 (CF-5A)
- Period: 1970-1979
- Uses: Trainer
- First Flight: July 30, 1959
- Display Status: On the Museum Floor.
The Northrop F-5 helped reverse the 1950s trend that favored the development of large and expensive tactical fighters. Employing high-thrust but low-weight engines initially designed for guided missiles, the aircraft was planned as an affordable replacement for the subsonic jets developed after Second World War. The United States Air Force showed more interest in the two-seat versions as supersonic trainers, the world’s first. As the fighter version was well suited for defending a small country’s borders, it became the developing world’s most widely used light-weight fighter through the U.S. Government’s Military Assistance Program.
A modified version was built in Canada during the late 1960s and early 1970s, the last fighter manufactured in this country. Modifications included a probe for air-to-air refueling, more sophisticated avionics and higher powered Canadian-built engines. Many went directly into storage after Canada reduced its NATO commitments but those used in the training role became popular with fighter pilots making the transition to the CF-18.
Museum Example
- Registration #: 116763
- Manufacturer: Canadair Ltd., Canada
- Manufacture Date: 1970
- Construction #: Unknown
- Aquisition Date: 1997
- Provenance: Transfer from Canadian Forces
The Museum’s example, built in 1970, was based at several locations across Canada between periods of storage but served most frequently at Cold Lake, Alberta. Transferred by the Canadian Forces to the Museum in 1997, it retains the Warsaw Pact “aggressor” markings it wore during its last training exercises.
Specifications
- Wing Span:
- 7.9 m (25 ft 8 in)
- Length:
- 14.4 m (47 ft 2 in)
- Height:
- 14.4 m (13 ft 2 in)
- Weight, Empty:
- 3,937 kg (8,680 lb)
- Weight, Gross:
- 9,249 kg (20,390 lb)
- Cruising Speed:
- N/A
- Max Speed:
- 1,200 km/h (748 mph)
- Rate of Climb:
- 9,450 m (31,000 ft) /min
- Service Ceiling:
- 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
- Range:
- 630 km (390 miles)
- Power Plant:
- two Orenda J85-CAN-15 1,950 kg (4,300 lb) thrust each with afterburner
