The hunt for free-flight models of the legendary AVRO Arrow by the OEX Recovery Group is on again, with an underwater search planned for late spring. The search area will be the bottom of Lake Ontario, in the waters off Prince Edward County’s Point Petre, where flight-testing of scale models of the Arrow took place in the mid-1950s.

Wired to send to ground stations via telemetry valuable data about their aerodynamic stability at supersonic speeds, nine Arrow test models were launch by rocket-propelled Nike missiles and later landed in the water. Recovery of the models was not foreseen at the time; their on-board instruments having sent data about the flight to the ground stations. The idea was that this sort of flight testing would render redundant the need to construct full-scale prototypes.

The OEX Recovery Group is headed up by John Burzynski, president and CEO of publicly traded mining company Osisko Mining Inc. Partners in the group, some of whom provide financial assistance, include other mining companies, major Canadian financial institutions and legal firms, as well as both the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, the RCAF and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum (CASM) in Ottawa.

The same group recovered a Delta test model in 2018, which after restoration is now on display at the CASM. That version, however, was a less sophisticated version and the group is still intent on recovering one of the more elaborate, exact 1/8 scale replicas, if not all of the remaining models.

Below is a photo of the Delta model recovered in 2018.

Photo credit: OEX Recovery Group

How can the construction of airport infrastructure help reduce our enviro mental footprint? The Calgary Airport Authority, operator of Calgary’s main airport (CYYC), worked with a company called CarbonCure Concrete to construct an aircraft de-icing pad that uses a mixture of concrete that reduces its carbon content by 16 kilograms per cubic metre. They do this by injecting waste carbon dioxide recovered from elsewhere into the concrete during mixing.

“This is yet another instance of CarbonCure concrete easily meeting rigorous performance standards, including the top-tier design and engineering standards required for airport paving,” said company founder and CEO Robert Niven, a McGill University engineering graduate. It was during his final year at McGill that he attended the 2007 United Nations Summit on Climate Change, which gave him the inspiration to establish his company.

Now a world leader, the CarbonCure Technology is being used by concrete producers across North America and Southeast Asia to reduce concrete’s carbon footprint, create new production cost savings and gain a competitive sales advantage.

“YYC Calgary International Airport is pleased to be a leader as the largest airport user to-date of CarbonCure in Canada,” said Carmelle Hunka, vice-president of risk and compliance at the airport. “As YYC strives to be a leader in airport sustainability, we fully supported our airline partners in the decision to inject captured carbon into the new East De-icing Apron’s concrete pavement.”

Photo courtesy of YYC

With the donation of a Bombardier Global 7500 flight test aircraft to Ontario’s Centennial College for training purposes, what was Centennial’s Centre for Aerospace and Aviation will now be renamed “The Bombardier Centre for Aerospace and Aviation”.

The aircraft, serial number 70004, was used by Bombardier as a test vehicle for the evaluation and validation of the aircraft’s interior. It carried the name “The Architect”.

“As the global demand for aerospace technicians and technologists continues to grow, the strategic advantage of Bombardier and Centennial’s relationship is only amplified,” said Dr. Craig Stephenson, Centennial College’s president and CEO. “The commitment of both partners not only aims to support the increasing labour demands of the sector, but also bolsters Ontario’s and Canada’s leadership position in a competitive global sector.”

This isn’t Bombardier’s first donation to the college. A year ago, the Montreal-based aircraft manufacturer donated a CRJ200, again for training purposes, and provided the college with $150,000 for the completion of its Landing Gear Research project.

“Bombardier is proud to continue supporting Centennial College in their mission to prepare the next generation of aerospace professionals”, said Bombardier’s president and CEO Alain Bellemare. “With this Global 7500 aircraft donation, students will receive incomparable hands-on training using the industry’s latest advanced technology.”

Photo courtesy Bombardier