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The ''Silver Dart'' (or ''Aerodrome #4'') 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 1909, was dismantled and shipped 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. 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. From 1891, Bell had begun experiments at Baddeck and Hammondsport 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 the ''Silver Dart''. 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 (1609 m) flight in North America. The frame and structure of the ''Silver 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 by Glenn Curtiss, was a reliable V-8 that developed at 1,000 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.〔("A.E.A. Silver Dart." ) ''Canadian Wings: The History and Heritage of the Canadian Air Force (AEROWAREdesigns),'' 2010. Retrieved: 6 June 2011.〕 ==Operational history== When the ''Silver 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 . The aircraft was the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to fly in Canada. Other records were soon to fall; on 10 March 1909, the ''Silver Dart'' flown again by McCurdy completed a circular course over a distance of more than . 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 scepticism, 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 wide. The ''Silver 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. The ''Silver Dart'' never flew again.〔Molson and Taylor 1982, p. 159.〕 Although a significant aircraft in Canada, the location of the initial design and construction of the ''Silver Dart'' made it an American design. Following the disbanding of the AEA, founding members, McCurdy and F.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, the ''Baddeck No. 1'' and ''Baddeck No. 2'' were built by the Canadian Aerodrome Company, the newly formed company that Baldwin and McCurdy established in 1909.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「AEA Silver Dart」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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