End of an era that almost was...

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The following is an except from a letter to the editor, the letter is a half page long and I don't have the typing speed or patience to offer up the whole thing...credit goes to Charlotte Holt of Thunder Bay, Ont

Chronicle Journal Feb 21/04


I was saddened to see in your Feb 11 issue, the death of Janusz Zurakowski, the Polish test pilot of the ill fated Avro Arrow. It is indeed the final chapter of this fascinating story. After the war a number of Polish airmen came to live in Canada, and because Jan had been a test pilot in Britain, in April of 1952 the squadron leader was asked by A.V. Roe Canada to come to this country to test the newly manufactured C 100 Mark 1, followed by the Mark 2 and Mark 3. In the Mark 4 this 37 year old test pilot broke the sound barrier on a Canadian designed and built jet.

On March 25,1958 Jan made the first flight of the Avro Arrow CF 105, an advanced supersonic interceptor, at Milton Ontario. The 32 ton jet was airbourne for 35 minutes at a height of 5000 ft and at a speed of 250 kts. Jan made over 20 test flights in the arrow and reached a speed of Mach 1.96. This is what he said "What Canada always needed was some success, some sort of glue which joins people together and makes them proud of being Canadian; if we don't have an idea connecting the souls and dreams of Canadians, we start to disintegrate.

The Arrow was that great idea and fantastic opportunity; we made one of the best planes in the history of aviation, well ahead of its time;in its lokks and technological advancement and specifications, it reached forward into the space age. "We were proud of this Canadian product, which was much better than any other interceptor in the world. There are few planes today that are better; Canadian forces fly Hornet F-18's, which are slower than the Arrow was in its development stages almost a half century ago. Can you imagine what kind of plane Canadians would be flying today if the CF-105, Avro Canada and Orenda hadn't been destroyed? The plane was outstanding; people worked with enthusiasm, and the future of Canada as a nation of space technologies was bright. Killing tha Arrow was like killing the national soul. And who did it? invaders? enemies? martians? No. Canadians dealt this fate to Canadians. Jofn Deifenbaker's goverment made a short sighted decision, which decades later proved to be absolutley wrong, in every respect.

On Feb. 20 1959 the Avro Arrow was indeed cancelled by Jofn Deifenbakers Conservative goverment despite the enormous potential the design showed and the reputation it gained in the aviation world of being one of the greatest and most beautiful jets in the world. Together with the engines, blueprints, models and photographs, every trace of the project was erased.

A diary, written in Polish of Jan's life, is being translated into English and is to published shortly. In this samll autobiography which I have, wrtitten by Marek Kusiba (Adres Books) this Polish-Canadian test pilot said. "Goverments and touches can destroy an aircraft but they can not destroy hope and asperation, and the majesty of the questing spirit. In the hearts of people, the dream lives on.