Sky-high dreams for an old CF-100

[hz2p]

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[shitdisturber]

Here's a CF-100 story for you:

One day my dad was banking into his final approach in Comox during a thunderstorm when a lightening strike on the wingtip fired the missiles. They strafed the runway and hit the fire hall, destroying a brand new fire truck. In the investigation that immediately followed the accident it was determined that dad had never opened the firing switch cover, thereby exonerating him! (He tells it better!)

Apparently the CF-100's were prone to stray voltages, which is probably why the armourers in the military to this day do stray voltage checks when they're mounting weapons. An old, retired aircraft electrician I used to work with in my Cool Pool days told us a classic Clunk stray voltage story.

It seems the armourers were mounting rockets on a Clunk in the QRA in Cold Lake one day when a burst of stray voltage did it's thing; causing the recently mounted rockets to fire. Unfortunately said rockets chose to fire just as a Sabre happened to be passing the QRA on takeoff; fortunately though, they missed. With considerable aplomb I'd have to say, the Sabre pilot got on his radio and called; "missed me"!

[fleet16b]

Sorry to disappoint you guys but that CF100 will never ever fly again.
First off the spars are cut , secondly the airframe was drilled into extensively in order to mount it on the pedestal.
I know as I was part of the crew that put her up there.
Thirdly , a friend of mine helped remove it and she is pretty damaged after all her years on the mount.
Also knowing some inside info which I won't divulge publicly, I am dead certain that there was never any real intention to ever get it flying in the first place. Just a bunch of publicity seeking behind that story.

[BowWow]

Ahhhh. Sad. Mebbe the next time I'm through Nanton I'll have a little chat with them about their Clunk. It sure looks nice and shiny up on that pedestal! It would be great to actually have one flying again, don't you think?

[Road king]

I just happened on this forum and if the project has a chance of survival would be interested in making a contribution. I'm an air force brat and have seen more bases than most - my father (now deceased) was the squadron leader of 425 squadron tasked out of st. Hubert before we made our way over to Europe.
You could say I'm fairly intimate with this plane - you can't adequately describe to people today what it was like being in the air force in the 50's and 60's - an active air base was a way of life for all who lived on it. Many is the night I would watch the squadron take off on patrol past my bedroom window - and then listen to all the in flight stories on the return. Living in Europe when Kennedy was assassinated is it's own story - the snowball came quickly and he was gone for a long time. Anyways - dads flight logs, which are all intact, are a journey through aeronautical history, and I have many museum worthy artifacts which one day will make their way into the public domain. We have a proud history here in canada and I'm glad to see the likes of this dream to get a clunk active again - it is part of our living spirit.

[fleet16b]

Road King

My advice to you would be - DO NOT ,I REPEAT DO NOT give anything to the group that has this particular CF100.
There is no intention to ever get it flying and the group is not really an active Museum
Unfortunately this a/c will end up rotting in a field along with a bunch of other old airframes.
Your artifacts would just become lost within an individual personal collection and never be seen again.
Believe me you don't want the heartache.

[Road king]

Thanks fleet. Message received and understood.

[rigpiggy]

I seem to recall that most of the nose radar section and the tailcone would come off. would this be enough to get it thru the gap?

[shitdisturber]

Deleted cause I didn't realize this thread was reactivated after two years.

[Moose47]

G'day

I wish I had a buck for every one of Al's pipe dreams. Just ask him how the Sabre thing turned out. Good luck in getting servicable compressor blades for the Orendas too.

Cheers...Chris

[flyalmaguin]

I think there is only one CF-100 in North Bay, mounted on a pedestal at Lee Park near the waterfront. I might be wrong.

The other monument which may be the second one being referred to is a CF-101 Voodoo, mounted near approach end of runway 36 at the North Bay Jack Garland Airport (CYYB):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CF_101_Voodoo.JPG

Airshow pilots displaying during the 1990's Heritage Festival & Airshow used to use the CF-100 at Lee Park as a visual marker for the south end of flight line (show centre was the marina).

[Moose47]

"I think there is only one CF-100 in North Bay, mounted on a pedestal at Lee Park near the waterfront. I might be wrong."

My office at 22 Wing North Bay is just around the corner from a former 414 'Black Knight' (EW) Squadron CF-100 Mk. 4B/5 (s/n 18500)

We also have an EW CT-133 Silver Star in front of the ops building.

Cheers...Chris

[single_swine_herder]

Interesting tid-bit about the CF-100 ... I was at the London Airshow in 1957 when one was pushed beyond its structural speed restriction and came apart directly over the crowd on the ramp and idisintegrated with parts landing among the spectators.

The empenage landed about 20 feet from me. My nexxt door neighbour was about 10 feet closer, and fainted when all that metal impacted in front of him.

http://www.avroarrow.org/FFM/Ewart.html

[chu me]

It is sad sometimes the lack of foresight at some of these museums. In the early 90's I offered to the museum 3 x 12.7mm browning machine guns, 1 ejection seat, 1 canopy, 2 chaff dispensors, and various parts from the APG-33 radar and several other lesser parts...all from the CF-100mk. I offered these parts to the CWHM for free...all they had to do was come and get them (a 1hr drive at best). I was turned down...they weren't "doing" a CF-100. So I said maybe you could store these parts for a future project( as this was from Canada's first jets ) or trade them to aquire other parts that they may need for other projects. I was told to stop pestering the museum....so I sold them to a dealer....sad, it would have been fun to contribute to the project.

[Moose47]

Road King "I just happened on this forum and if the project has a chance of survival would be interested in making a contribution. I'm an air force brat and have seen more bases than most - my father (now deceased) was the squadron leader of 425 squadron tasked out of st. Hubert before we made our way over to Europe."

Do you actually mean 432 Squadron?

Cheers...Chris

[Road king]

Hi Chris - no was 425
Garry

[Moose47]

G'day Garry

It was a misprint on my part. I meant to ask you if it was No. 423 Squadron. Do you mind telling me who your father was. Incidentally. I am a former air force brat too!

Cheers...Chris

[Road king]

Hi chris - no, it was 425 squadron. Name was squadron leader Ronald Millage. We left st Hubert around 1960 for Europe - I'm not sure what happened to his squadron after we left, or what other squadrons were flying there at the time. When we went to Europe we were stationed in Metz and he flew out of 4 wing for a couple of year's before taking over command of Fort D'ars following which we moved on again.

[Moose47]

G'day garry

I was hoping you made a typing error and it was actually 423 Squadron. If it had been then I would have asked if you had any photos of the CF-100's flying overseas from R.C.A.F. Station St. Hubert during 'Operation Nimble Bat II' in February 1957.

Depending when you left St. Hubert in 1960, the commanding officer of No. 425 'Alouette' AW (F) Squadron would have been one of the two following airmen.

Wing Commander W. M. Middleton DFC CD who served from the 7th of August 1957 to the 15th of July 1960.

Wing Commander J. E. Goldsmith DFC AFC CD commanded the squadron from 16th of July 1960 to the 1st of May 1961.

Was your father flying Clunks or Swords out of 4 Wing at Baden-Soellingen, Germany?

Ahhh yes, the old Maginot Line's L'Ouvrage d'Ars, which housed the RCAF Combat Operations Center. A small part of 'Fort d'Ars' was occupied by the Comm Centre, Classified Comm Centre, Intelligence Centre, COC, Switchboard etc. Much of the Fort was sealed off because of dangers due to it basically falling apart. It sustained a lot of battale damage when the Germans tried to stem the allied advance in the area. Most of the wooded land around the fortifications were off-limits because of unexploded ordinance. So I guess it is safe to say that you did not have the annual Easter Egg Hunt there!

* DFC - Distinguished Flying Cross
* AFC- Air Force Cross
* CD - Canadian Forces Decoration

Cheers...Chris

[Road king]

Chris, we were good friends with both middleton and goldsmith!
Swords.
Yes the fort was in bad repair in the non ops center. If you recall a young boy being blown up by a land mine in 1961, that was one of my playmates - that ended the war games in unapproved areas. A bit different than today's playgrounds..... We arrived in Europe around the time of the Algerian uprising, they were interesting times.
Garry