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SPECIAL
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FLIGHT EDITION |
FEBRUARY 23,
2009
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ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
TODAY... |
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23, 1909, on frozen Baddeck Bay, Nova
Scotia, J.A. Douglas McCurdy stepped up to the controls of a
new flying machine and the era of Canadian aviation was
born. Called The Silver Dart for its silver-coloured,
rubberized balloon cloth wing covering, it was made of
bamboo, ash, spruce, metal tubing, and wire cable. Power
came from a 35-40 hp V-8 water-cooled engine. The
airplane was the product of the Aerial Experiment
Association, a five-member organization that counted
Alexander Graham Bell and Glenn Curtiss among its
members.
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A
re-creation of that
historic flight was to take place today, but an
unfavorable weather forecast caused organizers to move
the flight up one day to Sunday, February 22. Jack Dueck, editor of
Bits and Pieces, filed the following report from the
scene.
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FROM
THE SHORES OF BRAS d'OR LAKES:
HAPPY CENTENNIAL OF FLIGHT, CANADA!
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was a cold, clear day with a chilling wind at Bras d'Or
Lake, in Baddeck on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. One
hundred meters from the shoreline, hundreds of people
were all bundled up awaiting any sign of activity at the
temporary enclosure that housed the replica of the
Silver Dart.
Sunday, February 22,
2009, was one day shy of the 100th anniversary of the
first powered flight in Canada by J.A. Douglas McCurdy.
Monday's weather forecast called for snow, rain,
freezing drizzle, and stiff winds, and one thing our
aviation industry has learned over the past century is
that such conditions are not conducive to first
flights. So the historical re-enactment of the first
flight was advanced by one day.
At 9:30 a.m. Sunday, the
Silver Dart was on the ice. From our distance we saw
someone hand-propping the engine, and suddenly the
propeller shows constant, albeit slow, self-rotation. As
the engine was running, our news media was all around
the aircraft.
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CONGRATULATIONS FROM EAA
"I want to extend congratulations
to each of you as you celebrate this important
day in Canadian aviation history. Having been
involved in the Centennial of Flight celebration at
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 2003, I can understand the
passion and pride you feel as you celebrate the same
milestone in Canada."
Tom Poberezny
President, EAA
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The aircraft taxied to
takeoff position and we heard unmistakable sound of the
engine as pilot and former Canadian astronaut Bjarni
Tryggvason, advanced the throttle. The take-off run
commenced and everyone focused on capturing it all on an
array of 21st century digital gadgetry. As the aircraft
reached the end of its cleared runway path and
decelerated, the question on everyone's mind was:
"Did it actually lift off?" The answer: a
resounding "Yes!"
Anti-climatic? Not at
all! This is just how the initial trial runs leading up
to the actual flight must have been like. Effort,
development, evolution, determination, and finally,
success!
The day continued to give
us fair weather, and subsequent flights resulted in
similar performances. Adjustments to control surfaces
(canard) were made and the crew continued to
demonstrated flight, and flight control to the
onlookers, with one go reaching a significant altitude
estimated at 20 feet AIL (above ice level).
And now, 100 years later,
aviation has affected every field of humankind's
universe - technology, commerce, military advancement,
politics, travel, research, space, medicine, and
recreation!
Happy 100th 'aviation
birthday' Canada!
- Jack Dueck, Editor |
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