Avro Canada CF - 103 The Avro Canada CF - 103 was a proposed Canadian interceptor , designed by Avro Canada in the early 1950s as a development , and possible replacement of the company ' s CF - 100 Canuck , that was entering service at the time with the Royal Canadian Air Force ( RCAF ) . Although intended to be capable of flying at transonic speeds , the CF - 103 only proffered a moderate increase in performance and capability over the CF - 100 ; subsequently , the aircraft never progressed beyond the mock - up stage . Design and development . Even before the prototype of the CF - 100 had flown , Avro Canada was conducting studies of potential advanced variations of the aircraft , as the RCAF was seeking an interceptor with greater high - speed performance . Due to the perceived limitations of the CF - 100 ' s original " thick " , straight wing , Chief Designer John Frost proposed a series of refinements that included a thinner swept wing . In December 1950 , the Avro Aircraft Design Office decided to proceed with a redesign , primarily incorporating the early series CF - 100 fuselage structure with a new swept wing and tail surfaces as part of the C - 100S design study . Frost considered the new design as an interim aircraft between the CF - 100 and the more advanced C - 104 project . The salient changes to the basic wing planform were in decreasing its chord and thickness , and adding a 42° sweep to the leading edge , creating a near - delta wing configuration . The tail surfaces were also swept back . One version that was considered featured two streamlined fuel tanks blended into the leading edge of the wings near the three / quarter position . Despite the use of more powerful engines , the redesign had very modest performance specifications , with a planned maximum diving speed of Mach 0 . 95 , scarcely better than the placard ed Mach 0 . 85 speed limit of the production CF - 100 Mk 2 and Mk 3 . Avro executives , recognizing that the company had already suffered due to the protracted development of the CF - 100 , determined that Frost ' s revised design would provide a " hedge " against the CF - 100 ' s failure to secure long - term contracts . In 1951 , the Canadian Department of Trade and Commerce issued an order for two prototypes and a static test airframe , under the CF - 103 project designation . Jigs , tools and detailed engineering drawings were in place by June 1951 , with wind tunnel testing , conducted at Cornell University , completed by November 1951 . Although a wooden mock - up of the CF - 103 was built , along with a separate cockpit area and engine section that was partially framed in , the mock - up did not feature an undercarriage unit nor any interior fittings . Two different tail designs were fitted with the initial effort only having a swept leading edge of the tail , while the definitive version had a much more raked appearance . The engineering and installation requirements for the CF - 103 ' s proposed Orenda 17 jet engines were not finalized , as the experimental " hybrid " using an Orenda 8 compressor unit and Orenda 11 two - stage turbine , matched to a " reheat " unit , had not been fully developed . Cancellation . During 1951 , flight tests carried out by Chief Development Test Pilot S / L Janusz Żurakowski and other members of the Flight Test unit , revealed the development potential of the CF - 100 had outstripped the intended performance envelope of the CF - 103 , while Frost and the Design Office became preoccupied with more sophisticated designs as potential replacements for the CF - 100 . Work on the CF - 103 stalled , with the maiden flight originally scheduled for the summer of 1952 , postponed to mid - 1953 . With Cold War pressures mounting , the Canadian government demanded that production of the latest CF - 100 fighter , as well as developing more advanced variants of the Canuck should predominate , leading the Avro company to curtail the moribund CF - 103 project in December 1951 . Although the mock - up languished in the experimental bay at the factory , a dramatic event served to preclude any attempt to restart the project . On 18 December 1952 , from a height of 33 , 000 ft ( 10 , 000 m ) , Żurakowski dived the CF - 100 Mk 4 prototype ( RCAF Serial No . 18112 ) to Mach 1 . 06 . His " unauthorized " test flight resulted in the final scrapping of the mock - up .