The Red Knight was a Canadian air force aerobatic display aircraft that operated from 1958 to 1969. The red-painted Silver Star performed loops, rolls, Cuban 8s, horizontal 360s, inverted flight, and high speed passes at airshows around North America, often appearing as an opening act for or in conjunction with the Golden Hawks display team and later the Golden Centennaires, Canada's contemporary aerobatic teams. The Silver Star was replaced by the Tutor in July 1968.
During its service with the Royal Canadian Air Force (1958–1968) and the Canadian Forces (1968–1969), the Red Knight was flown by seventeen different pilots from four different bases.[1] Beginning in 1961 a second Red Knight aircraft with alternate pilot entered service, and the aircraft sometimes performed together or separately in different locations. An accident involving two Red Knights occurred on August 21, 1963 at the Gimli Air Force Day airshow. When the aircraft were performing a Cuban 8, alternate pilot Flight Lieutenant Wayne MacLellan recognized that he was too low to the ground and aborted the manoeuvre. Lead pilot Flight Lieutenant J.W. "Bud" Morin failed to recognize this and was killed when his plane contacted the ground. An air force investigation allowed the team to continue, but forbade any further coordinated acts.
The "new" Red Knight in Reno, Nevada, 2004
The Red Knight had five trouble-free years of flying after Morin's accident, but that was cut short when pilot Capt. John Reid crashed during a photo shoot on May 22, 1968.[2] After conducting a low-altitude loop, Reid could not pull the aircraft up fast enough and crashed into the ground. Though he was thrown clear of the wreckage, Reid died in hospital. This tragedy was closely followed by another. On July 13, 1969, Red Knight Capt. Bryan Alston was killed when his Tutor suffered a power failure and crashed during the forced landing.[3] These two crashes in short succession led the air force to seriously reconsider the program. Ultimately, because of budget considerations and personnel cuts, the Red Knight program was canceled in 1969.[3]
After its disappearance as a formal demonstration aircraft, the Red Knight was resurrected as a private show in the United States. Between 1990 and 1993, Rick Brickert flew a restored Lockheed T-33 in airshows around the United States and as the pace plane for the Reno Air Races. After Rick's death in 1993 when he crashed the Pond Racer experimental aircraft, the T-33 sat unused until acquired by Red Knight Air Shows, LLC in 2003. This company currently operates the T-33 and coordinates appearances at airshows around the continent.
Dempsey, Daniel V. A Tradition of Excellence: Canada's Airshow Team Heritage. Victoria, BC: High Flight Enterprises, 2002. ISBN0-9687817-0-5.
August 23, 2023
knight, aerobatic, team, knight, canadian, force, aerobatic, display, aircraft, that, operated, from, 1958, 1969, painted, silver, star, performed, loops, rolls, cuban, horizontal, 360s, inverted, flight, high, speed, passes, airshows, around, north, america, . The Red Knight was a Canadian air force aerobatic display aircraft that operated from 1958 to 1969 The red painted Silver Star performed loops rolls Cuban 8s horizontal 360s inverted flight and high speed passes at airshows around North America often appearing as an opening act for or in conjunction with the Golden Hawks display team and later the Golden Centennaires Canada s contemporary aerobatic teams The Silver Star was replaced by the Tutor in July 1968 Red KnightThe Red Knight flying over Saskatoon Saskatchewan November 1960Active1958 1969CountryCanadaBranchRoyal Canadian Air Force Canadian ForcesRoleAerobatic flight demonstrationSizeOne aircraft majority of the timeGarrison HQTrenton Saskatoon Portage la Prairie Moose JawColorsRedAircraft flownTrainerCanadair CT 133 Silver Star CT 114 TutorHistory EditDuring its service with the Royal Canadian Air Force 1958 1968 and the Canadian Forces 1968 1969 the Red Knight was flown by seventeen different pilots from four different bases 1 Beginning in 1961 a second Red Knight aircraft with alternate pilot entered service and the aircraft sometimes performed together or separately in different locations An accident involving two Red Knights occurred on August 21 1963 at the Gimli Air Force Day airshow When the aircraft were performing a Cuban 8 alternate pilot Flight Lieutenant Wayne MacLellan recognized that he was too low to the ground and aborted the manoeuvre Lead pilot Flight Lieutenant J W Bud Morin failed to recognize this and was killed when his plane contacted the ground An air force investigation allowed the team to continue but forbade any further coordinated acts The new Red Knight in Reno Nevada 2004The Red Knight had five trouble free years of flying after Morin s accident but that was cut short when pilot Capt John Reid crashed during a photo shoot on May 22 1968 2 After conducting a low altitude loop Reid could not pull the aircraft up fast enough and crashed into the ground Though he was thrown clear of the wreckage Reid died in hospital This tragedy was closely followed by another On July 13 1969 Red Knight Capt Bryan Alston was killed when his Tutor suffered a power failure and crashed during the forced landing 3 These two crashes in short succession led the air force to seriously reconsider the program Ultimately because of budget considerations and personnel cuts the Red Knight program was canceled in 1969 3 After its disappearance as a formal demonstration aircraft the Red Knight was resurrected as a private show in the United States Between 1990 and 1993 Rick Brickert flew a restored Lockheed T 33 in airshows around the United States and as the pace plane for the Reno Air Races After Rick s death in 1993 when he crashed the Pond Racer experimental aircraft the T 33 sat unused until acquired by Red Knight Air Shows LLC in 2003 This company currently operates the T 33 and coordinates appearances at airshows around the continent References Edit Dempsey 2002 p 709 Dempsey 2002 p 217 a b Dempsey 2002 p 222 Dempsey Daniel V A Tradition of Excellence Canada s Airshow Team Heritage Victoria BC High Flight Enterprises 2002 ISBN 0 9687817 0 5 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Red Knight aerobatic team amp oldid 1133659819, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
