Janusz Zurakowski was one of the world's most famous pilots. He was a Polish Canadian who has been at the forefront of cutting edge aviation technology. Raised in Poland, he joined the Polish Air Force in 1934 and during the Second World War escaped to England in 1940. After a brilliant wartime career he test flew aircraft in England and Canada, to where he immigrated in 1952. The most notable aircraft he tested was the Canadian supersonic interceptor known as the CF-105 Avro Arrow.
The memorial features a statue of Janusz, a replica CF-105 Avro Arrow, a Spitfire weathervane, and several storyboards which explain Janusz's story and that of the Arrow. The park opened on July 26, 2003, shortly before he passed away in 2004.
In the summer of 2011, a 1/5 scaled down version of the Spitfire was added to the park. It is the same plane that Janusz flew during the Battle of Britain. The plane was built by Morris Towns from Madawaska and took more than 1,500 hours of labour to complete. When erected on its pole at the park, it moves on ball bearings like a wind sock. Because the plane was not constructed to withstand northern Canadian winters, it is stored for the cold months.
