953 nut 51,541 #1 Posted March 25, 2016 3-25-1958 First flight of Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The Arrow is considered to have been an advanced technical and aerodynamic achievement for the Canadian aviation industry. The CF-105 (Mark 2) held the promise of near-Mach 2 speeds at altitudes of 50,000 feet (15,000 m) and was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) primary interceptor in the 1960s and beyond. The Arrow was the culmination of a series of design studies begun in 1953 examining improved versions of the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck. After considerable study, the RCAF selected a dramatically more powerful design, and serious development began in March 1955. Intended to be built directly from the production line, skipping the traditional hand-built prototype phase, the first Arrow Mk. I, RL-201, was rolled out to the public on 4 October 1957, the same day as the launch of Sputnik I. Flight testing began with RL-201 on 25 March 1958, and the design quickly demonstrated excellent handling and overall performance, reaching Mach 1.98. Powered by the Pratt & Whitney J75, another three Mk. Is were completed, RL-202 through -204. The lighter and more powerful Orenda Iroquois engine was soon ready for testing, and the first Mk.II with the Iroquois, RL-206, was ready for taxi testing in preparation for flight and acceptance tests by RCAF pilots by early 1959. On 20 February 1959, the development of the Arrow (and its Iroquois engines) was abruptly halted before the project review had taken place. Two months later, the assembly line, tooling, plans and existing airframes and engines were ordered to be destroyed. The cancellation was the topic of considerable political controversy at the time, and the subsequent destruction of the aircraft in production remains a topic for debate among historians and industry pundits. "This action effectively put Avro out of business and its highly skilled engineering and production personnel scattered 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tractorhogg 611 #2 Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) I believe "incentives" from unnamed American and British (Douglas and Hawker Siddeley) aircraft manufactures was also partly to blame, but since no evidence of illegal bribery surfaced, it was basically thought of as corporate and political gamesmanship. It all depends on who your friends are, the President of AVRO was not a friendly man. http://globalnews.ca/news/427985/55-years-later-biggest-question-surrounding-avro-arrow-remains-what-if/ Edited March 25, 2016 by tractorhogg 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Retired Sparky 526 #3 Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) That was a sharp looking plane for it's day. Edited March 25, 2016 by Retired Sparky 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tractorhogg 611 #4 Posted March 25, 2016 The SR-71 Blackbird was also beginning its test flights as the A-12 Oxcart around this time. The SR-71 has yet to be replaced by a faster higher flying aircraft over 50 years later 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Retired Sparky 526 #5 Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) I saw the YF-12A which was the prototype of the SR-71 in a flight museum in Seattle years ago. To see that plane up close was amazing. Edited March 25, 2016 by Retired Sparky 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
