46°07′06″N60°43′01″W / 46.1184°N 60.7169°W /46.1184; -60.7169
| AEASilver Dart | |
|---|---|
 The AEA Silver Dart in flight. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Pioneer Era aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Aerial Experiment Association |
| Designer | |
| Status | Destroyed in crash |
| Primary user | Aerial Experiment Association |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1908 |
| First flight | 23 February 1909 |
TheSilver Dart (orAerodrome #4) was a derivative of an earlyaircraft built by a Canadian/U.S. team, which after many successful flights inHammondsport, New York, earlier in 1908, was dismantled and shipped toBaddeck, Nova Scotia. It was flown from the ice of Baddeck Bay, a sub-basin ofBras d'Or Lake, on 23 February 1909, making itthe first controlled powered flight in Canada. The aircraft was piloted by one of its designers,Douglas McCurdy. The originalSilver Dart was designed and built by theAerial Experiment Association (AEA), which had been formed under the guidance of Dr.Alexander Graham Bell.
From 1891, Bell had begun experiments atBaddeck andHammondsport to develop motor-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. By 1908, the success of the AEA was seen in a series of ground-breaking designs, culminating in theSilver Dart. By the time theSilver Dart was constructed in late 1908, it was the Aerial Experiment Association's fourth flying machine. One of its precursors, theJune Bug, had already broken records. It won theScientific American Trophy for making the first official one mile (1609 m) flight in North America.[N 1]
The frame and structure of theSilver Dart were made of steel tube,bamboo,friction tape, wire and wood. The wings were covered with rubberized, silvery balloon cloth provided by Capt. Thomas Scott Baldwin of Hammondsport; hence the name the "Silver Dart". Its Kirkham engine, supplied byGlenn Curtiss, was a reliableV-8 that developed 50 horsepower (37 kW) at 1,000RPM. Thepropeller was carved from a solid block of wood. The aircraft had what is now called acanard or an "elevator in front" design. Like most aircraft of its day theSilver Dart had poor control characteristics; likewise, it had nobrakes.[2][failed verification]
When theSilver Dart lifted off on 23 February 1909, it flew only half a mile (800 m) at an elevation from three to nine meters, and a speed of roughly 65 kilometres per hour (40 mph). The aircraft was the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to fly in Canada.[2] Other records were soon to fall; on 10 March 1909, theSilver Dart flown again by McCurdy completed a circular course over a distance of more than 35 kilometres (22 mi). The first passenger flight in Canada was made in theSilver Dart on 2 August 1909.[citation needed]
TheCanadian Army was unimpressed at the headway made by the group. The general impression of the time was that aircraft would never amount to much in actual warfare.[2] Despite official scepticism, the Association was finally invited to the military base atCamp Petawawa to demonstrate the aircraft. The sandy terrain made a poor runway for an aircraft with landing wheels about 2 inches (50 mm) wide. TheSilver Dart had great difficulty taking off. On its fifth flight on 2 August 1909, McCurdy wrecked the craft when one wheel struck a rise in the ground while landing. TheSilver Dart never flew again.[3]
Although a significant aircraft in Canada, the location of the initial design and construction of theSilver Dart made it anAmerican design. Following the disbanding of the AEA, founding members, McCurdy andF.W. ("Casey") Baldwin obtained the Canadian patent rights for Aerodrome No. 4 (The Silver Dart), for the express purpose of producing a Canadian-made version. Subsequently, theBaddeck No. 1 andBaddeck No. 2 were built by theCanadian Aerodrome Company, the newly formed company that Baldwin and McCurdy established in 1909.[3]
 | This articleappears to beslanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective andadd more content related to non-recent events.(February 2021) |
There is a reconstruction of theSilver Dart on display at theCanada Aviation and Space Museum inOttawa.[4] The reconstruction was built by volunteers from theRoyal Canadian Air Force between 1956 and 1958 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first flight. The aircraft flew over Baddeck Bay on the day of the anniversary but crashed due to high winds.[2][failed verification] A number of other scaled and full-scale replicas are found in Canadian and museum collections in other parts of the world, including examples at theCanadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, theAtlantic Canada Aviation Museum,Reynolds-Alberta Museum,Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum The Canadian Aviation Museum in Windsor On. A.G.Bell Museum, Baddeck Nova Scotia, the National Air Force Museum of Canada andAero Space Museum of Calgary.[5]
A small group of volunteers from the not-for-profit Aerial Experiment Association 2005 Inc. completed building a flying replica of theSilver Dart in early 2009.[6] The main goal of the group was to recreate the original flight on 23 February 2009 – again on the frozen surface of Baddeck Bay near Baddeck, Nova Scotia.[6] However, due to weather conditions forecast for the 23rd, the centennial flight and fly-by occurred on 22 February.[7] After a temporary repair made to the front wheel, former Canadian astronautBjarni Tryggvason piloted five successful flights that day.[8] The replica is officially considered a Canadian heritage project, and throughout the year was the centerpiece of a series of events celebrating the centennial of theSilver Dart's first flight in Canada.[8] In 2013, it was moved to theAlexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, where it will be on permanent display.[9]
Numerous other activities took place in 2009 to celebrate the Centennial of Flight, including a new exhibition entitled "Canadian Wings – A Remarkable Century of Flight" at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa and a trans-Canada flight of vintage aircraft. The no longer functional official Nova Scotia Ministry of Tourism websiteCentennial Celebration of the Flight of the Silver Dart in Baddeck promoted the flight and anniversary activities in Baddeck throughout the centennial.[citation needed] Various historical photos and documents were posted on that site, in a virtual museum presentation.[10][verification needed]
The 824 Silver Dart Squadron of theRoyal Canadian Air Cadets inSt. Peter's, Nova Scotia is named in honour of theSilver Dart. Another cadet squadron, the 602 McCurdy Squadron of theRoyal Canadian Air Cadets – in Florence, Nova Scotia – is named in honour ofJohn McCurdy, the original pilot of theSilver Dart.[citation needed]
Physical commemorations includeSilver Dart Drive, located inMississauga, Ontario, which is a perimeter roadway within the confines ofToronto Pearson International Airport. Another Ontario commemorative site is the double ice-surface arena inCFB Petawawa, known as theSilver Dart Arena.[citation needed]
On the 50th anniversary of its first flight, Canada Post issued a CanadianSilver Dart stamp on 23 February 1959.[11][page needed] During the Canadian Centenary of Flight,Canada Post honoured theSilver Dart – and the first flight in Canada – with a Canadian postage stamp released on 23 February 2009.[12]
Data from[13][unreliable source?]
General characteristics
Performance
