Rollout

The Rollout of the Avro Arrow on October 4th, 1957 (number 201).
If you know nothing about the amazing Avro Arrow, please read this brief summary:
The Arrow is considered to have been Canadian Avaition's greatest success and failure. A fighter plane entirely designed in Canada, including the amazing Iroquois Engine. Although the events leading up to and following the Arrow program long preceded my birth, I have always admired this amazing fighter which surpassed both requirements and expectations. A true symbol of Canadian nationalism.
It absolutely breaks my heart that 206 never got to fly using the Iroquois Engine, a flight which would have broken just about every existing aviation record. Prime Minister Diefenbaker cancelled the program three days before the 50th Anniversary of Powered Flight in Canada, and shortly prior to 206's ability to take flight using the Iroquois Engine. All of the arrows that were in production, and those that had been completed were destroyed and sold as scrap metal, supervised by government officials.
Following the end of the Arrow program, most of the brilliant individuals behind the Arrow moved to the US (many working for NASA) and some helped to put the first men into space, and onto the moon!
The Arrow represents a pinnacle for Canadian Aviation, at a time when Canada was at the forefront of the Aviation world! Although I understand that it was a costly program, it still kills me that 206 never got the chance to prove herself.
Diefenbaker sucks
About the drawing:
Last summer I had the chance to see an original Arrow nosecone in the Canadian War Museum, and even better, the front end of 206 and an Iroquois Engine at the National Aviation Museum (so much for that urban legend that 206 escaped its demise and fled to the US...). As embarrassing at it is, when I looked at the marks from the blow torch that tore it to pieces, I couldn’t help but shed a tear for what could have been.
I found this amazing photo in a book about the arrow, of a young boy standing in front of the Arrow at the rollout, and had to draw it. It took for-freaking-ever, and doesn’t look as good as I’d hoped. I’m not used to drawing things that have perfectly straight lines! The background is supposed to look a bit sketchy, with only the Arrow, the child, and the Avro logo in the back in focus, the rest faded like a memory.