TORONTO - Exactly 50 years after the cancellation of the Avro Arrow, air and space enthusiasts gathered today to launch a museum revitalization to preserve the memory of the legendary Canadian aircraft.
Renaming itself the Canadian Air and Space Museum, the former Toronto Aerospace Museum is campaigning to raise funds for a $2-million, 11,600-square-metre expansion.
The new facilities will showcase the country's only full-scale, museum-quality model of the Avro Arrow, considered an aeronautical achievement in the 1950s before political forces grounded it.
Museum officials say the expansion will also highlight aviation and space trailblazers to inspire young people to enter the field.
Some 82,000 Canadians make their living in the aerospace industry, generating $22 billion for the economy.
February also marks the 100th anniversary of the first powered flight in the country.
