The AVRO Corporation, Cutting Edge until its mysterious demise in 1962
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AVRO,
Founded-1945, Closed-1962, Cutting Edge-Always Location Toronto-Canada |
The AVRO company mysteriously closed their doors,
destroying all 5 prototypes of the Arrow and most of the special
tools to make parts. They immediately fired all 15,000
employees. The Arrow was at least two generations ahead of all
other aircraft of its time, made of titanium with state of the
art weapons, flying above 70,000 feet at mach 3 it is yet to be
matched. Many believe that a handful of Canadian politicians
were paid by the Americans to stop manufacturing this fantastic
aircraft but the truth is probably a bit more sinister than that
simple explanation. Many countries around the world were showing
a keen interest in AVRO's arrow and it was not lost on the Prime
Minister that they had huge money maker on their hands. The
advanced technology seem to come out of nowhere and disappear
just as fast. There have been rumors for years that the
technology was from some alien source and Canada was not asked
but told to immediately dismantle all aspects of this aircraft.
Apparently any technology that advances any war agenda is not to
be mass produced.
Commonly known as Avro Canada, this company started in 1945 as an aircraft plant and became within thirteen years the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000. It is best known as a Canadianaircraft manufacturing company, in particular for the highly advanced CF-105 Arrow, but through growth and acquisition it rapidly become a major, integrated company with diverse holdings.
Commonly known as Avro Canada, this company started in 1945 as an aircraft plant and became within thirteen years the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000. It is best known as a Canadianaircraft manufacturing company, in particular for the highly advanced CF-105 Arrow, but through growth and acquisition it rapidly become a major, integrated company with diverse holdings.
Work had progressed far enough to interest the Americans.
In July 1954, the U. S. government awarded Avro two contracts worth nearly $2 million to continue the study, and Avro added another $2.5 million.
The program remained in Canada but was now owned and controlled by the United States. Avro had named it Project Y, but the U. S. Department of Defense labeled it Weapon System 606A.
In
1958, when the U. S. Army and Air Force took control of the project,
they named the vehicle 'Avrocar' and designated it the VZ-9AV ('VZ,'
experimental vertical flight; '9,' ninth concept proposal; and 'AV,'
Avro).The Avro VZ-9AV Avrocar had fill some enormous shoes. The Army strategists looked for a subsonic, all-terrain reconnaissance and troop-transport vehicle, something rugged and adaptable that could replace light observation aircraft and helicopters.
They wanted a two-man craft that could perform the traditional roles of the cavalry: reconnaissance, counter-reconnaissance, pursuit, harassment and screening. In addition to its own airframe weight, the saucer had to carry 450 kg (1,000 lbs) including the crew.
It also had to hover in ground effect and at higher altitudes, and travel at speeds of about 48.3 kph (30 mph) for at least thirty minutes. In short, the Army wanted a flying jeep.
U. S. Air Force planners wanted something else.
They asked for a VTOL aircraft that could hover near the ground, beneath the coverage of enemy radar, and then rocket into the stratosphere at supersonic speeds. To satisfy both services, the Avrocar would require a huge performance envelope and rather naively, Avro engineers believed they could build a supersonic flying jeep. John Frost was chief project engineer for Weapon System 606A, the Avrocar. One of the oddest features of Frost's design was its shape.
The entire aircraft was a circular wing shaped much like the ubiquitous Frisbee.
From a distance, the gleaming aluminum Avrocar looked like the flying discs popularized in many Hollywood science-fiction movies of that era. Frost and his design team powered the aircraft with three gas-turbine engines and the combined exhaust from these power plants drove a "turborotor" mounted in the center of the vehicle. Turborotor thrust passed through a combination of annular nozzles and peripheral jets to generate lift and control forces. On paper, the design promised hovering takeoffs and landings and cruise speeds upwards of 322-483 kph (2-300 mph) at an altitude of 3,040 m (10,000 ft).
It was thought that eventually, the aircraft could attain supersonic speeds. A scale model of the aircraft was sent to Wright Field outside Dayton, Ohio, for testing. At first, the test results seemed to confirm Avro's calculations but further review of the data revealed a serious setback. The jet of air generated by the turborotor to cushion the aircraft near the ground grew increasingly unstable at altitudes of more than a few feet. The problem could be solved but it would reduce the craft's high-end performance.
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The saucer
would probably never fly supersonic. Despite this setback, the
Americans decided to stick with the program and hoped that at least
the Army's requirements for a subsonic aircraft could be met. In the
fall of 1959 the first completed Avrocar prototype rolled out onto
the taxiway apron at Malton.
Avro was
already well advanced on a second prototype. Tests on the first
vehicle began, using a special test rig to suspend the Avrocar in
the air.
The results led
to immediate modifications to the annular nozzles, a key element to
the lift and propulsion of the aircraft. After reworking the nozzle,
Avro packed up the Avrocar like an oversize dinner plate and shipped
it to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames
Research Center at Moffett Field, California. NASA had a wind tunnel
at Moffett big enough to hold the VZ-9AV. Meanwhile, Avro finished
the second prototype and began flight tests, using a safety tether,
in September 1959. The first free flight occurred later that winter.
These initial
test flights revealed the same problem discovered in the earlier
studies. At heights of .9 m (3 ft), the Avrocar exhibited
uncontrollable pitch motion coupled with heavy roll. The motion was
unique and needed a name so Avro called it "hubcapping." Hubcapping
occurred when the cushion of air supporting the aircraft close to
the ground became unstable. The problem was so pronounced that
flight above .9 m (3 ft) was impossible.
The U. S. Air
Force conducted two flight evaluations at Malton in April 1960 and
June 1961. During these tests, the Avrocar reached a maximum speed
of 56.3 kph (35 mph), but all attempts to eliminate hubcapping
failed. NASA Ames had explored the other end of the flight envelope
in the wind tunnel.
They discovered
that the VZ-9AV had insufficient control for high-speed flight and
was aerodynamically unstable. Adding a conventional empennage
(vertical and horizontal tail) did not improve these flight
characteristics. The technical problems seemed insurmountable and
the U. S. Air Force terminated the program in December 1961 after
spending $10 million.
Avro's VZ-9AV
failed to perform as expected but the effort to build and fly it was
not without value. The program revealed, like no paper design
analysis ever could, that this was not the direction to go in the
design of practical VTOL aircraft. Someone had to bite the bullet,
cut metal, then build and fly prototypes to prove beyond doubt that
this interesting idea was ultimately unworkable. It was an expensive
risk and Avro deserves credit for taking it on. Both Avrocars ended
up in the United States.
The first
remained at the NASA Ames facility after the project was cancelled.
The second aircraft that flew the limited flight tests in Canada
eventually arrived in Virginia at the U. S. Army's Ft. Eustis
Trans-portation Museum east of Richmond, Virginia. In April 1966,
the U. S. Air Force contacted the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
to say that the VZ-9AV at NASA Ames was available. In 1975, the
National Air and Space Museum took possession of the first Avrocar,
serial number 58-7055. The museum currently stores the aircraft at
the Garber Restoration Facility at Silver Hill, Maryland.
Note: There was
also the British-made "Skyship" which was supposedly made in the
late 1950's / or early 1960's by the British firm, Airship
Industries. If anyone can corroborate this information, or finds it
erroneous, please let me know.
Thanks to one
of our readers, here is some additional information on the
"Skyship."
In an airship
hangar at Cardington, England, on April 17, 1975, a 30 foot diameter
scale model of the projected Skyship airship was demonstrated by
designer John West. He planned to produce a 200-foot diameter
machine with a 6-10 ton payload, and eventually a 400-ton
cargo-carrying version.
It would have a
range of up to 1,000 miles and speed of about 100 m.p.h. The shape
was intended to minimise the effect of ground winds and allow for a
good load distribution. Vectored thrust from its fan jets would be
used for docking. Low operating costs would make it a suitable
transport for use in Third World countries.
