 Rumours had circulated that Air Marshal W. A. Curtis , a First World War ace who headed Avro , had ignored Diefenbaker and spirited one of the Arrows away to be saved for posterity . These rumours were given life in a 1968 interview , when Curtis was asked directly if the rumour was true . He replied , " I don 't want to answer that . " He proceeded to question the wisdom of printing the story of a missing Arrow , and wondered whether it would be safe to reveal the existence of a surviving airframe only nine years later . " If it is in existence it may have to wait another 10 years . Politically it may cause a lot of trouble . " The legend endures that one of the prototypes remains intact somewhere . 
