James C. Floyd
Encyclopedia
James Charles "Jim" Floyd (born October 20, 1914) is a Canadian
aerospace engineer
, born in Manchester
, England
. Floyd was the Avro Aircraft Ltd. (Canada)
chief design engineer. His ensuing involvement, ultimately as vice-president (engineering), in the design and development of the Avro Jetliner
, CF-100 and CF-105 Arrow
aircraft designs, over a period which is viewed by many as the "Golden Age" of the Canadian aviation industry.
in the UK (a position which was gained through connections with Roy Dobson) - Jim moved up the chain finally ending as Senior Vice President and Director of Engineering at A.V. Roe Canada.
During his early career, Floyd was employed as a design engineer on the Anson
, Manchester
, Lancaster
, York
, Lincoln
and Tudor
projects at A. V. Roe. He also spent time at Hawker, another aircraft company in the Hawker Siddeley group. This meant that he worked under two well-known British aircraft designers: Roy Chadwick
and Sydney Camm. He was later appointed Chief Project Engineer of a special projects group at the Avro office in Yorkshire, where he worked on the application of jet engine technology to transport aircraft.
He moved to Canada to join the new A.V. Roe Canada, more commonly known as Avro Canada
, in 1946, and, in 1952, he was named Chief Engineer. He worked on such aircraft as the C102 Avro Jetliner, CF-100 Canuck jet fighter, and the highly advanced CF-105 Avro Arrow supersonic interceptor, through which he and Canada were recognized as international leaders in aeronautical engineering.
Floyd's work on jet transport in the UK led to the Avro Canada C102 Jetliner. The Jetliner had been designed for the Trans Canada Airlines
(TCA) requirement of 1946. Despite being the first jet-powered airliner in North America, and the second to fly worldwide, the Jetliner was never destined to go into production. When the Canadian government insisted that Avro concentrate on its jet engine and CF-100 designs, Jim Floyd was named as Project Designer for the CF-100 in 1952.
Like thousands of other Avro Canada employees, Floyd was laid off, in the wake of the Avro CF-105 Arrow/Orenda Iroquois engine cancellation of February 20, 1959, "Black Friday." After securing positions in other companies for many of the engineers in his department, Floyd and his family moved back to England in 1959. He headed up Hawker Siddeley's Advanced Projects Group that developed the HSA.1000 SST
design evaluated as part of a joint research study with Bristol whose design ultimately became the Concorde
. Floyd later worked as a consultant from 1965 to 1972.
Since his retirement in 1979, Floyd has devoted free time to a number of educational and youth-oriented projects.
Floyd and his family returned to Canada in 1981. and is currently living in the Toronto area in the shadows of the once-great Avro Canada company buildings, that are now demolished.
from the Society of Automotive Engineers for his paper on the ground-breaking work on the Jetliner http://www.sae.org/news/awards/list/wright/(the first non-American recipient); in 1993, he was inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame and named a Companion of the Order of Flight by the City of Edmonton. Floyd also was awarded the J.A. McCurdy trophy in 1958 for his work on the Avro Arrow. In May 2000, he was awarded an Honourary Doctor of Engineering Design by the Royal Military College
of Canada.
On July 20, 2009 Floyd was awarded the first Canadian Air and Space Pioneer Award in a ceremony at The Canadian Air and Space Museum at Downsview Park, Toronto, Canada.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
aerospace engineer
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
, born in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Floyd was the Avro Aircraft Ltd. (Canada)
Avro Canada
Commonly known as Avro Canada, this company started in 1945 as an aircraft plant and became within thirteen years the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000...
chief design engineer. His ensuing involvement, ultimately as vice-president (engineering), in the design and development of the Avro Jetliner
Avro Jetliner
The Avro C102 Jetliner was a Canadian prototype medium-range jet airliner built by Avro Canada in 1949. It was beaten into the air by only 13 days by the de Havilland Comet, thereby becoming the second jet airliner in the world, yet the name "Jetliner" was more catchy and for many years all such...
, CF-100 and CF-105 Arrow
CF-105 Arrow
The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft, designed and built by Avro Aircraft Limited in Malton, Ontario, Canada, as the culmination of a design study that began in 1953...
aircraft designs, over a period which is viewed by many as the "Golden Age" of the Canadian aviation industry.
Early career
Floyd started in January 1930 as an apprentice with A.V. Roe and CompanyAvro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
in the UK (a position which was gained through connections with Roy Dobson) - Jim moved up the chain finally ending as Senior Vice President and Director of Engineering at A.V. Roe Canada.
During his early career, Floyd was employed as a design engineer on the Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
, Manchester
Avro Manchester
|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Buttler, Tony. British Secret Projects: Fighters and Bombers 1935–1950. Hickley, UK: Midland Publishing, 2004. ISBN 978-1857801798....
, Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
, York
Avro York
The Avro York was a British transport aircraft that was derived from the Second World War Lancaster heavy bomber, and used in both military and airliner roles between 1943 and 1964.-Design and development:...
, Lincoln
Avro Lincoln
The Avro Type 694, better known as the Avro Lincoln, was a British four-engined heavy bomber, which first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were known initially as the Lancaster IV and V, but were renamed Lincoln I and II...
and Tudor
Avro Tudor
Avro's Type 688 Tudor was a British piston-engined airliner based on their four-engine Lincoln bomber, itself a descendant of the famous Lancaster heavy bomber, and was Britain's first pressurised airliner...
projects at A. V. Roe. He also spent time at Hawker, another aircraft company in the Hawker Siddeley group. This meant that he worked under two well-known British aircraft designers: Roy Chadwick
Roy Chadwick
Roy Chadwick, CBE, FRAeS was an aircraft designer for Avro. Born at Marsh Hall Farm, Farnworth in Widnes, son of the mechanical engineer Charles Chadwick, he was the Chief Designer for the Avro Company and was responsible for practically all of their aeroplane designs...
and Sydney Camm. He was later appointed Chief Project Engineer of a special projects group at the Avro office in Yorkshire, where he worked on the application of jet engine technology to transport aircraft.
Avro Canada
He moved to Canada to join the new A.V. Roe Canada, more commonly known as Avro Canada
Avro Canada
Commonly known as Avro Canada, this company started in 1945 as an aircraft plant and became within thirteen years the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000...
, in 1946, and, in 1952, he was named Chief Engineer. He worked on such aircraft as the C102 Avro Jetliner, CF-100 Canuck jet fighter, and the highly advanced CF-105 Avro Arrow supersonic interceptor, through which he and Canada were recognized as international leaders in aeronautical engineering.
Floyd's work on jet transport in the UK led to the Avro Canada C102 Jetliner. The Jetliner had been designed for the Trans Canada Airlines
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
(TCA) requirement of 1946. Despite being the first jet-powered airliner in North America, and the second to fly worldwide, the Jetliner was never destined to go into production. When the Canadian government insisted that Avro concentrate on its jet engine and CF-100 designs, Jim Floyd was named as Project Designer for the CF-100 in 1952.
Like thousands of other Avro Canada employees, Floyd was laid off, in the wake of the Avro CF-105 Arrow/Orenda Iroquois engine cancellation of February 20, 1959, "Black Friday." After securing positions in other companies for many of the engineers in his department, Floyd and his family moved back to England in 1959. He headed up Hawker Siddeley's Advanced Projects Group that developed the HSA.1000 SST
SST
The acronym SST may refer to:In aircraft and naval vehicles*Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo*SST class blimp SS class blimp*Supersonic transport , civil aircraft for transporting passengers faster than the speed of sound....
design evaluated as part of a joint research study with Bristol whose design ultimately became the Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
. Floyd later worked as a consultant from 1965 to 1972.
Since his retirement in 1979, Floyd has devoted free time to a number of educational and youth-oriented projects.
Floyd and his family returned to Canada in 1981. and is currently living in the Toronto area in the shadows of the once-great Avro Canada company buildings, that are now demolished.
Honours
In 1950, Floyd was awarded the Wright Brothers MedalWright Brothers Medal
Conceived of in 1924 by the Dayton Section of the SAE, the SAE established Wright Brothers Medal in 1927 to recognize individuals who have made notable contributions in the engineering design, development, or operation of air and space vehicles...
from the Society of Automotive Engineers for his paper on the ground-breaking work on the Jetliner http://www.sae.org/news/awards/list/wright/(the first non-American recipient); in 1993, he was inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame and named a Companion of the Order of Flight by the City of Edmonton. Floyd also was awarded the J.A. McCurdy trophy in 1958 for his work on the Avro Arrow. In May 2000, he was awarded an Honourary Doctor of Engineering Design by the Royal Military College
Royal Military College
The Royal Military College can refer to:* Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, Canada* Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Saint-Jean, Quebec, Canada* Royal Military College, Duntroon in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, Australia...
of Canada.
On July 20, 2009 Floyd was awarded the first Canadian Air and Space Pioneer Award in a ceremony at The Canadian Air and Space Museum at Downsview Park, Toronto, Canada.