Monday, May 19, 2008

The Arrow; Avro CF-105 Mk 1; Pilot's Operating Instructions and RCAF Testing/Basing Plans Edited and with a Forward by T. F.J. Leversedge

The Arrow; Avro CF-105 Mk 1; Pilot's Operating Instructions and RCAF Testing/Basing Plans Edited and with a Forward by T. F.J. Leversedge. This is perhaps one of the stranger things that I have blogged about as far as my reading goes. As the title would suggest this is a publication of two internal Canadian government reports on the Avro Arrow.

The Avro Arrow [with the Money Pit of Oak Island] is the perennial subject of Canadian conspiracy theorists. After a successful series of test flights the program was abruptly shutdown in 1959. Theories about this often involve meddling from the United States.

There isn't any real discussion of the termination in the introduction or the documents themselves. What is here is a fascinating description of the aircraft itself. Down to what various warning lights mean and the test program that was cut short. The description of the basing plans includes the assignment of different airframes to each battery of tests.

It is rather hard to review this. There are illustrations and pictures on every page. Explanatory notes are occasionally provided. Personally I would have preferred more explanation of technical terminology but I understand why it wasn't included. This publication seems to be aimed at aircraft enthusiasts who presumably would know what many of these terms already mean.

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