Alberta Aviation Museum exhibit features never-before-released footage of famed Avro Arrow

EDMONTON, AB – Never-before-released video footage of the famous Avro Arrow is part of new exhibit now at the Alberta Aviation Museum.

 

The inflight footage was shot in Malton, Ont., from the cockpit by Alberta test pilot Norman Ronaasen. The air force chose him over hundreds of other pilots to assess and test the Avro Arrow CF-105, says information at the museum.

 

Ronaasen shot the footage from the cockpit of the chase plane he flew when the Arrow was being tested in the 1950s, said Ronaasen’s son, Neil Ronaasen.

 

“They liked to have a good look at the airplane in the air, so there will be a couple airplanes following closely, looking to see if anything’s leaking and so they can fly under it and around it to look at it,” he said.

 

“So these images came from that. My dad had a camera with him and shot them. It’s rare to find original footage of it anymore.”

 

Norm Ronaasen was scheduled to make his first flight in the Arrow on Feb. 20, 1959, when the government suddenly cancelled the program. The test pilot had done high-speed taxi trials in the supersonic, twin-engined jet interceptor, then took it to the hangar to replace the tires when the controversial decision was announced.