 |
Avro Arrow Brief History |
|
The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow
One of the finest achievements in Canadian aviation history, the delta wing Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was never allowed to fulfill its mission. Its role was to replace the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck as a supersonic all weather interceptor. A source of national pride, the Arrow incorporated advanced technical innovations and became a symbol of Canadian excellence.
The Mark 2 production version of the arrow, powered with two Avro Canada Iroquois turbo jet engines, would have been capable of achieving Mach 2 with full military load. This aircraft was a culmination of research and development unprecedented in Canada's aeronautical history. Thousands of people witnessed the first flight of the prototype flown by Chief Test Pilot, Jan Zurakowski, on March 25, 1958.
For various reasons, mostly due to high costs, the Federal Government cancelled the Avro Arrow program on February 20, 1959. Almost everything connected to the program was destroyed. Fortunately the forward fuselage of the first Mark 2 Arrow was saved and is on display at the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa. There are also some portions of the wings and control surfaces at the museum in Ottawa.
This page was last updated March 15, 1999
The background on this page was created based on the image Thunder Before the Storm (© Randall Whitcomb) using Paint Shop Pro v5.
