Picture Stories

These are the stories behind an interesting photo. Certainly not the most detailed by any means, but I hope it will inspire you to learn more about one of them at least!

Avro Arrow

This is a photograph of the Avro Arrow (CF-105). This was a great Canadian achievement. At the time (late 1950's), it was the most advanced fighter jet on the planet. (And it worked on the first flight)! That's right, the best in the world. It even had fly-by-wire, something which is now on the latest CF-18 and F-16 fighter jets. Not only was it a great airframe, did you know we also designed & produced the Orenda Iroquois engines which powered this thing? Also, at the time, the best in the world, by far! Even without the superior engine, the Arrow met design requirements with a substantially less powerful engine from American manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. Unfortunately, the politicians got in the act and axed the program, and worse, ordered all existing planes, engines and blueprints destroyed! Most of the brilliant Canadian engineers then headed off to NASA, where their expertise helped in the Apollo program to send a man to the moon.

Learn more...

• Avro Arrow.org
• Avro Arrow Homage Page
• Avro 2000 Project
• A.V.Roe and Arrow Info & Links
• Canadian Aviation Museum: CF-105