AVRO ARROW CF-105
The Avro Arrow CF105 z numerem bocznym RL201 to pierwszy zbudowany egzemplarz tego samolotu w torontonskich zakladach lotniczych Avro Canada... pierwszym pilotem-oblatywaczem tego mysliwca byl Polak, Janusz Zurakowski
The Avro Arrow CF105 with the side number RL201 was the first supersonic aircraft entirely designed & built in Canada... The first experimental-test pilot who made this fighter airborne was Polish origin Janusz Zurakowski
The Avro Arrow CF105 with the side number RL201 was the first supersonic aircraft entirely designed & built in Canada... The first experimental-test pilot who made this fighter airborne was Polish origin Janusz Zurakowski
Opis Samolotu
ARROW CF105 - Pierwszy Kanadyjski Mysliwiec Ponaddzwiekowy,
pazdziernik 1957 - luty 1959 "Mysliwiec Arrow Mk1, ktory latal w latach 1957-59, byl tylko poczatkiem znakomicie zapowiadajacej sie serii samolotow. Przy normalnym rozwoju, seria ta mogla stac sie najdoskonalsza" (Jim Floyd, Glowny Inzynier Arrow) Arrow CF-105 (Strzala), byl duzym, szybkim mysliwcem przechwytujacym o skrzydlach w ksztalcie delty. W seryjnej produkcji samolot ten mial byc wyposazony w dwa potezne silniki "Iroquois-ORENDA", ktore byly specjalnie zaprojektowane i zbudowane dla tego samolotu i byly calkowicie kanadyjskiej produkcji. Pierwsze modele Arrow posiadaly jednak duzo slabszy i ciezszy silnik amerykanski Pratt & Whitney J-75. Arrow byl niezwykle dobrze zapowiadajacym sie samolotem, ale ze wzgledow politycznych badania nad jego rozwojem zostaly przerwane, razem z pracami nad doskonaleniem, wyjatkowego w swoich osiagach, silnika Iroquois, a takze rakietami uzbrojenia ASTRA-Sparrow 2. W latach 1957-59 zbudowano 6 Arrow. Arrow byl zaprojektowany, przede wszystkim do walki z sowieckimi bombowcami nuklearnymi, ktorych ataki zagrazaly Kanadzie od strony Arktyki w okresie Zimnej Wojny ('50). W latach 1953-59, zespol kanadyjskiego przedsiebiorstwa lotniczego AVRO zaprojektowal, zbudowal i testowal jeden z najbardziej zaawansowanych technologicznie samolotow na swiecie "Arrow CF-105" ("Strzala"). Byl to samolot, zdaniem wielu, wyprzedzajacy terazniejszosc o 20 lat i ze wzgledu na swoje parametry, moglby byc wciaz uzywany dzisiaj. Niestety, w 1959 r badania nad nim zostaly niefortunnie przerwane przez konserwatywny rzad Kanady z premierem John Diefenbaker. Wszystkie wyprodukowane Arrow i dokumentacja techniczna zostaly na polecenie rzadu zniszczone. Istotnym faktem w historii Arrow bylo to,ze dla obnizenia kosztow i skrocenia czasu od projektu do budowy, zdecydowano nie tworzyc egzemplarzy prototypowych. Pierwszy samolot, ktory zszedl z linii montazowej gotowy byl praktycznie do sluzby w lotnictwie wojskowym. Bylo to znaczace osiagniecie. Poczatkowo , Arrow mial byc napedzany dwoma silnikami Rolls-Royce RB 106, jednak ze wzgledu na nieprzewidziane zakonczenie produkcji tego silnika samolot Arrow potrzebowal naped zastepczy. Wydzial silnikow przedsiebiorstwa AVRO o nazwie "Orenda" podjal sie niezwykle trudnego zadania stworzenia zupelnie nowego silnika specjalnie dla Arrow. Nazwano go "Iroquois". Silnik "Orenda-Iroquois" osiagal ciag normalny 9,072 kg (20,000 lb) i dochodzil do 11,794 kg (26,000 lb) z dodatkowym odpaleniem dysz. Przy zastosowaniu dwoch silnikow, jak to mialo miejsce w Arrow, moc ta podwajala sie oczywiscie. (Dla porownania; polski samolot jedno-silnikowy, Iskra mial ciag tylko ok 1,000 kg.) Prace konstrukcyjno-badawcze nad Iroquois kosztowaly ok.$90 mln dolarow, co klasyfikowalo je na bardzo dobrym poziomie, biorac pod uwage, ze byl to najpotezniejszy silnik tego typu w Polnocnej Ameryce i na swiecie. Dla porownania, koszty budowy podobnego, amerykanskiego silnika Pratt & Whitney J-75 wynosily ponad $270 mln. Kadlub samolotu byl niemniej zaawansowany pod wzgledem areodynamicznym i technicznym. Arrow mogl latac z szybkoscia Mach 1 przez 2,5 godz - osiagajac przeciazenia 2G przy szybkosci Mach 1,5 nie tracil tej szybkosci i pulapu. (Model Arrow z silnikiem Iroquois mial osiagac szybkosc przekraczajaca Mach 2) Arrow byl samolotem, w ktorym zastosowano po raz pierwszy system Automatycznego Sterowania ("fly-by-wire"). Po raz pierwszy komputer asystowal pilotowi w prowadzeniu samolotu. System ten pozwalal na utrzymywanie stabilnosci samolotu np. w wypadku awarii jednego z silnikow, umozliwial on automatyczny start i ladowanie a takze umozliwial utrzymywanie stalej szybkosci i ustalonego kierunku lotu. Podobna technologia zaczela byc stosowana w innych samolotach dopiero 20 lat pozniej. Ladownia przeznaczona na uzbrojenie byla w Arrow wieksza od tych w B-29 i Lancasterze, dwoch popularnych bombowcach w czasie II Wojny Swiatowej. Ladownia ta mogla pomiescic bardzo roznorodne uzbrojenie i dzieki temu Arrow byl bardzo uniwersalny pod wzgledem przeznaczenia. W zaleznosci od rodzaju uzbrojenia, Arrow mogl byc wykorzystywany jako mysliwiec poscigowy i uderzeniowy, jako lekki bombowiec , a takze samolot do walki z okretami. Mimo, ze byl projektowany glownie z mysla o funkcjach poscigowych / przechwytujacych, mogl byc wyposazany w rakiety, bomby i torpedy. Czynilo to Arrow samolotem uniwersalnym, o najwyzszych wlasciwosciach bojowych... Zaloge stanowily dwie osoby w konfiguracji pilot nawigator. Nawigator byl odpowiedzialny za nawigacje i kontrole radaru , jakkolwiek pilot mial takze nawigacyjna konsole na wypadek lotow w pojedynke. Arrow mial byc poczatkowo wyposazony w system uzbrojenia, kanadyjskiej produkcji ASTRA-Sparrow 2. Przy rozwoju tego systemu napotykano jednak na wiele trudnosci i rzad zdecydowal przerwac badania zanim taka sama decyzje podjal w stosunku do calego samolotu. Luk uzbrojenia otwieral sie w 0,3 sekundy i rakiety mogly byc odpalone w 2 sekundy. Arrow mial bardzo potezny system chlodzenia i klimatyzacji, co wiazalo sie z wystepowaniem wysokich temperatur podczas lotow z szybkoscia dzwieku (tarcie), nawet gdy odbywaly sie one w warunkach arktycznych. System chlodzenia byl w stanie wyprodukowac 23 tony lodu dziennie !!!. Kabina miala cisnieniowa regulacje, a szyby wyposazone byly w system odmrazania , ogrzewania i usuwania zaparowania. Samolot byl takze wyposazony w rozbudowany uklad hydrauliczny podwozia i wspomagania kontroli lotu. Zmierzono, ze sila jaka tworzylo hydrauliczne cisnienie tego ukladu, byla w stanie uniesc 6 sloni !. Arrow bylo po raz pierwszy zaprezentowany 4 pazdziernika 1957. Niefortunnym zbiegiem okolicznosci, dokladnie w tym samym dniu Rosjanie umiescili na orbicie pierwszego sztucznego satelite "Sputnik". Wydarzenie to zdecydowanie przycmilo donioslosc i znaczenie Arrow. Politycy, wojskowi, a takze spoleczenstwo, zaczelo myslec o obronie powietrznej w innych kategoriach - KOSMOS !. Poniewaz kadlub Arrow byl gotowy przed ukonczeniem prac nad silnikiem Iroquois, zdecydowano sie na zastosowanie, w pierwszych wersjach Arrow silnika amerykanskiego Pratt & Whitney J-75, ktorego moc byla mniejsza od planowanej mocy dla Arrow, aczkolwiek wystarczajaca do osiagniecia szybkosci ponaddzwiekowej. Probne kolowania i loty zostaly rozpoczete zaraz po zamontowaniu silnika w pierwszym Arrow o numerze RL-201. Pierwszy lot odbyl sie bez problemow 25 marca 1958 w poblizu Toronto. Pilotem doswiadczalny w tym locie, jak i w wielu kolejnych byl Polak, Janusz Zurakowski znany jako "Zura". Po pierwszym locie, Zurakowski ocenil Arrow jako samolot, ktory pilotuje sie bardzo dobrze i latwiej niz wiele innych typow, powszechnie uzywanych mysliwcow. Podczas lotow doswiadczalnych nikt nie zginal i nikt nie zostal ranny. Aczkolwiek dwukrotnie mialy miejsce wypadki przy ladowaniu. Za pierwszym razem byl problem z prawidlowym ustawieniem sie systemu podwozia, a za drugim razem, wystapilo zablokowanie hamulcow wskutek czego rozerwana zostala jedna z opon samolotu. W obu wypadkach, Arrow zjechal z pasa startowego i zatrzymujac sie na poboczu uszkodzil konstrukcje podwozia. Proby powietrzne silnika Iroquois zostaly przeprowadzone na szescio-silnikowym bombowcu odrzutowym B-47, ktory zostal w tym celu pozyczony od Amerykanskich Sil Powietrznych (USAF). Do przeprowadzenia testow, B-47 musial byc odpowiednio przygotowany - zajelo sie tym "Canadair", ktore zbudowalo dla Iroquois specjalna dysze do zamontowania w B-47. Dysza ta razem z silnikiem zostala zamontowana w tylnej czesci B-47, po prawej stronie jego kadluba. Pierwsze odpalenie Iroquois nastapilo na wysokosci 15,000 stop. Moc byla tak duza, ze musiano wylaczyc pozostale silniki w przeciwnym razie B-47 moglby rozwinac szybkosc dzwieku do ktorej jego kadlub nie byl zaprojektowany, a to grozilo rozerwaniem samolotu na kawalki. Amerykanie, ktorzy byli zapoznani z pracami nad silnikiem Iroquois i Arrow, nazywali ten samolot "bliski perfekcji". Na poczatku 1958r, Kanada podpisala ze Stanami Zjednoczonymi umowe "Polnocno-Amerykanska Obrona Powietrzna" (NORAD). Glownym celem tej umowy byla wspolpraca i ustalenie standartow odnosnie obrony powietrznej. Jesienia 1958, konserwatywny rzad Kanady premiera Diefenbaker przerwal prace nad systemem uzbrojenia ASTRA- Sparrow 2, w ktory mial byc wyposazony Arrow. Chciano przez to obnizyc koszty ogolne programu Arrow, ktore znacznie przekroczyly planowany dudzet. (...) Koszty badan przekraczaly zalozone limity poniewaz, pomiedzy Wojskami Lotniczymi (RCAF) i rzadem bylo brak dobrej wymiany informacji, porozumienia, a takze prawidlowej organizacji. Po przerwaniu prac nad ASTRA-Sparrow 2, RACF musialo sie zdecydowac na zastosowanie w Arrow innego systemu uzbrojenia : "Hughes Aerospace MG-3". Ze wzgledu na wspomniana umowe NORAD, Arrow mialo byc wyposazone w ten system przy minimalnych kosztach. Pomoglo to niezwykle obnizyc finansowe naklady na caly projekt Arrow. Jednak dla rzadu Diefenbakera, tego typu rozwiazanie bylo wciaz niezadawalajace. Rozpoczeto rozwazac mozliwosc przerwania badan nad Arrow W miedzyczasie rzad probowal zainteresowac USA kupnem Arrow. Amerykanie nie byli zainteresowani ta propozycja z kilku powodow, a glownym bylo to, ze zakup kanadyjskiego Arrow zaszkodzilby powaznie calemu amerykanskiemu przemyslowi lotniczemu, w ktorym zatrudnionych bylo tysiace ludzi. Amerykanie musieli dac zatrudnienie - musieli produkowac wlasne samoloty. Jednak ze wzgledu na ogromne zaawansowanie techniczne Arrow, Amerykanskie Sily Powietrzne (USAF) byly mimo wszystko bardzo zainteresowane tym samolotem i potrzebowaly takiego mysliwca. Zaproponowano wiec rzadowi kanadyjskiemu, ze Amerykanie kupia Arrow DLA Kanady (podobnie jak samoloty dla innych panstw ONZ w okresie Zimnej Wojny), ale nie OD Kanady. Rzad kanadyjski ujal sie honorem i odpowiedz brzmiala "Nie". (...) Po umieszczeniu na orbicie "Sputnika", coraz wiecej mowilo sie o obronie powietrznej w oparciu o samosterujace rakiety... Mysliwce pilotowane przez czlowieka wydawaly sie byc przeszloscia. W takich okolicznosciach Amerykanie zaproponowali rzadowi kanadyjskiemu zakup rakiet Bomarc z Systemem Wczesnego Ostrzegania (DEW). Rakiety te mialy byc umieszczone w dwoch bazach wojskowych; w polnocnej czesci prowincji Ontario (North Bay) i Quebec. Mialy one zasieg tylko ok. 600 km. W takim ukladzie, ponad 4 tys. km polnocnych terenow Kanady pozostawalo nadal niestrzezonych. Planowano budowe dodatkowych 18 baz, jednak ze wzgledu na problemy techniczne rakiet Bomarc plany te zmiejszono do 14 baz, a potem do 8. System rakietowy Bomarc nie gwarantowal wystarczajacego bezpieczenstwa, a jednak rzad Diefenbakera zdecydowal sie na zakup tego systemu za $200 mln. dolarow. Aby miec fundusze na system rakietowy Bomarc, 20 lutego 1959 rzad oglosil przerwanie prac nad samolotem Arrow i zarzadzil zniszczenie wszystkiego co wiazalo sie z Arrow. Z dnia na dzien, stracilo prace 14 tys ludzi zatrudnionych w przedsiebiorstwie AVRO, a wkrotce potem 35 tys innych z przedsiebiorstw kooperujacych. Bylo to najwieksze tego rodzaju zwolnienie pracownikow w kanadyjskiej historii. Wszystkie zbudowane samoloty Arrow wartosci ok. $3,5 mln kazdy, a takze wszystkie narzedzia i maszyny zostaly pociete palnikami i sprzedane zlomowisku Sam Lax & Co. w Mississagua k/Toronto, za ogolna kwote $350 tys. Wkrotce okazalo sie, ze system obrony oparty na rakietach Bomarc nie zdaje egzaminu i po wydaniu ogromnych sum pieniedzy zlikwidowano go. W 1961 r rzad, po cichu, zakupil od Amerykanow, za kwote $260 mln, 64 uzywanych mysliwcow Voodoo, ktore ledwo osiagaly szybkosc Mach 1 . Za pieniadze te, lacznie z $200 mln wydanymi na Bomarc mozna byloby zbudowac 130 supernowoczesnych Arrow osiagajacych szybkosc Mach2, zapewniajac zatrudnienie dla tysiecy ludzi i umozliwiajac Kanadzie zajecie prestizowej pozycji lidera w swiatowym przemysle lotniczym. Niestety, nie wykorzystano szansy, ktora juz sie chyba nie powtorzy. Zaraz po przerwaniu prac nad Arrow, wielu najlepszych konstruktorow, inzynierow i mechanikow AVRO otrzymalo atrakcyjne oferty pracy od konkurencyjnych przedsiebiorstw lotniczych w USA i Europie. Wyjechali z Kanady najlepsi z najlepszych i rozpoczeli prace dla NASA, Lockheeda, Boeinga. Zespol badawczy NASA z udzialem bylych inzynierow z AVRO rozpoczal prace nad programem Appollo, Misja Ksiezycowa, a takze pierwszymi projektami pszyszlego promu kosmicznego. Wielu wyjechalo do Anglii i wzielo udzial w pracach nad pasazerskim samolotem ponaddzwiekowym Concorde. SYSTEM UZBROJENIA System uzbroenia dla Arrow modyfikowano wielokrotnie i w zasadzie do konca nie wiadomo bylo jaka bedzie ostateczna wersja tego uzbrojenia. Pierwsze modele Arrow zamiast uzbrojenia, wypelnione mialy swoje luki aparatura badawcza i pomiarowa... Uzbrojeniem dla Arrow mial, w poczatkowej fazie projektow , byc system pociskow rakietowych ASTRA-Sparrow 2. Byly to pociski z glowicami nuklearnymi, naprowadzane na cel przez radar. Pewne testy tych pociskow byly robione przy uzyciu mysliwca CF-100. Arrow mial zabierac od 4 do 6 pociskow tego typu. umieszczonych w luku. Ilosc ta mogla byc wieksza po zainstalowaniu odpowiednich zamocowan pod skrzydlami. System ASTRA-Sparrow byl jednak niezwykle kosztowny , co w okresie pozniejszym przyczynilo sie do przerwania prac nad calym projektem Arrow. Brak dobrego porozumienia miedzy dowodctwem Wojsk Powietrznych a rzadem, pogarszalo, i tak trudna sytuacje. Aby ratowac prace nad Arrow zdecydowano zaniechac kontynuacji badan nad systemem ASTRA-Sparrow i zastapiono go systemem Hughes MX1179, ktory tworzylo 8 pociskow rakietowych Falcon, umieszczonych takze w luku. Rozwazano rowniez umieszczenie dziala w przedniej czesci samolotu. Ocenia sie, ze wynalezienie mikro-procesorow (ok. 1963) spowodowaloby obnizenie wagi Arrow o blisko 30%, co automatycznie stworzyloby wiecej miejsca na dodatkowe uzbrojenie i paliwo, a tym samym wiekszy zasieg. Podkreslic nalezy, ze konfiguracja uzbrojenia Arrow mogla byc zmieniana stosunkowo latwo i szybko. Czynilo to Arrow samolotem niezwykle universalnym, nalezacym do absolutnej swiatowej czolowki. PODSTAWOWE PARAMETRY Kraj: Kanada Przeznaczenie: Mysliwiec Rok: 1958 Zaloga: 2 Silniki: 2 x Pratt& Whitney J-75 ; thrust 12,500 lb (5,675 kg) - w/afterburning 18,500 lb (8,392 kg) 2 x Orenda-Iroquois PS-13 ; thrust 19,250 lb (9,072 kg) w/afterburning 26,000 lb (11,794 kg) Rozpietosc skrzydel: 50 stop (15,24 m) Dlugosc: 81 stopy (23,30 m) Wysokosc: 21 stopy (6,25 m) Powirzchnia skrzydel: 1225 stopy kw. (113,80 m kw.) Waga: 22244 kg Max Waga: 31118 kg Szybkosc: 2104 km/godz Pulap: 60 tys stop (18,290 m) Zasieg: 2700 km Powyzsze informacje bazuja glownie na artykule Francois Morin. VIDEO: Archiwum Telewizji Kanadyjskiej CBC |
Aircraft Summary
ARROW CF105 - The First Canadian Supersonic Jet
Oct.1957 - Feb 1959 "The Arrow Mk1 that flew in 1958-59 was only the first of fine family of aircraft. With normal development, it would have been a most interesting family!" (Jim Floyd, Chief Engineer of Arrow) The CF-105 was a delta-winged, big, fast interceptor. The production aircraft would have had Canadian, Orenda Iroquois engines, but the prototypes were powered by the far less powerful American engine J-75. The Arrow was a very promising aircraft, but was cancelled for political reasons, together with the Iroquois engine and the Sparrow 2 missile. Six aircrafts were built. In the 1950s, AVRO Aircraft Ltd - Canadian company. from Malton Ontario developed a twin-engined, delta winged supersonic interceptor for the RCAF. It was designed to cope with the threat of Soviet nuclear bombers coming over the arctic. From 1953 to 1959, the Avro team designed and built one of the most sophisticated aircraft of the world. It was called the Avro Arrow CF-105 . This aircraft was ahead of its time and could still be a front line fighter in today's high tech warfare world. But unfortunately, the Conservative government of the time, led by John Diefenbaker, cancelled the project and ordered all aircraft to be destroyed. The Arrow was very sophisticated for its time, and had many hidden features design people of the time didn't realize. First, there were no prototypes. The first aircraft coming off the assembly line was to be able to enter service in the RCAF. Design tests were performed on model jigs and the development tools were designed to be used on all production aircraft. At first, the Arrow was designed to be powered by two Rolls-Royce RB-106 engines, but the development was set back and eventually the project was scrapped. Therefore, the Arrow was nearly completed in development, but it didn't have any engines to power her. Therefore Orenda Engines, the engine division of Avro, was called to develop an engine to fill the two "46 inch holes" on the Arrow and power her. The engine had to have a thrust rating of 20,000 pounds of thrust each, at dry thrust (optimal thrust with no afterburners). Development of the engine saw a few problems here and there, but development costs didn't exceed $90 million. Pretty affordable, even in the 1950s, for the most powerful turbojet in North America! On the other side, the airframe itself was also very advanced. It was 80ft long, had a wing span of 50ft and was 21 ft high (at tip of fin). It had a fuel capacity of 2800 gallons of fuel and could fly at mach 1 for 2.5 hours without refuelling. It could also pull 2G at Mach 1.5 without losing an inch of altitude or a knot of speed. The Arrow was also the first aircraft to adopt "fly-by-wire" technology, which is a type of control system where a computer assists the pilot in piloting the plane, making the plane easier to fly and manoeuvre. This system was called the Automated Flight Control System, and kept the aircraft stable in the event of an emergency and could perform automatic landings and take-offs. It also was a kind of airplane "cruise-control" which kept the aircraft on the set course and speed. Fly-by-Wire technology only started to appear in other service planes 20 years later. It also had a weapons bay roomier than those of a B-29 or Lancaster, two great bombers from WW II. Any type of weapon could be fitted, and this helped in making the Arrow more versatile. Since it could carry a large selection of weapons, it was an interceptor-fighter-strike bomber-anti ship plane. But it was solely designed as an interceptor, but it was able to deliver missiles, bombs, rockets and torpedoes. This made it an air-superiority aircraft, a universal fighter plane. When critics say that the Arrow didn't have many advantages, they don't know the Arrow. It also had a semi-pressurized cabin and a two man crew, in a pilot-navigator configuration. The navigator was there to control the radar and navigation systems (although the pilot also had a navigation console, in the event of solo flights). The Arrow was to be equipped with the Canadian designed and built ASTRA-Sparrow II fire control system for weapon delivery. But this system saw many difficulties and the government cancelled it before the rest of the Arrow, trying to cut costs. The weapon bay doors opened in 0.3 seconds and a missile fired in 2 seconds (doors opened, deployed, cleared and fired). Surprisingly, the Arrow also had a climate system, to cool the fuel tanks, weapons bay and cool or heat the cockpit. The Arrow was designed for high speeds, which means heat from friction, and flying in arctic air, which means cold dry air around the plane. The windows had a de-fogging system, a climate control for the canopy and automatic de-icing and anti-icing systems at the most critical areas. It also had a very powerful hydraulics system for flight controls and the landing gear. For example, it was measured that the hydraulic pressure applied to the elevators could easily lift 6 large elephants! The Arrow was revealed to the public on October 4th, 1957. Unfortunately on that date, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite. This event stole the spotlight from the Arrow, and resulted in changing how people thought of air defence. Since the Iroquois were still in development in 1957, Avro decided to power the first five Arrows with Pratt & Whitney J75 turbojets. These American engines didn't even meet the dry thrust of the PS-13 at full afterburners. These first five Arrows were designated the Mk.(Mark)1, and the all Canadian aircraft with the Iroquois engines would be Mk.2s. Flight testing started as soon as the engines were installed in Arrow 201, the first aircraft. It made its first flight, without any problems, on March 25 1958. Janusz Zurakowski "ZURA" was the first man to fly the Arrow. He said it flew like a marvel and was easier to fly than many other common aircraft of the time. Except for a few landing gear and damper problems, the flight testing was without a problem, and no-one was killed or injured during flight testing. Only 2 crash landings occurred when the landing gear wasn't properly aligned, but these problems were quickly fixed and bugs were removed. At the same time, the Iroquois was undergoing flight tests. The Iroquois engine was tested on a static test bed, and when the results were favourable for flight tests, Orenda was loaned a B-47 bomber from the USAF (United States Air Force). Canadair built a cowling on the side of the six-engined bomber, to insert the Iroquois. Once the Iroquois was fitted, flight tests commenced immediately. On the first flight, the large USAF bomber lifted up in the air, its six engines screaming and emitting thick black smoke. At 15000 ft, a safe altitude, they lit up the Iroquois. It was so powerful, they had to cut-off the other six engines, or else the plane would have gone supersonic; a velocity it couldn't resist without over-stressing. And they couldn't push the throttle past 60% since it would have shaken the plane to pieces. We must say that even with its sturdiness, the B-47 wasn't designed to hold the most powerful turbojet in the world on it's aft fuselage. The Iroquois delivered 20,000 pounds of thrust without after-burners, and drove the bomber on its own, and at a speed it wasn't designed to exceed. At afterburners, it was recorded that the Iroquois could surpass 26,000 lb of thrust. With two engines, this gave a maximum thrust of over 50,000 pounds to the Arrow, a force not even the fabled Tomcat can reach, and may I tell you, the F-14 is a very powerful plane. The Iroquois was the most powerful turbojet on the North American Continent, and when it was designed, it was the most powerful in the world. But all this material and technical fame wasn't enough for the Conservatives up in office in Ottawa. And while the program was proceeding at a great pace of development and improvement, the American government came to know about the Arrow. Some USAF key people were invited up to Malton to visit the plant and get briefed on the Arrow. They were very impressed with the program and called the Arrow a "near perfect plane". In Early 1958, Canada signed the NORAD (NORth american Air Defence) treaty, which its goal is to establish norms for the air defence of North America. The NORAD council had both Canadian and American members but Americans had the advantage of having the last word and having more members too. In the fall of 1958, the Conservative government of John Diefenbaker, elected in early 1957, cancelled the ASTRA-Sparrow II armament system to cut costs. Costs were rising because of lack of communication between the RCAF and the government and lack of organization. The RCAF quickly selected the Hughes Aerospace MG-3 armament system, and got it for nearly nothing because of the advantages of NORAD. This brought cost down drastically, and helped to recover from the financial load the Arrow program was providing. But for Diefenbaker, this was still not enough. It was almost thought that Canada shouldn't spend millions in rebuilding its defence, and build a defence against the most dangerous enemy we ever had. And the worst thing is, is that if the Soviets would have attacked the Americans, they would have wiped us out while they passed. This is why the Arrow was built. So those bombers couldn't cross over the arctic and keep our great country safe. But Dief didn't understand that. And just to make matters worse, at the same time, the CIA and the American "Skunk Works" (Secret division of the USAF to develop spy planes and stealth planes ) were working on the Lockheed U-2 spy plane. This plane wasn't supersonic, but could fly at an altitude of 75,000ft; an altitude very few aircraft could reach in the 50s and 60s. Except the Arrow... Therefore, the CIA saw a threat from Canada, as they do with every country, even their allies. The CIA then informed the administration and the presidency. At the same time, Dief was trying to absorb the cost of the Arrow program, and he tried to sell it to foreign buyers. But that's not the way you do International business. You don't try to sell a product you are building for yourself, and that you are still testing, to others! Its definitively sure they won't buy! And the worse thing is that he tried to sell it at the one and only customer who would never buy: America. The Americans would have never bought the Arrow for its defence because it would have greatly corrupted the American Aircraft business. It was a cutting-edge aircraft, 20 years ahead of it's time and their aircraft industry would have had a long way to go to compensate that amount of technology. But the USAF wanted it badly. Therefore, the chief of the USAF informed the Canadian government that they would buy Arrows FOR Canada, but not FROM Canada, as they did with most UN countries during the beginning of the Cold War. But Canada took this as charity and said NO. But even when the development costs were paid, the heaviest part of the bill, the Conservatives still wanted the cost of the program down. They couldn't understand that warfare isn't cheap. Then the Americans informed them of the Bomarc missile. Since Sputnik, some people thought that the future of air defence was on missiles and that manned fighters were obsolete. Even a fighter 20 years ahead of its time. And some of those people ran the country. The Bomarc was composed of a detection system on the DEW line (Distant Early Warning), a nuclear warhead and a solid fuel rocket. They were to be fired from two bases in Canada, one in northern Quebec, the other near North Bay in Ontario. But the missile only had a range of 400 miles, but there were 3000 miles left unprotected west of North Bay! The back door was still open. And just to prove the Bomarc wasn't that good, the Americans planned to build 18 bases, it later dropped to 14, and then to 8. This was weird since the Americans usually increase their amount of protection... But Diefenbaker fell for it. He bought missiles at a price of 200 million US. On February 20th, 1959, he cancelled and terminated the Arrow program, so his defence budget could afford the Bomarc missiles. At the price he paid for the Bomarc, 135 Arrows could have been produced and put in service, including the armament system. 15, 000 people lost their jobs in one day. The Arrow was the biggest R&D project in Canada, and the biggest layoff in Canadian history happened after its cancellation. A.V.Roe itself crumbled from the second largest corporation in Canada, to a sleazy 500 employee company, mainly performing CF-100 overhauls, the plane it built before the Arrow, and building a few appliances and aluminum boats. Many ex-Avro employees went to the US after the Arrow and became chief engineers for NASA and other aviation companies. Many Avro engineers, including Jim Chamberlin, became the head of NASA's design team, and designed the Moonar landing vehicles and spacecraft for the Gemini and Apollo programs, and even started to design the Space shuttle. Others went back to England and helped in the design of the Concorde. After the cancellation, all the Arrows, production tooling and blueprints were destroyed and scrapped. It was all sold to the Sam Lax & Co. of Mississauga, for 350,000$. The 5 completed planes themselves, valued around 3 million each, were sold to him for 2,500$ each, and they were cut to pieces. People have often wondered why the Arrow was nver continued by British AVRO Co. after cancellation. There are a number of reasons, the most obvious being that it was completely a Canadian Government project. The other reason was that the Canadian requirements were so completely different. In the U.K. the airfields are close together and therefore do not require long range aircraft interceptors. In Canada the reverse was true, especially the distance between airfields in northern Canada. This made it necessary to build a twin engine aircraft for safety and also one with fairly good range, while in U.K. single engine, short range interceptors were accetable. The Arrow was built to an RCAF specification, to suit Canadian condition, which it met and surpassed. British were interested but for research not for use. WEAPON SYSTEM The Arrow did have a weapon system, but on the Mk.1 aircraft, which were the first five aircraft built (the ones with the J-75 engines), the weapons bay was occupied by testing equipment. Weapon system development was proceeding while the Arrow and the Iroquois engine were being tested. The weapon system in question was the ASTRA-Sparrow II missile system. THe Sparrow II was a radar guided missile with a nuclear warhead. Some tests were made with this missile with CF-100s, and the Arrow would be able to carry from 4 to 6 missiles of this type. More could have been carried if there would have been missile mounts under the wings. But this weapons system increased costs drastically. Infact, it was one of the major factors in taking the step to scrap the entire Arrow program. It rose costs through the roof, and bad communication between the RCAF and the government made the situation worse. The ASTRA program was even many months behind schedule. And in a desperate attempt to save the whole Arrow program, which was beginning to be at risk by the end of 1958, the RCAF abandonned the ASTRA-Sparrow II missile system, and adopted the Hughes MX1179 fire control system, with 8 Falcon missiles in the belly. Future considerations did include adding a cannon on the nose, and making a more suitable dog-fighting version. (because of the lack of visibility provided by the small windows.) The reason why the Arrow didn't have a large all-window canopy was because it was built to fly by itself, intercept targets at more than Mach 1.5 and fly bak to base. The pilot only being there for taking the aicraft out of the hangar and taxing it on the runway and bring it back to the hangar, and operate in case of an emergency, of course! Technical documents says that the invention of the microchip, (around 1963) would have boosted the Arrow even more, dropping the weight by 30% and making more room for fuel and armament, greatly improving its already impressive range and effictiveness as a weapon. The Arrow could carry 4-6 Sparrow missiles and 8-12 falcon missiles. But due to its armament being carried in a "pack" it could carry many types of weapons, and have the ability to quickly change from a configuration to another Arrow was an Air-superiority fighter. One thing that should be made quite clear. The Arrow was truly Canadian product by Canadians for Canada. The Arrow and Iroquois programs were a pinnacle of Canadian aviation achievement, the like of which we may never see again. It was a time when the eyes of the Aviation world were on Canada. The design, construction and development of these two fine products was Canadian equivalent to putting a man on the Moon. The tragedy is that although we demonstrated success, we were never able to reap the benefits. SPECIFICATION Type: CF-105 Arrow Mk.1 Country: Canada Function: fighter Year: 1958 Crew: 2 Engines: 2 x Pratt & Whitney J75-P-3; thrust 12,500 lb (5,675 kg), w/afterburning 18,500 lb (8392 kg) 2 x Orenda Iroquois PS-13; thrust 19,250 lb (9,072 kg), w/afterburning 26,000 lb (11,794 kg) From idle to full thrust in 2,8 sec Wing Span: 50 ft (15.24 m) Length: 73'4'' / 80'10'' (25.30 m) incl. probe Height: 21'3''( 6.25 m) Wing Area: 1225 sq.ft (113.80 m2) Empty Weight: 22244 kg Max.Weight: 31118 kg Speed: 2104 km/h Ceiling: 18290 m Range: 2700 km The above information based on the article by Francois Morin. VIDEO: Canadian Television Archives CBC |
Janusz Zurakowski w kokpicie symulatora Arrow, podlaczony do analogowego komputera. Z lewej strony stoi drugi pilot bioracy udzial w testach Arrow – Polak, Wladyslaw "Sput" Potocki. Na drugim planie widoczny szef badan na symulatorze Stan Kwiatkowski i czlonek Jego zespolu... Samolot Arrow byl pierwszym samolotem w ktorym zastosowano technologie automatycznego pilota zwanego kiedys popularnie jako "pilotowanie poprzez przewody". W okresie pomiedzy, koncem lat '50, a 1971 tylko w jednym samolocie, oprocz Arrow zastosowana podobna technike. Byl to amerykanski X-15. Pewne eksperymenty byly rowniez prowadzone na innym amerykanskim samolocie F-86 Sabre. Arrow byl samolotem ktory wykorzystujac technike automatycznego pilota latal juz w 1958. Arrow mial byc w koncowej fazie, calkowicie automatycznym samolotem, w ktorym sterowanie przejmuja "czarne skrzynki", ktore dzisiaj nazywamy komputerami. Pilot mial wlaczyc silniki, wykolowac samolot na pas startowy i byc obecny na wypadek jakiejs awaryjnej sytuacji. Start, ladowanie i sterowanie samolotu mialo odbywac sie automatycznie. Glownym powodem tego byl fakt, ze przy dwukrotnych szybkosciach dzwieku reakcje ludzkie sa zbyt wolne, aby pilotowac, a do tego wlaczac sie jeszcze do ewentualnych walk powietrznych (Mowimy o samolocie wojskowym!)
Janusz Zurakowski in cockpit of Arrow simulator, hooked up to an anologue computer, is assisted by Polish fellow, test pilot Wladyslaw "Spud" Potocki while simulator supervisor Stan Kwiatkowski and members of his staff watch... The Arrow was a first aircraft "flown- by- wire". The only other aircraft with that technology between 50's and 1971 was the "X-15 Experimental", which was the North American Aviation stratospheric hypersonic aircraft. Also some experiments had been carried out at Cornell University on the F-86 Sabre. The Arrow was flying on an electric signal in 1958!!! The Arrow was to be fully automatic with everything done by black boxes with the pilot an emergency factor only. (The black boxes we call computers today.) The pilot would start the engines, taxi the aircraft to the take-off point, and the plane would in effect be able to fly itself. The reason - with interception at supersonic speed, human reaction would be too slow.
Janusz Zurakowski in cockpit of Arrow simulator, hooked up to an anologue computer, is assisted by Polish fellow, test pilot Wladyslaw "Spud" Potocki while simulator supervisor Stan Kwiatkowski and members of his staff watch... The Arrow was a first aircraft "flown- by- wire". The only other aircraft with that technology between 50's and 1971 was the "X-15 Experimental", which was the North American Aviation stratospheric hypersonic aircraft. Also some experiments had been carried out at Cornell University on the F-86 Sabre. The Arrow was flying on an electric signal in 1958!!! The Arrow was to be fully automatic with everything done by black boxes with the pilot an emergency factor only. (The black boxes we call computers today.) The pilot would start the engines, taxi the aircraft to the take-off point, and the plane would in effect be able to fly itself. The reason - with interception at supersonic speed, human reaction would be too slow.
W piatek 20 lutego 1959 (Czarny Piatek), premier Kanady, Diefenbaker oglosil na posiedzeniu parlamentu ze prace nad Arrow i silnikiem Iroquois zostaja przerwane. Zarzadzono zniszczenie i zezlomowanie wszystkich samolotow i calej dokumentacji technicznej. Zniszczono piec calkowicie gotowych i oblatywanych juz Arrow, szosty z poteznym silnikiem Iroquois dzielilo kilka dni od pierwszego startu, na lini produkcyjnej, w roznych stanach zaawansowania czekalo na wykonczenie 37 Arrow. Zniszczono wszystko! Na zdjeciu widoczne sa, ciete palnikami, samoloty Avro Arrow na terenie zakladow lotniczych Avro Canada/ bazie, na lotnisku Toronto-Malton, Marzec 1959.
On Friday, Feb 20, 1959 (Black Friday) the prime minister of Canada announced in the House of Commons termination of the Arrow and Iroquois Programs. The Government ordered the AVRO Company to destroy or scrap anything and everything which related to the Arrow. There were five aircraft completed that had already flown and others virtually ready to roll off the assembly line, including the parts and components for virtually all 37 aircraft awaiting final assembly. The photo discloses destruction of Arrow in the Toronto-Malton airport, March 1959.
W Kanadyjskim Muzeum Lotnictwa w Ottawie znajduje sie oprocz silnika Iroquois, kilka innych ocalalych czesci Arrow. Bedac tam mialem okazje zobaczyc fragmenty skrzydla, czesc systemu hydraulicznego podwozia, a takze przednia czesc-kokpitu Arrow RL 206. Kokpit ten, po zezlomowaniu reszty samolotu, wykorzystywany byl jako komora cisnieniowa do badan w jednym z Torontonskich szpitali. Zostal
przekazany do Muzeum Lotnictwa w Ottawie w latach '90.
While being in the National Aviation Muzeum in Ottawa, I could see some survived parts of the Arrow: section of landing gear, Iroquois engine, outer wing panels and front end-cockpit of Arrow # RL 206. After the Arrow destruction, this cockpit was used for research as a pressure chamber in one of Toronto hospital. It was transfered to the Ottawa Museum in 90's.
przekazany do Muzeum Lotnictwa w Ottawie w latach '90.
While being in the National Aviation Muzeum in Ottawa, I could see some survived parts of the Arrow: section of landing gear, Iroquois engine, outer wing panels and front end-cockpit of Arrow # RL 206. After the Arrow destruction, this cockpit was used for research as a pressure chamber in one of Toronto hospital. It was transfered to the Ottawa Museum in 90's.