When a Canadian icon needs a lift, our members get the call.
Local 793 mobile crane operator Mike Death was at the controls as the storied Avro Arrow jet enjoyed one last flight before landing at its final resting place on a pedestal at Paul Coffey Park, just north of Pearson International Airport in Mississauga.
The Arrow was an engineering marvel of its age when it was designed and built as an RCAF supersonic interceptor at the nearby A.V. Row Canada plant in Malton in the 1950s, promising to reach an unequalled Mach 2 at an altitude of 50,000 ft. When the program was controversially cancelled in 1959, it caused a political firestorm.
Brother Death, operating a Liebherr LTM-1300, ensured the replica jet’s recent take-off and landing was a much slower and steadier affair, although no less inspiring. Painstakingly built over two years by Stainless Outfitters Inc. in Barrie, the replica is scaled at 60% of the size of the original aircraft.
The Amherst Crane Rentals OE said, “It was pretty cool to be involved and the plane looks really good up there. It was a high-profile job, with the mayor of Mississauga (Carolyn Parrish) and lots of people standing by – there was even a guy who showed up at 1 a.m. just to watch the wings, tail and fuselage turn up on the trucks! When I got it down onto the pedestal all I heard was cheering and clapping.”
Wanting to find out more about a plane that attracted such attention, the 29-year Union member hit the books once he got back home. “The story behind the plane is something else. I’m 57 and never learned anything about the Arrow in public school or high school and it’s such an important piece of Canada’s history.
“I went home after the job and looked it up – they scrapped the planes, scrapped the engineering blueprints and then the US snapped up our engineers and brought them down to NASA. Because Canada had a faster plane the US didn’t want anything to do with it.”
While Canada might have suffered an aviation industry brain drain in the wake of the Arrow’s demise, Brother Death’s expert handling of the jet again proved one thing – this country still boasts the world’s best Operating Engineers!
The official unveiling of the replica CF-105 Avro Arrow, built and installed at a cost of $3.6 million, is scheduled for August 31.
