The Silver Dart was a derivative of an early aircraft built by a Canadian/U.S. team, which after many successful flights in Hammondsport, New York, earlier in 1908, was dismantled and shipped to Baddeck, Nova Scotia. It was flown from 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. The aircraft was piloted by one of its designers, John McCurdy. The original Silver Dart was designed and built by the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), formed under the guidance of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell.
Baddeck is a village in Victoria County, Nova Scotia, Canada. This village is seventy-eight kilometres west of Sydney. It is Victoria County's shire town and is situated on the northern shore of Bras d'Or Lake on Cape Breton Island.
The Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) was a Canadian-American aeronautical research group formed on 30 September 1907, under the leadership of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell.
The Cygnet was an extremely unorthodox early Canadian aircraft, with a wall-like "wing" made up of 3,393 tetrahedral cells. It was a powered version of the Cygnet tetrahedral kite designed by Dr Alexander Graham Bell in 1907 and built by the newly founded Aerial Experiment Association.
The Vickers Viking was a British single-engine amphibious aircraft designed for military use shortly after World War I. Later versions of the aircraft were known as the Vickers Vulture and Vickers Vanellus.
The Aero Commander 100, various models of which were known as the Darter Commander and Lark Commander was a US light aircraft produced in the 1960s. It was a high-wing monoplane of conventional design, equipped with fixed tricycle undercarriage.
John Alexander Douglas McCurdy was a Canadian aviation pioneer and the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1947 to 1952.
JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport is a regional airport located in Reserve Mines in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The airport serves the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) and the surrounding areas of Cape Breton Island.
The Blériot XI is a French aircraft of the pioneer era of aviation. The first example was used by Louis Blériot to make the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft, on 25 July 1909. This is one of the most famous accomplishments of the pioneer era of aviation, and not only won Blériot a lasting place in history but also assured the future of his aircraft manufacturing business. The event caused a major reappraisal of the importance of aviation; the English newspaper The Daily Express led its story of the flight with the headline "Britain is no longer an Island".
Frederick Walker Baldwin, also known as Casey Baldwin, paternal grandson of Canadian reform leader Robert Baldwin, was a hydrofoil and aviation pioneer and partner of the famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell. He was manager of Graham Bell Laboratories from 1909–32, and represented Victoria in the Nova Scotia Legislature from 1933–37, where he was instrumental in bringing about the creation of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. In 1908, he became the first Canadian and British subject to fly an airplane.
The Gregor FDB-1 was a Canadian biplane fighter, designed in 1938 by Michael Gregor and manufactured by Canadian Car and Foundry. Despite having some advanced design features such as flush rivetted all-metal construction and a retractable undercarriage, the final generation of biplane fighters was being supplanted by monoplanes and the Gregor FDB-1 was obsolete before it flew. Despite the Royal Canadian Air Force's desperation for modern fighters, the sole example remained unsold and was eventually lost in a fire in 1945. The Gregor FDB-1's model designation stood for Fighter Dive Bomber indicating its intended roles.
Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, was an American businesswoman, and the daughter of Boston lawyer Gardiner Greene Hubbard. As the wife of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the first practical telephone, she took the married name Mabel Bell.
The Fairchild 82 and the 34-42 Niska were a family of utility aircraft produced in Canada in the mid-1930s, based on designs by Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada)'s parent company in the United States.
The Fairchild Super 71 was a Canadian parasol-mounted high-wing monoplane cargo aircraft built by Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada). The Super 71 was an entirely new design that was the first "purpose-built" civilian bush plane for use in remote and northern locales in Canada.
The Fairchild 45-80 Sekani was a Canadian twin-engined transport aircraft developed in Canada in the late 1930s. Although the 45-80 was the largest bush plane developed by Fairchild, its poor performance doomed the project, and nearly the company.
Baddeck, Nova Scotia is a village founded in 1908, with a history stretching back to early Mi'kmaq, French and British settlements. The village was home to Alexander Graham Bell and was witness to the first flight in the commonwealth with Bell's Silver Dart.
The Telegraph House is a historic hotel located in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
The Canadian Aerodrome Baddeck No. 1 and Baddeck No. 2 were early aircraft designed by John McCurdy and Frederick W. "Casey" Baldwin, under the guidance of Alexander Graham Bell for the Canadian Aerodrome Company. The Baddeck No. 1 was the first aircraft designed and built in Canada. The aircraft were constructed at Bell's laboratory at Beinn Bhreagh, Baddeck, Nova Scotia using local labour. After being constructed in Baddeck, the Baddeck No. 1 was shipped to Petawawa, Ontario where it made its first flight on 11 August 1909.
The Canadian Aerodrome Company was the first commercial enterprise in the British Empire to design and manufacture aircraft. The company was formed following the dissolution of Alexander Graham Bell's Aerial Experiment Association. The company was established by Frederick W. "Casey" Baldwin and J.A.D. McCurdy in 1909, with the financial backing of Alexander Graham Bell. The company was headquartered in Baddeck, Nova Scotia at the Kite House at Bell's Beinn Bhreagh estate.
The Oionus I was a tetrahedral triplane built for Alexander Graham Bell It was the culmination of Bell's experiments with kites built at Baddeck, Nova Scotia. The aircraft's design combined those of the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA)'s AEA Silver Dart biplane and his AEA Cygnet kite. It was Bell's final aviation pursuit and Canada's first and only triplane design. The aircraft attempted a test flight in March 1910, but failed to achieve flight.
