Avrocar Canadas Flying Saucer
THE “AVROCAR” STORY How John Frost Built a Flying Saucer in Canada Imagine a supersonic jet fighter capable of vertical take-off and landing built right here in Canada in 1959 at the height of the cold war. That was the vision of Avro Canadas brilliant engineer and designer John Frost. ... military, Frost spent almost ten years developing and testing, in secret, his futuristic jet aircraft that looked like a classic flying saucer when, just upon the verge of success, the project was shut down. The "Avrocar”, as it came to be known, was ultimately undone by technical obstacles, political interference and corporate infighting. ... But no great accomplishment is ever achieved without facing difficult obstacles and Frosts "Avrocar" certainly had its fair share. ... And just like the sad case of the Avro Arrow, Canada does not even have an "Avrocar" of our own to exhibit as a monument to our countrys grand accomplishments in aviation pioneering. One of the the intriguing questions surrounding Frost and the Avrocar is why he is still largely unrecognized in Canadian aviation history. ... We want to tell in depth and detail, the fascinating saga of John Frost and the "Avrocar," a flying saucer built right here in Canada in the 1950s. ... When the new Conservative Diefenbaker Government took over in the late 50s, the Avro Arrow jet and its secret brother, the "Avrocar", were viewed as expensive and unnecessary pet projects of the previous Liberal government. ... Author and "Avrocar“ expert Bill Zuk is now a consultant for a documentary on this topic. Bill has just written a book about the Avrocar", "Canadas Flying Saucer Projects: The Story Of Avro Canadas Secret Projects" published by Boston Mills Press. Bill had the good fortune to be left the legacy of 30 years worth of intense work and research on the "Avrocar" done by Les Wilkinson, a former pilot who became intrigued with the "Avrocar project. Bill and Less were co-writing a book about the "Avrocar" when tragically Les died last year. Over those 30 years, Les collected hundreds of secret now declassified documents, reports, photographs, blueprints, designs and even rare film footage of the "Avrocar”. ... A German engineer told Frost that the Nazis had built and flown experimental saucer shaped aircraft during the war but destroyed both plans and prototypes. ... He then reverted back to the basic saucer or frisbee shape which flew impressively in scale model form. ... It was supposed to look like the Avro Arrow but, if you can imagine, with a saucer shaped body. ... Frosts new funding came from private, company sources and resulted in a test rig being built that was perfectly saucer shaped.