By Robert H. Hoinkes
October 8th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington and the Brantford Stamp Club have been persistent in their attempts to get a postage stamp issued that would commemorate the CF 105, better known as the– at least in Canada– famous “Avro Arrow”.
Back in 2007 several Stamp Club members of the Grand River Valley Philatelic Association Clubs decided to approach Canada Post with the request – put the Arrow on a postage stamp. A letter was sent and we were given to understand that a twelve member Stamp Selection Committee recommended stamp subjects in any given year.
The official roll out of a Canadian war plane – described by many as the best aircraft of its times – better than anything the Americans had. It was shown to the public on the same day the Russians launched their first space craft.
We were told the Director of Stamp Services for Canada Post would present our request to this committee.
We are now nearing the end of 2016 and were just informed that the Avro Arrow again did not make the list for the 2017 stamp selections.
Can you honestly see a group of twelve Canadians (they do change them around every 3 years) consistently refusing to select the Arrow, but selecting ghost houses and Zambonis for stamps?
Some of our group had a theory about the influence of the governing party during that period and there may be some grain of truth there. After all, it was John Diefenbaker who swung the axe.
We are told that the government does not influence the decisions made by the Canada Post committee.
There is a full sized replica of the Avro Arrow used in a CBC mini-series about the air plane and its fate. It is currently shrink wrapped in a Mississauga Warehouse because a permanent Museum is nowhere on the horizon, at least in the near future.
In its day the Avro Corporation was a leader in the field of aviation development with a very proud history. The cancellation of the arrow put them out of business.
In our Burlington Stamp Club we have a number of members who had friends and relatives working on the Arrow at A.V. Roe in Malton and have a strong interest in seeing a Canadian stamp issued, commemorating this wonderful aircraft.
Just recently that the Arrow had most of the capabilities the new F-35 replacement for the old CF-18, will have if they ever reach production at a reasonable price
These Burlington stamp club members are part of a wider group of philatelists Included in the Grand Valley Philatelic Association, who have been urging Canada Post for the last 10 years, getting just a slight sign of even a sympathetic ear, to produce/issue such a stamp.
The Canadian Mint produced a $ 20.00 Silver, commemorative coin in 1996, without any political ramifications, making it even more difficult to understand the reluctance of the all-powerful Stamp Selection Committee.
The Mint issued a commemorative coin – the stamp collectors feel they deserve equal treatment.
During the 10 year period, 2007 to 2017, the Stamp Selection Advisory Committee apparently have not even placed this Masterpiece of Canadian Ingenuity on the “Short List” for consideration.
This in spite of numerous letters and communications to the Chairperson of the Committee and the Director, Stamp Services, Canada Post, the Arrow again not even make the short list for that year. 2017 will be the 60th Anniversary of the Memorable Roll-Out of the Avro Arrow.
Another missed opportunity. Presumably we are featuring more haunted Houses for the yearly selection of hundreds of topics by the Selection Committee.
The Arrow preparing to land at what was then called the Malton airport.
The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The Arrow is considered to have been an advanced technical and aerodynamic achievement for the Canadian aviation industry. The CF-105 (Mark 2) held the promise of near-Mach 2 speeds at altitudes of 50,000 feet (15,000 m) and was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) primary interceptor in the 1960s and beyond.
The Arrow was the culmination of a series of design studies begun in 1953 examining improved versions of the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck. After considerable study, the RCAF selected a dramatically more powerful design, and serious development began in March 1955. Intended to be built directly from the production line, skipping the traditional hand-built prototype phase.
The first Arrow Mk. I, RL-201, was rolled out to the public on 4 October 1957, the same day as the launch of Sputnik I.
Flight testing began with RL-201 on 25 March 1958, and the design quickly demonstrated excellent handling and overall performance, reaching Mach 1.9 in level flight. Powered by the Pratt & Whitney J75, another three Mk. 1s were completed, RL-202 through -204. The lighter and more powerful Orenda Iroquois engine was soon ready for testing, and the first Mk.II with the Iroquois, RL-206, was ready for taxi testing in preparation for flight and acceptance tests by RCAF pilots by early 1959.
There were three Avro Arrows in production before the government canceled the program and ordered that the aircraft and the tools be destroyed. It was a major political upheaval at the time.
On 20 February 1959, the development of the Arrow (and its Iroquois engines) was abruptly halted before the project review had taken place. Two months later, the assembly line, tooling, plans and existing airframes and engines were ordered to be destroyed.
The cancellation was the topic of considerable political controversy at the time, and the subsequent destruction of the aircraft in production remains a topic for debate among historians and industry pundits. This action effectively put Avro out of business and its highly skilled engineering and production personnel scattered – many ended up working on the American space program.
The stamp collectors believe this part of our aviation history should be celebrated with a postage stamp.
Portions of this article were copied from other sources.
Poles support the request for the Avro Stamp.