Something you might not know about Canada (Avro C-102 Jetliner)

[mooge]

Here's something you might not know about Canada: we built the second jet-powered passenger aircraft. Beaten by two weeks by the de Havilland Comet.

This is it: the Avro Canada C102 Jetliner.

How big of a deal is this? It's a pretty big deal. Not many aircraft designs emerged from Canada before the end of WWII, let alone groundbreaking ones. The Jetliner was way ahead of its time - the first comparable aircraft (regional jet) would be the Sud Aviation Caravelle, which first flew in 1955. The Jetliner first flew in 1949. Its contemporaries would include the Douglas DC-6 and DC-3, both of which being much slower than the turbojet-powered Jetliner.

Despite much promise and interest from companies mostly in the United States (including Howard Hughes and the US Airforce) and even that the aircraft was commissioned by Trans Canada Airlines, the Jetliner programme was cancelled by minister C.D. Howe in 1951, to allow Avro Canada to focus on the CF-100 fighter and the Orenda turbojet, urgently needed by the RCAF.

The Jetliner continued to fly after its cancellation, being used as an aerial photography platform for the CF-100 programme until parts became scarce. It was then donated to the National Research Council (NRC), who kept the cockpit and engines and scrapped the rest.

And that's why:
1. I'm in the photograph making a stupid gesture at a severed head instead of a beautifully restored aircraft
2. Avro Canada isn't a major aircraft designer today. Well, one of two reasons, the other being the Arrow; which also survives as a severed head


Oh, Canada.




(Polaroid 250 and FP-3000b, Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa Canada. July 2014.)

 

[rscheffler]

Thanks for this! I was well aware of the fabled Avro Arrow, but didn't know this one.

Looking back, I think it's easy to speculate that if the C102 program was continued, Avro could have been at the forefront of commercial aviation and the state of the industry in Canada could have been much different.

But, not having lived in that era, I can only imagine that the treat posed by the Soviet Union and the fear of Communism (seems somewhat similar to the current fear of terrorism) was a strong motivation to focus on military aircraft development. And there's always the suspicion that the US manipulated these Canadian government decisions. Maybe they did, but other factors too, such as the dawn of the ICBM, hastened the demise of the Arrow and other interceptor projects. But without doubt a lot of talent at Avro ended up stateside as a result.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Nice picture and place. I like this museum.

They have mentioned it on the local radio in Toronto earlier this year with details I didn't know.
It was killed quick and dirty. Several thousands workers lost jobs in one day around GTA.

 

[bsdunek]

Thanks for the info. The Comet got all the press, of course.

 

[Vics]

Like most citizens of the US, the sheer mega-tonnage of what I didn't know about Canada would sink an aircraft carrier, to my shame. The first time I went to Puerto Rico in '65, I saw all these cars that LOOKED a bit like American cars, but had different names on them. That's the first I knew that Canada had an auto industry! Now I find out that you have an aircraft industry! On Monday, I will set foot on Canadian soil for the first time in my 69 years when I visit Victoria, BC. We're very excited at this prospect, and we're already planning trips to Vancouver and Montreal.