Hello, all.
The world lost a great man yesterday; famed polish-Canadian pilot Janzus Zurakowski.
Born in Ryzawka, Poland in 1914; Jan joined the Polish Air Force in 1934. When Poland fell in WWII; he fled to Britian and joined the RAF; flying Hurricanes, and was creditied with 3 kills during the Battle of Britain.
After the war; he became a test pilot and became involved with test-flying the early jets; including the Vampire, Javelin and Meteor.
In 1952; he emigrated to Canada to join Avro Aircraft in Malton as chief test pilot. There; he became the first man in Canada to break the sound barrier, in a CF-100.
In 1958; he was given the project that made him famous: maiden flight (and subsequent testing) of the Arrow; Avro's phenomenal supersonic interceptor. When that magnificent aircraft was scrapped for political reasons; Avro and Orenda (which built the plane's Iriquois engine) went with it - most of their engineers and workers heading south to work on America's fledgeling space program.
Jan never flew professionally again after the Arrow; according to him; he'd flown the best. He retired to Renfrew County and started a tourist business.
He passed away yesterday; at the age of 89.

He was quite a guy; one I'm proud to have talked with on several occasions. He looked half his age. The thing that really got me whenever I met him was his eyes - sharp; hard, brilliantly clear even at his age; they just burned into you. I remember asking him once about a particular airshow manoeuver he used to perform; the Zurakowski Dyna-Loop.
He did it in a Gloster Meteor; the only pilot and aircraft that could do it. It was a pitch-up to 90 degrees; followed by a wing-over-wing loop through the Z axis - an incredible manoeuver. Anyway; I asked him about it - everything I've ever learned about flying from 16 years in the cockpit says it ought to be impossible.
"Vell, it vas ferry easy;" he said. "All you did was to pull the aircraft up to ninety degrees, keeping full power. Very important - cannot be ninety-one or eighty-nine. Den; when your airspeed reaches sixty, you shut off one engine."
Geez - he called that easy.
Anyway; his death is a loss to the aviation world; but not  sad day - he had a great name and a rich life - I'm happy to have known him.
Thanks.

Thanks for the Post!!!

Most news networks are carrying the loss of Mr. Janzus Zurakowski to-day in this country.

My thoughts are with his Family and Friends.

Doug

Funny everyone is mentioning that manuever...over here he is famous for the Arrow and the CF-100 "Falling Leaf".

Some people have said the falling leaf was the greatest manuever up until the SU-27 "Cobra".

"Zura's" Bio: http://zurakowskiavroarrow.homestead.com/Biography.html

Includes descriptions of the Cartwheel and the Falling Leaf. Also includes some shots of the Arrow and a rare shot of the CF-100 Mk 6 prototype...note the 4 Sparrow I missiles slung underneath.

Truly the loss of a great man.

That it certainly was.
A couple of funny things you might be interested in:
It's a favourite joke among friends, family and Zura admirers; that for all his accomplishments; Jan Zurakowski never had a pilot's license!
LOL it's true - he was qualified in the Polish Air Force; then the RAF; but never obtained his civilian rating. Kinda like an F1 driver not being able to drive the family car.
The other point is that if you look in the excellent bio Siver Fox provided; you'll see a lovely shot of the Arrow over Niagara Falls - it's a favourite shot for entusiasts.
It's a fake; doctored by the Avro P.R. department. The Arrow never flew over the Falls; that was actually a shot of a Clunk; with the original aircraft painted out.
Also; if you look real close the picture shows the RL-201; the first flying Arrow. It's actually the RL-203; with the numbers doctored. Neat; eh?