Avro Canada C.102 Jetliner
- Period: Postwar (1945-1959)
- Uses: Prototype
- First Flight: August 10, 1949
- Display Status: In Reserve Hangar — nose section of aircraft only.
The Jetliner was designed to meet a Trans-Canada Air Lines requirement. It was the first jet transport to fly in North America and the second to fly in the world, 13 days after the flight of the de Havilland 106 Comet. Although somewhat short in range, the design’s great potential was never realized. Further development was stopped by the federal government in 1951 in order to force the company to concentrate on the CF-100 jet fighter. Only one Jetliner was built.
Howard Hughes personally tested the Jetliner for his airline, flying it from his private airfield at Culver City in California. Little was known about jet engines in their early days. An airport manager in New York City insisted that the Jetliner park away from the terminal and had pans placed under the “fire-spitting” engines to catch any dangerous drippings.
Museum Example
- Registration #: CF-EJD-X
- Manufacturer: A.V. Roe Canada Ltd., Canada
- Manufacture Date: 1949
- Construction #: Unknown
- Aquisition Date: Unknown
- Provenance: Donation from Avro Canada
The aircraft was offered to the National Research Council in Ottawa, but only the nose was preserved due to lack of space. The rest of the aircraft was sold for scrap. The main wheels ended up on a farm wagon and the autopilot flew for years in a Douglas DC-3.
Specifications
- Wing Span:
- 29.9 m (98 ft 1 in)
- Length:
- 25.1 m (82 ft 5 in)
- Height:
- 8.1 m (26 ft 5 1/2 in)
- Weight, Empty:
- 16,783 kg (37,000 lb)
- Weight, Gross:
- 29,484 kg (65,000 lb)
- Cruising Speed:
- 676 km/h (420 mph)
- Max Speed:
- 805 km/h (500 mph)
- Rate of Climb:
- 677 m (2,220 ft) /min
- Service Ceiling:
- 12,283 m (40,300 ft)
- Range:
- 2,000 km (1,250 mi)
- Crew:
- three
- Power Plant:
- four Rolls-Royce Derwent 5/17, 1,633 kg (3,600 lb) static thrust, centrifugal flow turbojet engines
