Читать книгу Storms of Controversy - Palmiro Campagna - Страница 10

PREFACE TO THE SECOND PAPERBACK EDITION

I would like to thank all those who have provided comments, both positive and negative, since the publication of Storms of Controversy in 1992. The response has given me the impetus to continue my efforts in search of what was happening behind the scenes in the Arrow story. It has also led me into unravelling the mystery and writing about the Avrocar, Avro’s flying saucer for the United States Air Force.

In 1993, I had a chance to experience first-hand the “joys” of cancellation. I had been sent to Italy in September for what was to be a four-year engineering assignment on the EH-101 helicopter program. The family was moved and the house sold. In November, of course, the program was cancelled courtesy of a political decision, and we were on our way back to Canada by December, some of our boxes not yet unpacked from the original move over there. It was not a pleasant experience.

After the dust settled, I was able to renew my work on the Arrow. I was surprised to learn that many of the myths I had destroyed were still being flaunted, but such is life. Perhaps the new material will put them to bed. And what is this new material?

I have uncovered various memoranda and briefing notes that shed new light on both the Jetliner and Arrow developments. Included is what I have come to call the “smoking gun.” This document should have been available in the mountain of material I had originally pored over, but either I had missed it or it simply was not there. The copy I did find was in a different area altogether and actually came to me via the good graces of serendipity. It finally puts many pieces of the puzzle together and names names.

In some of the correspondence that I received, I was asked if I ever found anything more on “the one that got away.” In fact, I have reviewed this matter and present some intriguing possibilities. Most people point to the photos of the destruction of the Arrow on the tarmac and note that they show five aircraft being demolished. While pictures are worth a thousand words, not all is what it seems.

Is the story finally over? No, there are more documents out there, but the problem, like before, is finding them and getting them declassified.

Ottawa

October 1996