Canadair CL-44

what is it?

The Canadair CL-44 was a Canadian turboprop airliner and cargo aircraft based on the Bristol Britannia that was developed and produced by Canadair in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although innovative, only a small number of the aircraft were produced for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) (as the CC-106 Yukon), and for commercial operators worldwide. The aircraft is named after the Canadian territory of Yukon.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 turboprops · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 43.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 670 km/htop speed
• range 8,991 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 160passengers
• size 95 tmax take-off weight
• built 39made in total

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 5.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 43.4 m: about 10 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 16 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 8,991 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight

1959-11-16

introduced

1960

retired

1971

status

retired

number built

39

role

military transport aircraft, cargo aircraft

origin

🇨🇦 Canada

makers

Canadair

engines

4× Rolls-Royce Tyne 515/50

crew

2

passengers

160

length

41.7 m

wingspan

43.4 m

height

11.2 m

max take-off weight

95 t

top speed

670 km/h

cruise speed

646 km/h

range

8,991 km

ceiling

9,144 m

wings

low wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family