what is it?
The Canadair CL-66 is a turboprop version of the civilian Convair CV-440 Metropolitan. The CC-109 Cosmopolitan or "Cosmo" in RCAF service became the standard VIP aircraft as well as replacing the Douglas Dakota and the North American B-25 Mitchell in light transport duties. After a lengthy career stretching into the 1990s, the CC-109 was replaced by the CC-142 Dash 8 and CC-144 Challenger.
How to recognise it: 2 turboprops · 32.1 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 67 years ago, in 1959.
- Top speed is 4.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 32.1 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 4 African elephants (~6 t each).
turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1959-02-02
- introduced
- 1960
- retired
- 1994
- status
- retired
- number built
- 10
- role
- transport aircraft
- origin
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- makers
- Canadair
- engines
- 2× Napier Eland NE1.6 Mk 504A
- crew
- 3
- passengers
- 64
- length
- 24.8 m
- wingspan
- 32.1 m
- height
- 8.6 m
- max take-off weight
- 24.1 t
- top speed
- 547 km/h
- cruise speed
- 518 km/h
- range
- —
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q1032019, Wikipedia: Canadair CC-109 Cosmopolitan (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.