It was finally time for the expedition team to celebrate. They had successfully recovered the first Avro Arrow prototype from the bottom of the lake. The news was announced on their Facebook page.
“We are pleased to announce that the first historical relic of the Avro Arrow free-flight program has been recovered.” They explained how it had been delivered back at CFB Trenton on August 13, 2018, after 64 years of resting on the bed of Lake Ontario.
The Missing Piece Of The Puzzle
There was a significant delay before the exploration team could show off their discovery, though. While they had found several Avro Arrow prototypes, they hadn’t found them all.
Of course, one of the prototypes they couldn’t find was the ninth one, and the model considered the Holy Grail. As the most advanced model made, the team felt their collection wouldn’t be complete until they found every last one. For this reason, the search continued.
Part Of Canadian History
Considering how delta wings are still used on most fighter jets today, each stage of development is a massive part of not just aviation history, but Canadian history as well. With all six full-sized aircrafts destroyed by the government to prevent any spies from stealing their work, these prototypes were all that was left.
Erin Gregory of the Canada Aviation & Space Museum explained the importance of finding the final prototype saying, “The delta wing was a relatively new concept at that point, so it required a lot of testing to determine whether it would perform well, particularly at supersonic speeds.”
Holding Onto Hope
Despite this good news, the rest of the Avro Arrow prototypes still hadn’t been found. All those involved in the expedition, including Osisko Mining, Kraken Sonar, OEX Recovery Group Incorporated, and the Canadian public, continue to hold onto hope that they will one day be found.
The ninth prototype, the Holy Grail, may still be just a dream, but no one is giving up. “Raise The Arrow” won’t stop their search until the last airplane model is found in the waters of Lake Ontario.
Littered With Treasure
Even though only one Avro Arrow model has been discovered, the expedition team continues to search for them regularly. Burzynski has explained in the past that the bottom of Lake Ontario is full of treasures, many of which can be confused for the prototypes.
Often covered in muscles and other gunk, it’s challenging to decipher precisely what most objects are before they’re taken out of the waters. For this reason, the expedition team will often pull out other treasures, however not quite as valuable as what they’re looking for.