Aircraft model
CANADIAN CAR & FOUNDRY HARVARD MK IV
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Harvard Mk IV is the Canadian-built Texan, produced by Canadian Car and Foundry in the early 1950s for the Royal Canadian Air Force and for NATO training programmes. It is equivalent to the American T-6G — the postwar rebuild standard — and is generally considered among the better Texans because the airframes are younger.
Large numbers came onto the civil market when Canada retired them, and many are in the United States. Ownership is warbird ownership: an R-1340 radial with a six-figure overhaul, around 35 gallons an hour, and airframe inspections a light aircraft does not need. Canadian-built aircraft sometimes have paperwork complications from their import history that are worth verifying. Landing is the recognised challenge and insurers require substantial tailwheel time and formal type training.
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- CANADIAN CAR & FOUNDRY HARVARD MK IV
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN-1 (radial) |
| Horsepower | 600 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 1951 |
| Production end | 1954 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 145 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 700 nm |
| Service ceiling | 21,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,200 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 57 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,317 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 657 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 5,617 lb |
| Empty weight | 4,300 lb |
| Usable fuel | 110 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 33.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $239,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $450,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,200 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $90,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $155,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 73 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 52 |
| Median year built | 1952.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 38.46 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 38.46 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 17 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 32.69 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 52 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 52 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 52 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 0.3 of 103 |
| Support | 3.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.7 of 105 |
These record scores treat CANADIAN CAR & FOUNDRY HARVARD MK IV as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 3 aircraft registered under NORTH AMERICAN; includes 1 aircraft registered as CANADIAN CAR & FOUNDRY HARVARD MK IV (T6J); includes 1 aircraft registered under CANADIAN CAR & FOUNDRY-BENNER; includes 1 aircraft registered under CANADIAN CAR & FOUNDRY/BAKER; includes the record of aircraft once registered under HAWKER SIDDELEY CANADA; includes the record of aircraft once registered under SHELTON GREG. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 29.1 · 174 models in class.
- Severity: class median 9.09.
- Access: class median 974.
- Support: class median 81.
- Liquidity: class median 20.47.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.