World’s only full-scale replica Avro Arrow to be on display at CMTS
by Dan Ilika
Massive replica of infamous aircraft on loan from Canadian Air and Space Museum in Toronto
TORONTO—The folks at SME Canada are hoping one of Canada’s greatest technical achievements will inspire visitors at the Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS) next month, announcing the world’s only full-scale replica of the famed Avro Arrow CF-105 will be on display during the event.
Considered among both the country’s greatest technical triumphs and tragedies, the replica Avro Arrow—on loan from the Canadian Air and Space Museum in Toronto—will be on display at the show in Mississauga, Ont., Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 as a symbol of what Canadian manufacturers are capable of.
“What it represented from an advanced technology standpoint for our nation and for all those individuals that worked on an aircraft like this that was so advanced in many ways should be celebrated,” said SME Canada’s Nick Samain.
“That relates directly to what Canada continues to represent with regards to technology and manufacturing and innovation.”
And the show at the International Centre in Mississauga is a fitting spot to display the Arrow, located across the road from the former Malton, Ont., A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. plant the infamous aircraft was built.
“That really is one of the fun parts of this project,” Samain said of the show’s location in relation to the Arrow’s former home. “It represents the history literally right across the street from the International Centre where CMTS is taking place.
“That’s where the Arrow was manufactured, and inside the International Centre many components for the A.V. Roe company were actually made there, so we’re very proud to bring that back to its true home in Mississauga and in Malton.”
According to Samain, though, it’s also bittersweet knowing that tens of thousands of manufacturing and engineering jobs were eliminated in Canada following the project’s cancellation in 1959.
“There’s lessons from (this) history for us to still learn from,” Samain said.
But beyond the disastrous demise of the Avro Aircraft company, which ultimately closed in 1962, the firm’s crown jewel will stand at CMTS as a symbol more than just a single great achievement.
“I think it is a great way to showcase what we have done, what we can do and what we are doing,” Samain said. “(The Arrow) makes that statement, (and) that’s really what’s needed from all of us that are in this industry—to maybe look a little bit deeper at not just what we did, but what we can do.”
CMTS 2013 takes place Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 at the International Centre in Mississauga, just around the corner from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
To learn more, log on to CMTS.ca, or contact SME Canada.
