Jetrader - November/December 2013 - 25

aviation history

The Avro

Canada Jetliner
By Jack Feir, Administrative Director, ISTAT Appraisers' Program

L

Longtime readers of Jetrader will remember
the series of Aviation History columns by
Bill Bath. Sadly, Bill's columns came to an
end when he passed away in March 2012.
While most of the Aviation History columns
were entirely Bill's creations, from time to
time he persuaded other ISTAT members to
contribute in his place. While he had many
stories of his own, Bill tried to persuade
me also to write one, but I never seemed
to have the time.
Having now taken Bill's place as
Administrative Director of the ISTAT
Appraisers' Program, I still seem to be as
busy as ever, but I have ﬁnally resolved to
relate the story of the Avro Canada Jetliner,
a story that he had urged me to write on
more than one occasion. As you will see,
this is a semi-autobiographical story as
well. While I wasn't exactly "present at
the creation" of the Jetliner (I being only
a carefree 10-year-old Canadian when the
Jetliner program began), my post-teenage
life would have evolved in a completely
different direction were it not for Avro

Canada, the Jetliner, and one man who was
closely involved in that program.

The Jetliner's Beginnings
As World War II was winding down,
many of the world's aircraft production
companies were suddenly faced with canceled contracts and workforces that were
far too large. During the war, the National
Steel Car Company's factory in Malton,
Ontario, just outside Toronto, had been
turned to the production of aircraft and
parts for the A.V. Roe subsidiary of UK
company Hawker-Siddeley Aircraft. At its
height, the factory had a workforce of
about 10,000 men and women, and many
Lancaster bombers were manufactured there.
But when A.V. Roe Canada (still a subsidiary
of Hawker-Siddeley and later to be named
Avro Canada) was formed at the end of
1945 and took possession of the factory,
only about 300 people remained.
The new company focused on three
prospects: a new fighter for the Royal
Canadian Air Force (RCAF) that became the

The Avro Canada C102 Jetliner prototype.

CF100 project; a new transport aircraft for
Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA) to be designated
C102 but soon called the Avro Jetliner; and
a research facility to study gas turbines,
later to be named Orenda Engines Ltd.
In early 1946, Trans-Canada Airlines
set out its wish list for a new turboprop
or jet transport aircraft. It was to carry
a payload of 10,000 pounds, seat 30 passengers, cruise at no less the 400 mph,
have a range of at least 500 miles against
a 20 mph headwind with full payload and
standard fuel reserves, a still-air range of
1,200 miles, and able to operate from 4,000foot runways. Based on that, Avro Canada
put its own targets at a speed of 425 to
450 mph, 40-passenger capacity, and still
air range of 1,500 miles, and set out to
design and manufacture the ﬁrst prototype.
Initial plans were to use two Rolls-Royce
Jetrader * November/December 2013 25
Jetrader - November/December 2013

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