Page 4 - Sept 2020

One of the original Avrocars is now displayed at the
Smithsonian Institute Air and Space Museum in
Washington D.C. The full scale replica in our collection
was built by local artist and Museum restoration
volunteer John Henry Friesen for a documentary film in
The Avrocar
2003.

Internally powered by three jet engines, the small frame
of the Avrocar packs more power than your average jet
fighter. Instead of channeling this raw power out of a
central exhaust, the Avrocar channels this explosive
force through vents located around its outside edge.
These vents can be opened and closed by the pilot to
control the direction of flight, theoretically zipping in any
direction with a wiggle of the control stick.

Without wings, the Avrocar, as it came to be known,
was smooth on all sides and theoretically able to fly
close to the ground or tree tops, which would make it
practically invisible to radar.

British aircraft designer, John Frost, joined Avro
Canada in 1947 after helping to pioneer some of the
world’s first jet fighter planes in England during the To allow it to hover, an enormous turbo-fan blows air
Second World War. With a passion for pushing limits, straight down to create a cushion of moving air. The
Frost was positioned at the Malton Ontario facility, to original specifications describe a vehicle with a top speed
develop a classified project know as ‘Project Y’ in between Mach 3 and Mach 4, and would climb to an
Canada, or ‘Project 1794’ in the United States. altitude of 100,000 feet. That’s as high and as fast as the
SR-71 Blackbird, a highly advanced stealth bomber
Frost garnered support for his revolutionary "flying
introduced in 1966, just a few years after the Avrocar
saucer" design, often unleashing his donut-shaped
project came to a close. The new propulsion system
model during presentations, having it buzz around the
room or hover in mid-air. Frost’s claims that the developed by Avro Canada was not forgotten, and would
form the basis for modern ground cushion vehicles, or
Avrocar would achieve everything from super-sonic
hovercraft, which are common today.
speed to hovering on a dime fit perfectly with the U.S.
Air Force need for a high-speed spy plane which could
also fly low to avoid radar detection and inspired an
investment of $7.5 million from the U.S. Air Force.

Two full-scale Avrocar prototypes were built, and
although capable of controlled flight at around 90 cm,
the Avrocar became unstable when reaching heights
of more than a metre. With performance falling far
short of John Frost’s vision, the U.S. Air Force pulled
the plug on the Avrocar project in 1962, whisking the
two prototypes across the border to continue testing.

Click above picture to watch video