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Dedicated to the people and projects of AVRO Canada & Orenda Engines Limited
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The people in the aircraft from Avro and Orenda |
The Pilots (at Avro):
Peter
Cope: joined A.V. Roe Canada in May 1951, flew as test pilot on 200
CF-100's and made five flights on the CF-105 Arrow. Peter left Avro
on 6 July 1961 to join Boeing to work on the 747.
Chris
Pike: Starting at A.V. Roe Canada in 1952 as a production test pilot,
Chris flew nearly all of the CF-100's built!
Janusz
Zurakowski: test pilot of the CF-100 & CF-105 - a native of Poland,
Jan or "Zura" as he was known, joined Avro Canada on 22 April 1952 a
day after he moved to Canada. He became chief experimental pilot and
led the flight testing of the CF-100 and later the CF-105. Zura became
the first person to break the speed barrier in a straight wing aircraft
in a CF-100 (in a dive)! During World War II Zura flew with the RAF
- he was credited with six kills of enemy aircraft as a Spitfire pilot
in the Battle of Britian - Jan left us 9 February 2004 - read
more......
Mike
Cooper Slipper, DFC: born 11 Jan 1921 started at A.V. Roe Canada in
1947, filing jet blades for the Chinook at $2.50 an hour. Flew as test
pilot on the CF-100 and Lancaster test bed for Orenda engines, test
pilot on B-47 with Iroquois - Mike left us 23 February 2004 -
read more.......
Don
Rogers: joined National Steel Car as a test pilot, stayed on during
Victory Aircraft then becoming A.V. Roe Canada's chief test pilot
in 1946 - flew as test pilot in C-102, CF-100 and Lancaster test bed
for Orenda engines - became manager of flight operations during the
Arrow program read more...
Stan
Haswell: starting at A.V. Roe Canada in 1952 as a production test pilot,
Stan flew nearly all of the CF-100's built and was one of the few to
be a passenger in the VZ-9 Avrocar! Some of the photo's on AvroLand
were donated by Stan.
Glen Lynes: CF-100 test pilot who lost control of aircraft 18514 (Mk.5)
and even though he did manage to eject, he was too close to the ground
and died at the age of 36 on 20 Oct 55
Syd
Howland - co-pilot on the C-102 when it was flown to California for
Howard Hughes
W. O. "Spud" Potocki - test pilot on the CF-100 and CF-105, Spud flew
the Arrow at 1,320 mph or 1.98 Mach with the J-75 engines.
Bill
Devine: pilot, air transport section Bill Devine joined Avro in December
1954, and was assigned by Don Rogers to
captain Avro's DC-3, CF-DJT. Bill was fresh out of a career in the RCAF
Air
Transport Command where he flew DC-3s and C-119s.
Along with
Denny Young his very able co-pilot/engineer and Paddy Ferguson
his second AME, ran the "Air Transport Service for Avro until October
1959.
The carried
passengers such as Avro's James C. Floyd and Ernie Alderton, Air
Marshall Curtis and Air Vice Marshall Plant to name a few.
On February
2, 1959 Bill and Don Rogers went in Avro's DC-3 to Trenton to
pickup Peter Cope and return him to Toronto after the Arrow had landed
there
because of the TCA Viscount folded its undercarriage and slid to a stop
at
Malton. The following day they returned to Trenton with Spud Potocki
on
board so he could bring RL-204 home.
After Avro
he filled the job of Chief Pilot at the now defunct Sarnia
Airlines, Chief Pilot of Domtar in Montreal on Hawker Siddely 125 jet
type
and finally as Captain on Lockheed Jetstar, Vickers Viscount and Beech
Kingair with Transport Canada Executive flight.
He transported
the Prime Minister Cabinet Ministers until his retirement in
1986.
Now resides
in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Denny
Young: co-pilot and engineer
The "other" test pilots:
Jimmy Orrell: C-102 test pilot from Avro in the UK
Bill
Waterton: born in Camrose, Alberta Bill worked as a test pilot on the
Meteor at Gloster Aircraft in the UK - Bill was the first test pilot
of the CF-100 and stayed with A.V. Roe Canada until 7 February 1951
(pictured in front of the C-102)
F/L
Bruce Warren, DFC - RCAF test pilot for the CF-100 second prototype
(18102). He was a graduate of the Empire Test Pilot's School at Farnborough
and was granted two years leave from the RCAF to assist in the flight
test program of the CF-100. He had flown 28 different types of aircraft
and logged over 2,200 air hours. Bruce died on 5 April 1951 when 18102
crahed near London, Ontario
Len Hobbs - came in from England as co-pilot of the B-47 powered by
the Iroquois
Jack
Woodman: born on 14 May 1925 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - test pilot
on F-86 Sabres, CF-100 Canuck, and the only RCAF pilot to fly the CF-105
Arrow. In June 1955 Avro sent three CF-100's to the Paris Air Show -
Jack and two other RCAF pilots (F/L Roy Bennett and S/L Phil Etienne)
we the pilots sent. Jack flew in Arrow 1, 2 and 3 on a total six flights.
Jack died of cancer on 16 May 1987 at the age 62, in California. On
1 June 1995, Jack Woodman was named to Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame.
Fred J. Drinkwater III - NASA Ames pilot on the VZ-9AV Avrocar, Fred
was also a test pilot for the Ryan VZ-3RY