Click on Picture to enlarge The Silver Dart

 

Click on Picture to enlarge

The Silver Dart (or Aerodrome #4) was an early aircraft which after many successful flights in Hammondsport, New York, earlier in 1909, was dismantled and crated then brought to Baddeck, Nova Scotia. It was flown off the ice of Baddeck Bay, a sub-basin of Bras d'Or Lake, on 23 February 1909, making it the first controlled powered flight in Canada and the British Empire. The plane was piloted by one of its designers, John McCurdy. The original Silver Dart was designed and built by the Aerial Experiment Association, formed under the guidance of Alexander Graham Bell.

 

The Design And Development

The frame and structure of the Silver Dart was made of steel tube, bamboo, friction tape, wire and wood. The wings were covered with silver Japanese silk; hence the name the "Silver Dart". Its engine, supplied by Glenn Curtiss, was a reliable V-8 that developed 35 hp (26 kW) at 1000 rpm. The propeller was carved from a solid block of wood. The aircraft had what is now called a canard or an "elevator in front" design. Like most aircraft of its day the Silver Dart had poor control characteristics; likewise, it had no brakes..

 

Testing

By the time the Silver Dart was constructed in late 1908, it was the Aerial Experiment Association's fourth flying machine. One of its precursors, the June Bug, had already broken records. It won the Scientific American Trophy for making the first official one mile flight in North America. But the Silver Dart outdid this when on 10 March 1909, McCurdy flew the aircraft on a circular course over a distance of more than 35 km (20 mi). The first passenger flight in Canada was made in the Silver Dart on 2 August 1909.

The Canadian 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. Despite official skepticism, the Association was finally invited to the military base at Camp Petawawa to demonstrate the aircraft. The sandy terrain made a poor runway for an aircraft with landing wheels about two inches (50 mm) in diameter. The Silver Dart had great difficulty taking off. On its fifth flight, McCurdy wrecked the craft when one wheel struck a rise in the ground while landing. The career of the Silver Dart thus ended ignominiously.

 

 

The Silver Dart

 

Click on Picture to enlarge

The original Silver Dart was the fruit of the Aerial Experiment Association formed under the tutelage of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell. The first controlled powered flight in Canada occurred February 23 1909 when the Silver Dart was flown off the ice at Baddeck Nova Scotia, by one of its designers, the intrepid John A.D. McCurdy. They were the heady early days of aviation. The Wright Brothers had lifted off at Kitty Hawk only 5 years previously, and the first flight in Europe By the Brazilian Santos Dumont had taken place scarcely three years before.

The AEA came into being when J. D. Mcurdy and his friend Frederick Baldwin, two young engineers fresh out of the University of Toronto, decided to spend the summer in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. McCurdy had grown up there, and his father was the personal secretary of Dr. Bell. He grew up close to the Bell family and was well received in their home. One day, as the three sat with Dr. Bell discussing the problems of aviation, Bell's wife suggested they form a company to exploit their collective ideas. Being independently wealthy, she offered to bankroll the idea, taking care of one of the major problems facing aspiring aviators of the day.

At Bell's behest, the American motorcycle designer and manufacturer, and recognized expert on gasoline engines Glenn H. Curtiss was invited on board. The group attracted sufficient attention to inspire the United States government to request that an official observer be allowed to join, and Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge came on.

 By the time the Silver Dart was constructed in 1908, it was the AEA's fourth flying machine, or aerodrome as Bell termed it. One of it's precursors, the June Bug, had already broken records - it won the Scientific American Trophy for being making the first official one kilometer flight in North America. But the Silver Dart outdid it when on March 10th, 1909, McCurdy flew the airplane on a circular course over a distance of more than twenty miles. The first passenger flight in Canada was made in the Silver Dart on August 2, 1909.

FirstFlight:	1908
Manufacturer:	A.E.A
WingSpan:	49 ft 1 in (15 m)
Length:	39 ft 4 in (12 m)
Height:	9 ft 7 in (2.9 m)
WeightEmpty:	610 lb (277 kg)
WeightGross:	860 lb (390 kg)
CruisingSpeed:	43 mph (69 km/h)
MaxSpeed:	43 mph (69 km/h)
RateClimb:	Unknown
ServiceCeiling:	70 ft (21.4 m)
Range:	2,100 ft (640 m)
Power:	one Continental A-65, 65 hp, horizonatally-opposed engine

The Silver Dart was made of steel tube, bamboo, friction tape, wire, wood, had no brakes, and was covered with rubberized silk balloon-cloth. It's engine was a reliable V-8 that developed 35 hp at 1000 rpm and its propeller was carved from a solid block of wood. The airplane had what is now called a canard or an "elevator in front" design, ie. it was designed to have its normal horizontal tail surface on the front rather than the rear of its fuselage. Like most aircraft of its day, it seems to have had poor control characteristics.

The Canadian Army was unimpressed at the headway made by the group. The general impression of the time was that airplanes would never amount to much in actual warfare. One official felt otherwise, and the group was finally invited to the base at Petawawa to unveil their machine. The sandy terrain there proved to be the wrong thing for an aircraft with landing wheels about 2 inches in diameter, and there was great difficulty taking off. Worse still, on the fifth flight McCurdy wrecked the craft on landing when one wheel struck a rise in the ground. Thus ended the career of the Silver Dart.

The Museum aircraft, which is covered with doped linen, is an airworthy replica built by RCAF volunteers between 1956 and 1958. The aircraft was flown at Baddeck on the 50th anniversary of the original flight, but crashed due to high, gusty winds. It was repaired for display at the Canada Aviation Museum.

 

 

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