The Arrow

The Arrow is a four-hour miniseries produced for CBC Television in 1996, starring Dan Aykroyd as Crawford Gordon, experienced wartime production leader during World War II and president of A. V. Roe Canada during its attempt to produce the Avro Arrow supersonic jet interceptor. The film also stars Michael Ironside and Sara Botsford. The mini-series is noted as the highest viewership ever for a CBC program. Other significant individuals in the program, portrayed in the series, include RCAF pilot Flight Lieutenant Jack Woodman who conducted test flights on Avro aircraft but was supplanted by Janusz Żurakowski for the first few flights; Jim Chamberlin and James Floyd in the design team; Edward Critchley who would be asked to develop an engine for the Arrow when other models became unavailable. The film also boasted cameos by Michael Moriarty as U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Michael Ironside as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Christopher Plummer as George Hees.