“It was something that could have been,” Mr. Shaver said. “It could have been the best plane in the world for all we know, but they destroyed it before it could have proved itself. That’s why I’m so interested in it.”

Many other Canadians born long after blowtorches were used to cut up the planes also know the story and lament what could have been, stoking the idea, sometimes verging on conspiracy theory, that the Arrow’s cancellation is an example of the United States thwarting a Canadian ambition.

And for a project that was cut down in its prime, the Arrow has enjoyed a remarkable cultural afterlife. Each decade seems to bring yet another Arrow history.

Dan Aykroyd starred in a somewhat fictionalized mini-series about the fighter plane. One museum’s collection boasts a full-size model of the Arrow while another is building a flying replica. The hometown of its test pilot has monuments to both him and the plane.