Celebrating the “Landing” of the AVRO Arrow in Mississauga

Avro Arrow in flight, Alex Anderson Collection, Region of Peel Archives.

The AVRO Arrow replica has landed back home, where it all began more than 70 years ago. The replica will be officially unveiled at the Flight Garden in Paul Coffey Park in Malton at 7:30 pm on Thursday, August 27. All are welcome.

The unveiling of the AVRO Arrow replica in Malton is a celebration of innovation and a recognition of the Canadian braintrust whose achievement is still regaled today. But the replica is not only about making a link with past achievements – it is also about inspiring a modern generation to strive, innovate and dream. The AVRO Arrow, even though part of its legacy is shrouded in controversy and “what-ifs”, is also a story about celebrating Canadian achievements, Canadian identity, and knowing that we were, are, and can continue to be, at the forefront of technological innovation.

Avro Arrow replica at the Flight Garden in Paul Coffey Park, Malton, Mississauga.

In the spirit of innovation and the Canadian work force that created it, this article will explore some the technological “firsts” of the AVRO Arrow. The CF-105 program truly was innovative for the aeronautics industry and set new directions and specifications for airplane development.

In aftermath of the Second World War and amidst the early years of the Cold War, A.V. Roe Canada found itself in an excellent position to attract some of the brightest engineering minds and aeronautical professionals.

A.V. Roe Canada’s first significant achievement was the CF-100 all-weather jet interceptor – an aircraft that was to become one of the most successful and longest serving military aircraft ever produced in Canada. Throughout the development of the CF-100, and in the years that followed, the company invested heavily in research and design, leading to significant technological innovations.

Roll-out of the CF-105 AVRO Arrow RL-201, Oct 4, 1957, Heritage Mississauga.

In awarding the CF-105 program to A.V. Roe Canada, the RCAF established performance stipulations that set the stage for some of the greatest design advances in the aerospace industry. The supersonic CF-105 AVRO Arrow, when rolled out in 1957, was arguably the most advanced aircraft of its time, and was the result a multi-year Canadian design and development process based right here in Malton, in Mississauga.

The development of the Arrow saw the redesign of many aspects of production, right from tool and die, to alloy fabrication, control and weapons systems. Many aspects of individual components within the CF-105 design, production, and assembly involved significant leaps in know-how and technological innovation.

Former Chief of Air Staff Wilf Curtis explained: “Advances were made, and limits were extended. Manufacturing techniques and quality control became more exacting. Management skills and methods were learned. Thousands of people improved their abilities and pulled together. When you hear of everyday workers going into Avro early so that they could walk through the plant and see the progress of the Arrow, you can’t help but be impressed. Something special was going on in Malton during those days.”

Roll-out of the first Avro Arrow, RL-201 on Oct 4, 1957, image courtesty of Dave Cook.

Jack Woodman, the only RCAF pilot to fly the Arrow, reported that the aircraft “was meeting and exceeding all specifications.” The A.V. Roe Canada design team was confident that the Mark II Arrows, starting with RL-206 with the Iroquois engine, would surpass Mach 2 easily, and planned on hitting Mach 3 with future series.

With the ultimate cancellation of the CF-105 program in 1959, we do not know what the Arrow might have achieved. There were five Mark I prototype Arrows that flew, with each being powered by J75 Pratt & Whitney engines. The first Mark II Arrow, RL-206, was nearing completion when the program was cancelled. RL-206 was to have been powered by the Orenda PS-13 “Iroquois” engine and was expected to have set new flight records. Even though only five Mark I Arrows ever flew, they set a new standard for design and flight performance expectations, and set new milestones in terms of “firsts” in the aeronautics industry, made all the more significant when viewed through the lens that it happened here, in Malton (Mississauga), in Canada, and who knows what else the talented brain trust that created the Arrow might have achieved if the program had been allowed to continue.

CF-105 AVRO Arrow “Firsts”:

•     The first aircraft designed with digital computers being used for both aerodynamic analysis and designing the structural matrix.

•     The first aircraft design to have major components machined by CNC (computer numeric control); i.e., from electronic data that controlled the machine.

•     The first aircraft to be developed using an early form of “computational fluid dynamics” with an integrated “lifting body” type of theory rather than the typical (and obsolete) “blade element” theory.

•     The first aircraft to have marginal stability designed into the pitch axis for better maneuverability, speed and altitude performance.

•     The first aircraft to have negative stability designed into the yaw axis to save weight and cut drag, also boosting performance.

•     The first aircraft to fly on an electronic signal from the stick and pedals. (i.e., first fly-by-wire aircraft)

•     The first aircraft to be data-link flyable from the ground.

•     The first aircraft to be designed with integrated navigation, weapons release, automatic search and track radar, home-on-jamming, infrared detection, electronic countermeasures and counter-countermeasures.

•     The first high wing jet fighter that made the entire upper surface a lifting body.

•     The first sophisticated bleed-bypass system for both intake and engine/exhaust.

•     The first by-pass engine design.

•     The first use of titanium for significant portions of the aircraft structure and engine.

•     The first use of a drooped leading edge and aerodynamic “twist” on the wing.

•     The first use of engines at the rear to allow both a lighter structure and significant payload at the centre of gravity. Many future aircraft designs copied this feature.

•     The first use of a long internal weapons bay to allow carriage of specialized, long-range standoff and cruise missiles.

•     The first integration of ground-mapping radar and the radar altimeter plus flight control system to allow an interceptor/reconnaissance role.

•     The first missile-armed a/c to have a combat weight thrust to weight ratio approaching 1 to 1.

•     The first flying 4,000 psi hydraulic system to allow lighter and smaller components.

•     The first oxygen-injection re-light system.

•     The first engine to have only two main bearing assemblies on a two-shaft design.

•     The first aircraft to use a variable stator on a two-shaft engine.

•     The first use of a trans-sonic first compressor stage on a turbojet engine.

•     The first aircraft engine to use only 10 compressor sections in a two-shaft design.

With information from:

https://canadiansatarms.ca/avro-arrow-list-of-firsts/
https://www.va3kgb.ca/cf105/old%20html%20files/arrow_firsts.htm