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The Silver Dart is recognized as the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to fly in Canada. J.A.D. McCurdy successfully piloted the aircraft from Baddeck Bay, Nova Scotia on 23 February 1909. (See also Canadian Innovations in Aviation.)
History and Design
The Silver Dart was designed and built by the Aerial Experiment Association (active from October 1907 to March 1909). The association was founded by Alexander Graham Bell, a flight enthusiast since boyhood, and his wife Mabel Hubbard Bell. J.A.D. McCurdy was the Silver Dart’s principal designer and pilot. Glenn H. Curtiss, an American builder of motorcycle engines, developed the aircraft’s water-cooled engine, an advance on the association's earlier experiments.
After several successful flights at Hammondsport, New York, the Silver Dart was dismantled, crated and brought to Baddeck Bay, Nova Scotia, the Bells' Canadian home (see Baddeck). The "aerodrome" (Bell's preferred term) had a 15 m wingspan and an all-up weight of 390 kg, pilot included.
Historic Flight
Pulled on to the ice of Baddeck Bay by horse-drawn sleigh on 23 February 1909, the silver-winged machine rose on its second attempt after travelling about 30 m, flying at an elevation from 3 to 9 m at roughly 65 km/hr for 800 m. Over 100 of Alexander Graham Bell's neighbours witnessed the first flight.
The Silver Dart flew more than 200 times before being damaged beyond repair upon landing in the soft sand of Petawawa, Ontario, during military trials in early August 1909.
Commemorations
In 2009, the former Canadian astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason flew a replica of the Silver Dart to mark the centennial of the aircraft’s first flight. Similarly, Canada Post issued a postage stamp and the Royal Canadian Mint released a commemorative coin in celebration of the Silver Dart’s historic flight.
Bjarni Tryggvason Piloting a Replica of the Silver Dart
Bjarni Tryggvason piloting a replica of the Silver Dart, 6 February 2009.
(Photo by Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Legacy
The flight of the Silver Dart was designated a national historic event in 1934. The Silver Dart’s engine is part of the collection of the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa (as of 2000, the Canadian Science and Technology Museum). A full-scale model of the Silver Dart may be found at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.
