“One of the finest achievements in Canadian aviation history, the delta wing Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was never allowed to fulfill its mission. Its role was to replace the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck as a supersonic all weather interceptor. A source of national pride, the Arrow incorporated advanced technical innovations and became a symbol of Canadian excellence.
The Mark 2 production version of the arrow, powered with two Avro Canada Iroquois turbo jet engines, would have been capable of achieving beyond Mach 2 with full military load. This aircraft was a culmination of research and development unprecedented in Canada's aeronautical history. Thousands of people witnessed the first flight of the prototype flown by Chief Test Pilot, Jan Zurakowski, on March 25, 1958.
For various reasons, mostly due to high costs, the Federal Government cancelled the Avro Arrow program on February 20, 1959. Almost everything connected to the program was destroyed. Fortunately the forward fuselage of the first Mark 2 Arrow was saved and is on display at the
National Aviation Museum in Ottawa. There are also some portions of the wings and control surfaces at the museum in Ottawa.” (Quoted from an Avro Arrow historical site)
Lloyd Walton, former Saultite, film maker and painter, took it upon himself to donate two paintings of the Avro Arrow that are on display at the Bushplane Museum in 2008.
They were unveiled during a reception for 100 pilots and aviation enthusiasts that were flying vintage aircraft across the country. The Soo, and Bushplane Museum was a featured stopover.
While speaking about the Arrow to the group, Lloyd noticed a woman in the front row pointing to the man beside her. After his speech, the man introduced himself as one of the men who built the Arrow. He went on to say that he has never had a job like it since. " Every day thousands of men and women rushed excitedly to work knowing that they were producing something that was destined to be the best in the world. " The man's wife went on to tell Lloyd that he still cries when he thinks of that Black Friday when he was told to go home and leave his tools where he left them.
The brainpower working on later even more sophisticated models of the Arrow were also working on lunar modules. They were the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of their time. Alas many in that group left Canada to help NASA put a man on the moon. Others went to Britain to develop the Concord.
Lloyd remembers that Black Friday back in 1959. I was 13 years old and I remember my dad, an aviation enthusiast, coming home from work and turning on the radio. He sat with his head in his hands. Lloyd got his wings through Air Cadets and wanted to have a career as a pilot but because his math skills didn't fit the profile, he decided to become an artist and enrolled in the Ontario College of Art. From there he went on to be a successful film director-cinematographer. Through the years he would meet people that worked on the Arrow and hear their stories of pride and sorrow. While doing research for a film on Bushplane history in Ottawa , which incidentally plays in the Ranger Theatre at the museum, Lloyd came across some startling classified material about the Arrow. "It ignited my passion and made me want to dig deeper, and I did. The more I found out, the angrier I got. So I translated that energy into two paintings, called the Rise and Fall of the Arrow, which are now displayed in the Ranger Theatre in the Bushplane Heritage Museum.”
Credit: Lloyd Walton
The Museum is presently trying to find funding to do a French translation of the film Bush Angels which plays in the Ranger Theatre.
I graduated from the Ontario College of Art in 1970. I was in the Advertising Program, majoring in animation in my last year.
Right out of school I became a director-cinematographer. I make mostly documentaries, linking history, culture and nature. My movies have won over 35 national, provincial, and international film awards.
I have painted in oils and acrylics all of my life. The locations where the Group of Seven painted were often my workplace for filming. I’ve met buddies of Grey Owl, Tom Thompson, and Lawren Harris, and worked with A J Casson of the Group. Their influences in style, content and use of colour are evident in my work. The American painter, Edward Hopper also nourished my vision with his blend of story, lighting and architecture.
I enjoy showing the power of the landscape, using the human form or objects consumed by time and weather.
My next showings of work will be in Muskoka and Newfoundland.
Exhibitions (Group)
John B. Aird Gallery - Queens Park
Art Gallery of Algoma - Sault Ste Marie
Canadian National Auto Show Cross Canada Tour
The Ontario Bushplane Heritage Centre - Sault Ste. Marie
Chapel Gallery - Bracebridge
The Art Space - Huntsville
Art Square Gallery - Toronto
Exhibitions (Solo)
Catto Gallery (Muskoka Lakes Museum) - Port Carling
Rebecca Gallery - Toronto
The G 20 Summit Conference - Toronto
Shekhar Gupta
CEO
Capt. Shekhar Gupta [ Pilot, DIAM, M.Ae.S.I., MAOPA [USA] ]
shekhar@aerosoft.in
Blog : http://shekharaerosoft.blogspot.in/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.