 The Arrow was the culmination of a series of design studies begun in 1953 examining improved versions of the Avro Canada CF @-@ 100 Canuck . After considerable study , the RCAF selected a dramatically more powerful design , and serious development began in March 1955 . Intended to be built directly from the production line , skipping the traditional hand @-@ built prototype phase , the first Arrow Mk . I , RL @-@ 201 , was rolled out to the public on 4 October 1957 , the same day as the launch of Sputnik I. Flight testing began with RL @-@ 201 on 25 March 1958 , and the design quickly demonstrated excellent handling and overall performance , reaching Mach 1 @.@ 98 . Powered by the Pratt & Whitney J75 , another three Mk . 1s were completed , RL @-@ 202 through <unk> . The lighter and more powerful Orenda Iroquois engine was soon ready for testing , and the first Mk.II with the Iroquois , RL @-@ 206 , was ready for taxi testing in preparation for flight and acceptance tests by RCAF pilots by early 1959 . 
