Not Just a Model Airplane 

Thanks for the info and details. It's much appreciated. I will still try to speak with CWM to get their take on it. Mostly out of curiosity. This is an issue that I'm passionate about as are so many Canadians. It is a heritage issue and one that needs to be made use of for the benefit of the Nation as a whole. I just believe that Canada having a serious and multi discipline Aerospace industry could only benefit Canada by way of high value tech jobs. Buying American doesn't help keep our taxes in the country. We only are enriching other countries with their expensive purchases, and we never truly get what we really need. The Arrow represents to Canada the real last time we as a nation did what was in our own best interests. And Putting Canada First in my opinion is the only way forward. We need to be more self sufficient and grow our own industrial capabilities again... An old anecdote from WWII with regards to the quality of our Avro Lancaster Builds here. A British General and a staff of engineer came to inspect our first run of Lancasters to a very high level of scrutiny. The Home Office in Britain was against having planes built in Canada because, well... We weren't British! And the assumption was that a bunch of Lumberjacks could not build decent planes! Post inspection, the word was the the level of finish and workmanship on the "CANADIAN MADE" Lancasters was "SUPERIOR" to those made at home. Likely because we didn't have our families living through the blitz and our stress levels and quantities of food were not an issue here... But the fact is, Our Canadian made aircraft were highly prized and valued! That is Canada's Aerospace Heritage at it's birth! Something all Canadians need to be reminded of.... The Avro Arrow was by all means one of Canada's greatest achievements! A level of achievement that As Canadians, We need to revisit and hold with Pride... Thanks again for your openness in your communications with me. I truly appreciate it !

It took three years to post because I was only given the footage a short time ago, it's not mine, and I had to obtain the necessary permissions to post it. The Arrow is currently at the north end of Pearson airport in Mississauga, cocooned in a gray plastic tarp, missing the tail fin and wingtips. It is not accessible to the public, however you can see it through the fence surrounding the property. Unfortunately you will only really see a partial shape of the plane. Hopefully in the near future, you will once again be able to see the plane up close.

It must be costing the owners a fortune to store it there! So you must have met the owners to get the permissions to upload. Are you still in touch with them? I don't understand why they don't make arrangements with the Canadian Warplane Museum to put it on display there. At least they would not have the cost of storage to deal with because that can't be cheap. and it would give them a chance to raise money via donations for maintenance and upkeep.... At least that beautiful model would be on display for all Canadians to see. I think that that is very important to the future of Canada's aerospace industry.... We need to garner wider support for a Next Gen Arrow built in Canada employing Canadians... If you still speak with these people, could you please pass the idea on. I have tried to email them recently, but have not gotten a reply from them.

The Museum has a deal with GTAA to store it there. As far as having it go to Canadian Warplane Heritage, well they have enough trouble storing their own aircraft . Many of their planes are currently being stored offsite. Everything sounds good on paper, however the logistics and cost to move the Arrow there would be huge. It cost a lot to move it from Downsview to where it is now, thankfully the Museum didn't have to pay for that move. The other problem, is the membership owns the aircraft. You would have to get permission from over 1000 members to allow this. Also if and when the Museum opens again, they will want it back. Hardly seems worth the effort to move it there, just to have it come back again. I know the frustration people are feeling about not being able to see it up close, but patience is the key here right now....

So what's their expected time line to reopen the museum somewhere around Toronto? It's already been three years and I haven't heard diddly squat in any media of their asking for public donations or any mention of the Arrow at all to keep the public's interest up. It's as if it doesn't exist! I found their email address online and asked them directly about their plans and even raised the question of their adding their support to a public movement to revamp a Arrow II Modernization campaign to help reboot Canada's own Aerospace Industry. The idea being that parading the Mockup in major cities to garner interest and support while also trying to raise money for the reopening of their museum. To which I have not gotten a reply. The reason why the Hamilton War Heritage Museum has "issues"(not trouble) with storing planes on site is because they are a Real Heritage Restoration Works Site. They get planes in various forms of disrepair from all over and they lovingly restore them, many to actual flight. They also have a very active club membership and following that have funded them very well. When the Lancaster needed a new engine and all new props. The Public Jumped into Action and made it happen in short order. No begging or campaigning required. A simple short news report on the local CHCH TV was all it took, and within weeks it was taken care of... That's the kind of support I don't see with the CASM group. All they have is that one Arrow mockup and they aren't even trying to make use of if. I'm pretty sure the Hamilton War Heritage Museum would love to have her on display for however long it take the Toronto group to get it together... The fact is, that group could likely get the transportation cost either donated(it's great free advertising for any transport company) or covered by the membership as they do in all things regarding Canada's Aviation History... And what could be more important than the Arrow to Canada's Aerospace history? Father's Day is coming up soon which a traditional airshow event at Hamilton's War Heritage Museum, And I will make an effort to speak to board members there and get some feedback.

Simply put, the Arrow was never offered to CWH (or any other Museum) for trade or display or otherwise. This isn't the first of any conversation pertaining of moving the model somewhere else. Believe me, if it could have been done, it would have been done by now. You're more than welcome to speak to the CWH Board, however they may well tell you the same thing. If it isn't offered to them, they aren't about to ask either. You should also remember that they got a nice advancement of over 3 million dollars from the Federal Government, courtesy of Shelia Copps. They have also been around since the late 1960's. CASM has only been around since 1997. There is nothing in the papers, because that is the way the current Board of Directors and the GTAA want it right now. When the Museum first asked for help more than 3 years ago, no one came to the rescue of the Museum. It had the backing from the City of Toronto and numerous other dignitaries. No one said anything. It was in the news. It was mentioned in Queen's Park, mentioned in Ottawa, no one would step up to help. The Museum has an office at GTAA. From what I am told, they go in about once a week. Any emails, I'm sure are read, but they can't answer, as the question being posed is a Board of Directors issue, and right now the Board won't answer that question. If the Arrow went to Hamilton, it would have to be kept outside. It's outside now, but wrapped up. Currently CWH's B-25 and other smaller aircraft are also being stored at Pearson, as there is no space in Hamilton for the aircraft. Parading the aircraft down the street won't happen either. I would think that the video would attest to the fact they had enough problems just getting it to the airport. Although it doesn't show, it took the better part of almost 10 hours just to move it from Downsview to the International Centre. Many poles, signs and power lines also had to be moved and they had to take quite the route to get there. From what I was told, the total route was around 45 kms. From what I've been told, the Museum could have a foothold again in about a year or so. Patience is the key right now...

Full size metal replica, no plastic and not RC. Her tail is only rated for 20km/h winds.

The model cost roughly about 3 million to make, however most of everything was donated in one way or another. Bombardier donated the paint job, the landing gear came from Messier-Dowty, the original gear manufacturer. Alcan provided all the aluminium for skinning, the internal bracing. Lincoln electric provided much of the welding equipment, everything else was strictly volunteer hours, roughly 10 years worth.