Canadair CL-44 - Operational Service

Operational Service

Initially, the CL-44-6 was produced for the RCAF as the CC-106 Yukon. Once initial problems were resolved, in RCAF service the Yukon performed well and in December 1961, a Yukon set a world record for its class when it flew 6,750 mi (10,860 km) from Tokyo to RCAF Station Trenton, Ontario, in 17 hours, three minutes at an average speed of 400 mph (640 km/h). Later, a Yukon set a new record staying airborne for 23 hours and 51 minutes. These records were unbroken until bettered by the Boeing 747SP in 1975. By the time of their retirement, Yukons had flown 65 million miles, 1.5 billion passenger miles and 360 million ton-miles. The CL-44D4 was briefly considered for purchase by the USAF in the 1960s but the project was never culminated due to political backlash in Canada and the US. The USAF purchase of the CL-44 was complicated by two factors. It came in the aftermath of the cancellation of the Avro CF-105 Arrow and involved a "swap deal" wherein 100 F-101 Voodoo fighters were obtained in return for a contract for 232 CL-44-D4 transports for the Military Air Transport Service (MATS). The political controversy that resulted led to problems for both a Quebec-based company receiving a contract so soon after an Ontario-based company had lost a major contract. The USAF also quickly found that buying a foreign aircraft was not easy when American companies wanted the business and relinquished the contract to Canadair, awarding an order to Boeing for the KC-135 Stratotanker.

On the cargo aircraft variant CL-44D4 the entire tail section hinged. It could be opened using hydraulic actuators to load large items quickly. An inflatable seal at the hinge-break enabled cabin pressure to be maintained, and eight hydraulic-operated locks assured structural integrity. The tail could be opened from controls within the tail in 90 seconds. The flight controls at the joint were maintained by a system of push pads.

The CL-44D4 was the first large aircraft to be able to 'swing' its tail, although some small naval aircraft had this feature to ease storage. These, however, required rigging before flight. There were only four original customers who bought and operated the CL-44D4.

Loftleiðir was the only passenger operator of the CL-44J, variant of CL-44D4 stretched on request by Canadair. It was the largest passenger aircraft flying over the Atlantic ocean at that time. Loftleiðir marketed the CL-44J under the name "Rolls-Royce 400 PropJet". This led to the confusion that the CL-44J is sometimes referred to as the Canadair-400. Loftleiðir Icelandic Airlines merged with Flugfelag Islands in 1973 and became today's Icelandair.

In 1981 a Baku, Azerbaijan-based Soviet Union interceptor deliberately rammed an Argentine Canadair CL-44 from Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense, killing the three Argentines and one Briton on board; the aircraft was delivering arms from Israel to Iran.