Janusz Zurakowski is a quiet unassuming man, and anyone meeting him would never imagine what he has lived through. Yet he is one of the most accomplished pilots in the World, and is Canada's most famous pilot. Biography
I know the article says this, but it would be slightly more accurate to say "Poland's most famous pilot!"
The Canadians want him because of this .... :clapping: In 1973 Janusz Zurakowski was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. The citation reads: "The dedication of his aeronautical skills to the successful flight testing of Canada's first supersonic aircraft resulted in outstanding benefit to Canadian aviation". The Royal Canadian Mint issued a $20 dollar coin bearing his cameo (1996) But you're right Adrian .... he was Polish first !!
AVRO Canada was owned by Hawker Siddeley, as Avro in the UK was by then, but it was a wholely Canadian operation. Zura's darkest hour was probably in 1954 when he survived an explosion in a CF100 which killed his observer. He had had many narrow escapes himself, and he was in no way to blame for this incident, but it is thought that he never got over losing a crew member and it was one reason that led to his decision to retire from aviation a few years later - along with the cancellation of the CF105 Arrow no doubt.
