The AVRO Arrow
AVRO Arrow Artefacts at the Region of Peel Museum
The cockpit mock-up was wired to an analogue computer. Engineers fed their best estimates of the aircraft's flight characteristics and control responses into the computer. When the test pilot used the simulator, the electrical signals sent from the computer to the control panel approximated aircraft behaviour.
Arrow cockpit mockup during development.
For data processing, AVRO installed the first digital computer outside of the USA - the IBM 704. Its computing power was estimated as equivalent to 3,000 tireless, perfectly organized and trained engineers.
AVRO Arrow.
The simulator survived because the Royal Canadian Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine requested both the simulator and the nose portion of RL-206. These items were adapted and used to test pilots' reactions to simulated high-altitude conditions.
Cockpit mockup at the Region of Peel Museum.
While the nose portion of RL-206 ended up on display at the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa, the simulator was stripped of its instrument panel and more-or-less forgotten. In 1980, a group of Arrow researchers called The Arrowheads discovered it and arranged for its transfer to the Region of Peel Museum in conjunction with the launch of Ron Page's book, AVRO Arrow.
The Royal Canadian Air Force required its new interceptor to be airborne in 60 seconds from engine start and to break the sound barrier at 50,000 feet of altitude. For all its sleek lines and aerodynamic engineering, the Arrow still needed massive amounts of thrust and the second phase of Arrows were designed to fly with Orenda built Iroquois engines.
RPA/Alex Anderson collection.
In 2003, The Region of Peel Museum loaned an Iroquois rotor blade assembly to the Design Exchange in Toronto, where it was highlighted in their exhibit featuring the best of Canadian design.
Part of a turbine blade assembly on loan to the Design Exchange in 2005.
[ Mouse over image to enlarge ]
Arrow cockpit mock-up
The plywood unit was built during the early stage of the project to help design the cockpit layout, controls, hydraulics, electrical and fuel systems.
Iroquois Engine
In 1953, A. V. Roe's gas turbine division, later known as Orenda Engines Ltd. began work on a supersonic jet engine while the aircraft division was developing the Arrow. The Iroquois engine was a very significant leap in jet propulsion technology.
Tolerances in the manufacture of the engine were so small they could be measured in terms of human hair. A deviation of more than 1/67 of an average hair could mean catastrophic engine failure.
Just before the cancellation of the AVRO project, two Iroquois engines were being prepared for installation in Arrow RL 206. When the Arrow project was terminated, Orenda lost its main client and suspended the program. The government's order to scrap the Arrow did not extend to the Iroquois and these two engines survived. One of these engines is at the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa and the other at the War Plane Heritage Museum in Hamilton.
The plywood unit was built during the early stage of the project to help design the cockpit layout, controls, hydraulics, electrical and fuel systems.
Iroquois Engine
In 1953, A. V. Roe's gas turbine division, later known as Orenda Engines Ltd. began work on a supersonic jet engine while the aircraft division was developing the Arrow. The Iroquois engine was a very significant leap in jet propulsion technology.
Tolerances in the manufacture of the engine were so small they could be measured in terms of human hair. A deviation of more than 1/67 of an average hair could mean catastrophic engine failure.
Just before the cancellation of the AVRO project, two Iroquois engines were being prepared for installation in Arrow RL 206. When the Arrow project was terminated, Orenda lost its main client and suspended the program. The government's order to scrap the Arrow did not extend to the Iroquois and these two engines survived. One of these engines is at the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa and the other at the War Plane Heritage Museum in Hamilton.
Revised: Monday March 01 2010
