Sad news from Canada today:
First man to fly Avro Arrow dies
Last Updated Tue, 10 Feb 2004 14:57:12
BARRY’S BAY, ONT. – Jan Zurakowski, the chief test pilot for the CF-105 Avro Arrow, died at his home in Barry’s Bay, Ont., on Monday following a lengthy illness. He was 89.
An accomplished war pilot, the Polish-born Zurakowski was decorated for his fighting in the Battle of Britain and later went on to test fighter jets for Britain.
He immigrated to Canada in 1952 to work for AV Roe Canada Company as chief development pilot for the supersonic jet and became the first to fly the Avro Arrow on March 25, 1958.
A member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame, Zurakwoski retired to Barry’s Bay, located about 150 kilometres west of Ottawa, in 1960 to open a tourist business with his wife. In July 2003, the community dedicated the Zurakowski Park and Museum in his honour.
LEST WE FORGET.
Apparently the ceremony last summer was quite moving. It was an overcast day in Barry’s Bay, not too far from Ottawa, but right on cue SL721 broke through the clouds in salute. Note sure if Zura knew it was coming, but sounds like is was a flypast that added much to the emotions of the day. Congrats to Mike Potter for taking SL721 up that day.
By: DazDaMan - 11th February 2004 at 14:11
There was a pretty good diagram of how he did it using rockets, I believe, on a Meteor of some kind.
RIP Jan 🙁
By: dumaresqc - 11th February 2004 at 14:09
I had never heard of the “cartwheel”. I wonder if it was even captured on film? That would be incredible to see.
Charles
By: Mark12 - 11th February 2004 at 09:14
gyp
450 degrees or even 540.
After I posted I wondered that. I am sure your are correct and it was more that one revolution.
I plead extreme ‘youth’ in my defence.
Mark
By: gyp - 11th February 2004 at 08:57
Didn’t Zurakowski develop his cartwheel originally in a Hornet? Chopping one engine at the peak of a vertical climb gave a wide difference between the thrust of one engine and the drag of the other. It was sufficent to rotate the Hornet about its normal axis so that it completed a cartwheel of 450º after which it fell into a spin.
When he first tried it in a Meteor, there was no drag from the closed-throttle engine and it didn’t work so well. The ground attack version of the Meteor was festooned with hardware on the wings which helped to give it sufficient momentum to complete the manoeuvre.
By: Snapper - 10th February 2004 at 22:39
Yes Moggy, I’ve posted in the other thread. Jan has been ill for some time, and this has been expected news for a while unfortunately. One of aviations great men.
The Few get Fewer, but never Lesser.
RIP Jan.
By: Mark12 - 10th February 2004 at 22:27
My first Farnborough – 1955.
He performed his famous ‘cartwheel’, not in the Meteor, in which he had perfected the manouvre, but this time in the CF-100!
Full power in a vertical climb, then as the speed falls right away chop the power to one engine and let the tail swing round 180 degrees and retrace your path straight down.
It certainly impressed one young schoolboy.
Mark
By: macky42 - 10th February 2004 at 22:00
Sad news indeed. Also renowned for an oustanding display in the MB5 at Farnborough – wish I could have seen that.
By: Moggy C - 10th February 2004 at 21:59
Respect and R.I.P
Moggy
Any more substantial obituaries available outlining his wartime career? I’d really like to read them if they could be posted.
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February 10, 2004 at 8:34 pm