The Way We Were ::: 1959 - 1969 ::: CANADA
AVRO comes to Georgetown!
… so, so, long ago now… and only for a time.
A quick decade.
Then AVRO Canada… the Georgetown chapter, was closed.
EMPIRES, like people, usually die by degrees…not all at once…or suddenly.
The mortally wounded often falter at first, try to regain their footing… their balance… pick themselves up and carry on, until…
… it becomes obvious to everyone, more especially to themselves, that the “death blow” has been dealt, and they shall succumb.
And it is now quite apparent that AVRO CANADA’s “last gasp” was indeed in Georgetown, Ontario.
BECAUSE HERE, in Halton Hills… that AVRO Canada mantra and attitude… ”that we can do anything we put our minds to” was still alive and being freshly channeled into the newly formed AVIAN AIRCRAFT Ltd. company of 1959. AVIAN was created and “birthed” into existence by a dozen former AVRO Canada engineers and employees.
Speedboats, and refrigerators were then being made at the then-diminished AVRO Canada Malton facility… in an attempt to keep the company afloat… in some capacity…but the innovative AVRO “spirit” now, realistically, remained only in Georgetown, Ontario at Avian.
And no, Avian didn’t create another C-102 Jetliner… the first commercial jetliner to be designed, created and flown in North and South America.
And no, they didn’t create a world-class supersonic, stratospheric, interceptor like the AVRO ARROW.
Or even another FLYING SAUCER.
They headed off in an entirely new direction.
They created a GYROPLANE.
The Avian 2/180 Gyroplane, specifically.
Say what??!!
Now I won’t say a lot here…but I will say it is an aviation story that needs to be told.
Special Projects IR is waiting to acquire all the necessary and pertinent info related to Avian… to tell the “tale” ~
BUT YOU can see the flying GYRO “beast” above an August 2007 photo of the building that was built for, and once housed AVIAN, but is now an auto-collision facility!
The AVIAN Gyroplane certification prototype first flew in November of 1965.
SPECIAL THANKS to Dawn Livingstone and Mark Rowe, of the Esquesing Historical Society, for their assistance.
© 2007 Dawn Livingstone
© 2007 Special Projects IR
© 2007 Paul Cardin
© 1969 – 2007 Avian Aircraft Ltd
1 comment:
Hi,
I'm writing with a slightly unusual request. I am an academic about to publish a book on the visual culture around icons such as Mother Teresa, and I'd like permission to reproduce one the photographs (is it a photo you took?) on your blog: "Mother Teresa in stained glass, Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish, near YYZ" (where is YYZ?).
The book, The book (Global Icons in Public Culture) will have a modest circulation among academics. I do not have any funding for the use of images in these hard budgetary times. But I would be very grateful if I could use them with your permission (copyright information, and courtesy will be included in the caption).
If you could send me a email regarding this matter, I would really appreciate it (bghosh@english.ucsb.edu)
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Professor Bishnupriya Ghosh
Department of English
University of California, Santa Barbara
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