Harry Halton

Harry Halton, B.Sc., was born in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, on January 24, 1922. He emigrated to England in 1938 where he attended technical school at Walthamstow, earning his diploma in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. He attended Northampton Polytechnic, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1944.

Throughout World War II, while pursuing his formal education, he also worked for the Bell Punch Co. Ltd. of Uxbridge, Middlesex, first as a machinist and then as an assistant in design and component development of hydraulic and electrical equipment for many aircraft. These included the Avro Anson, the Hawker Hurricane, Tornado and Typhoon, the Supermarine Spitfire and Vickers Wellington, the Airspeed Oxford, Blackburn Botha, Short Stirling, and the Handley Page Halifax. He also did component work on the de Havilland Mosquito, Fairey Swordfish and Barracuda, and the Avro Lancaster. In 1946 Halton was appointed Chief Design Engineer at D & H Designs Ltd., London, England.

In 1948 Halton moved to Canada to join Canadair Ltd. in Montreal as a design engineer working on the North Star conversion and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) C-5. He became Test Engineer in 1950 and moved up to Group Leader, Functional Test Group. He became Program Manager for the CL-89 Surveillance Drone in 1967. He was next appointed Program Manager for the CL-215 Water Bomber, being responsible for all activities including design, development, certification and production.

In 1971 Canadair Ltd. appointed Halton as Director of Engineering responsible for the engineering on all programs. In 1972 he was appointed Vice-President, Engineering, and three years later he became Executive Vice-President. In the latter position he was responsible for all engineering quality control, procurement, program management, manufacturing and industrial engineering, and product support activities on all Canadair programs. He was specifically responsible for the establishment and operation of the Canadair/Urban Transportation Development Corporation Intermediate Capacity Transit System Development and Test Facility in Kingston, Ontario.

As Program Manager, Halton was responsible for the total development of the Challenger, a wide-bodied corporate jet. Responsibilities included everything from the preliminary design, definition, detail design, planning, tooling, prototype manufacture, flight tests, obtaining certification by the Department of Transport (Canada) and Federal Aviation Authority (U.S.), to production and final deliveries of the CL-600 Lycoming ALF-502 powered aircraft. As well, he was responsible for the definition and initial detail design for the CL-601 GE CF-34 powered Challenger. Halton established the Surveillance Systems as a Canadair product line by initiating the CL-289 Long Range Drone and CL-227 Remotely Piloted Vehicle programs.

Halton is a Past President and Fellow of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, Senior Member of the Instrument Society of America, Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Senior Life Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and an Honorary Life Member of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada.

In September 1975, shortly after becoming Executive Vice President of Canadair, Harry Halton emerged as a paraplegic following routine surgery for a small tumour. In spite of this tragic accident and the subsequent limitations to his mobility, he pursued his career to the full, achieving the highest honours his company and peers could grant him. In 1981 he received the RCAF Association Gordon R. McGregor Memorial trophy for "outstanding contribution to Canadian civil and military aviation". In 1984 he received the General A. McNaughton Gold Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for "outstanding service to the Canadian aerospace industry".

Aviation Week and Space Technology, an aviation journal, awarded Halton 'Laurels for 1978' for outstanding leadership in the development of the Challenger. The Governor General of Canada awarded him the Organization for Rehabilitation and Training Centennial Medal for "exemplary contribution to technical education".

Halton retired from Canadair Ltd. in 1983. In 2002 Harry Halton was inducted as a member of the Quebec Air and Space Hall of Fame. On January 17th, 2003 he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada. the Citation reads:

“He has made major contributions to the Canadian aerospace industry. A mechanical and electrical engineer, he had a distinguished career with Canadair that culminated with his appointment as executive vice-president. He was involved in many important programs, including the CL-215, one of the world's first water bombers, as well as the Challenger, the world's first wide-body business jet that revolutionized the commercial airline industry. Now a consultant, he has also served as president of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute and as a head of numerous other industry associations. A member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, he is also a leader in his community, and has given unstintingly of his time to many charitable organizations."

Harry Halton died on December 17, 2003 in Montreal, Quebec.

Harry Halton was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1984 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.