훈련기 호주, 50년 간 운용한 CT4A 훈련기 퇴역

[위종민]

호주도 국산 훈련기가 있었네요. 1975년 호주 공군, 해군, 육군에 도입된 CT4A 훈련기가 2026년 6월 18일 마지막 비행을 실시했습니다. 

호주 공군, 약 50년간 운용한 국산 CT4A 훈련기 퇴역

작성: Jean Carmela Lim

편집: Emma Yates-Badley

12시간 전

국방

호주 공군(RAAF)의 CT4A 훈련기가 약 50년에 걸친 운용을 마치고 마지막 비행을 수행했다. 이로써 여러 세대의 군 조종사들에게 첫 비행 경험을 제공했던 기종이 역사 속으로 퇴역하게 됐다.

마지막 기념 비행은 2026년 6월 18일 빅토리아주 RAAF 포인트 쿡 기지 상공에서 실시됐다. 이곳은 호주 공군과 CT4A가 모두 처음 운용을 시작한 장소이기도 하다.

호주에서 제작된 유산

1975년 호주 공군에 처음 도입된 호주산 CT4A는 수천 명의 조종사들이 처음 조종한 동력 군용항공기였다. 수십 년 동안 이 기체는 호주 국방군 전반에서 작전 조종사 경력의 출발점 역할을 했다.

마지막 기념 비행을 조종한 데이비드 채플린 공군 중령(Wing Commander)은 CT4A가 호주 공군력에 미친 영향은 아무리 강조해도 지나치지 않다고 말했다.

"이 항공기에서 시작된 공군력이 정말 많다. 내가 처음 조종한 동력 항공기도 바로 이 기체였다. 나는 1980년 1월 이곳 포인트 쿡에서 공군에 입대했는데, 기지에 도착했을 때 사방에서 CT4가 비행하는 모습만 보였다."

하나의 항공기, 세 군을 위한 훈련기

CT4A는 호주 육군, 해군, 공군 모두의 조종사 양성에 사용됐으며, 이후 전투기, 공중기동기, 해상초계기, 회전익 항공기를 조종하게 될 조종사들의 첫 교육 기종이었다.

채플린 중령은 "군에 들어온 사람이라면 거의 모두가 이 항공기로 훈련을 받았다. 육군, 해군, 공군 모두 마찬가지였다"고 말했다.

예비역 장교인 피터 그리브스 공군 소령(Squadron Leader)은 이번에 퇴역하는 바로 그 항공기에서 자신의 첫 군 비행을 했다고 회상하며, 이번 행사가 많은 추억을 떠올리게 했다고 말했다.

그는 "많은 사람들이 다시 만나 추억을 나누게 될 것이다. 힘들었던 기억도 있었지만 여전히 소중한 추억이다. 특히 포인트 쿡은 경험할 수 있는 거의 모든 종류의 날씨 속에서 비행을 배우게 해주는 곳이었다"고 말했다.

한 시대의 마무리

채플린 중령에게 마지막 기념 비행은 개인적으로도 특별한 의미를 지녔다.

그는 "지휘관이 CT4의 마지막 날 기념 비행을 맡아달라고 했을 때 조금 감정이 북받쳤다. 비행을 마친 뒤에는 이 항공기로 훈련받았던 모든 사람들과 수년간 이 항공기를 지원했던 사람들, 즉 정비사, 행정요원, 항공교통관제사, 교관들을 떠올리게 됐다"고 말했다.

이번 마지막 비행은 항공기 자체뿐 아니라, 그 조종석에서 교육을 실시했던 교관들, 기체를 유지해 온 정비사들, 그리고 이 항공기를 통해 작전 조종사로 향하는 첫걸음을 내디딘 여러 세대의 조종사들에게 바치는 헌사였다.

RAAF retires CT4A trainer after nearly 50 years of service - AeroTime

RAAF retires CT4A trainer after nearly 50 years of service - AeroTime

RAAF retires Australian-built CT4A trainer after nearly 50 years of service

ByJean Carmela Lim

Edited ByEmma Yates-Badley

12 hours ago

Defense

Australia Defence

The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) CT4A trainer aircraft has completed its final flight after nearly five decades of service, retiring the aircraft type that introduced generations of military pilots to the skies.

The final display flight took place on June 18, 2026, over RAAF Base Point Cook in Victoria, the same location where both the Air Force and the CT4A’s service began.

An Australian-made legacy

Introduced into Air Force service in 1975, the Australian-built CT4A was the first powered military aircraft that thousands of aviators would fly. For decades, it served as the foundation for operational careers across the Australian Defence Force.

Wing Commander David Chaplin, who piloted the final display flight, said the aircraft’s influence on Australian air power is hard to overstate.

“There’s a whole lot of air power that has come from this aircraft,” Chaplin said. “It was the first powered aircraft I flew. I joined the Air Force here at Point Cook in January 1980, and when we arrived on base, all we could see were CT4s flying around.”

One aircraft, three branches

The CT4A trained pilots across all three branches of the Australian military, serving as the starting point for aviators who would go on to fly air combat, air mobility, maritime patrol, and rotary-wing aircraft.

“Pretty much everybody who came through the services completed training on that aeroplane – Army, Navy and Air Force,” Chaplin said.

Squadron Leader Peter Grieves, a reservist who completed his first military flight in the same aircraft now entering retirement, said the occasion brought back memories.

“There’ll be a lot of people catching up and sharing memories,” Grieves said. “Some of them were stressful memories but still fond memories, especially here at Point Cook which teaches you to fly in just about every type of weather you can get.”

Closing a chapter

For Chaplin, conducting the final display flight carried personal significance.

“When the commanding officer asked me to conduct the flying display for the CT4’s final day, it was a little emotional,” he said. “After the display, I started thinking about all the people who had trained on the aircraft and all those who had supported it over the years – engineers, administrators, air traffic controllers and instructors.”

The final flight served as a tribute not just to the aircraft itself, but to the instructors who taught from its cockpit, the engineers who maintained it, and the generations of aviators who took their first steps toward operational service behind its controls.

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