C102 Jetliner – Fast Facts - Part 1
Conceived in 1945, with the support of the Canadian Government, the Avro C102 Jetliner was designed to satisfy a Trans Canada Airlines (TCA) specification for a new transport aircraft.
Designed as an inter-city regional jet, with a top speed in excess of 500 mph and a service altitude of 35,000 ft., Avro’s new Jetliner doubled the speed and tripled the altitude of conventional propeller driven transport aircraft.
Avro’s Jetliner flew for the first time on August 10, 1949.
Canada’s Jetliner was the first jet transport in North America and second in the world by only 13 days to Britain’s ill-fated DeHaviland Comet which, following a series of fatal crashes, required a total redesign before re-entering service in 1958.
First flown by Avro test pilot, Jim Orrell, the Jetliner was usually flown by corporate pilots Don Rogers or Mike Cooper-Slipper.
The Jetliner would still meet the specification for modern day “Regional Jets” or RJ’s as they are but a re-incarnation of Avro’s “Inter-City Jet” concept.
TCA issued a report on Feb 25, 1948 to the effect that the Jetliner design no longer suited its needs – its new president Gordon McGregor, flatly indicating that he did not want TCA to be the first to use jet transports.
Trans Canada Airlines, although commenting that the quality, craftsmanship and performance of the Jetliner exceeded anything in their fleet, ultimately reneged on its contract for Avro Jetliners in favor of government-sponsored production of North Star propeller driven aircraft.
