аэроплан «серебряный дротик»

Although a significant aircraft in Canada, the location of the initial design and construction of the Silver Dart made it an design. Following the disbanding of the AEA, founding members, McCurdy and obtained the Canadian patent rights for Aerodrome No. 4 (The Silver Dart), for the express purpose of producing a Canadian-made version. Subsequently, the and were built by the , the newly formed company that Baldwin and McCurdy established in 1909.

The 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 to demonstrate the aircraft. The sandy terrain made a poor runway for an aircraft with landing wheels about 2 inches (51 mm) 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.

When the Silver Dart lifted off on 23 February 1909, it flew only half a mile, at an elevation from three to nine meters, and a speed of roughly 65 kilometres per hour (40 mph). 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 35 kilometres (22 mi). The first passenger flight in Canada was made in the Silver Dart on 2 August 1909.

The frame and structure of the Silver Dart were made of steel tube, , , wire and wood. The wings were covered with silvery ; hence the name the "Silver Dart". Its engine, supplied by , was a reliable that developed 35 horsepower (26 kW) at 1,000 rpm. The was carved from a solid block of wood. The aircraft had what is now called a or an "elevator in front" design. Like most aircraft of its day the Silver Dart had poor control characteristics; likewise, it had no .

From 1891, Bell had begun experiments at and 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 , had already broken records. It won the Trophy for making the first official one mile flight in North America.

The Silver Dart (or Aerodrome #4) was a derivative of an early built by a Canadian/U.S. team, which after many successful flights in , earlier in 1909, was dismantled and shipped to . It was flown off the ice of Baddeck Bay, a sub-basin of , on 23 February 1909, making it the first controlled powered flight in Canada. The aircraft was piloted by one of its designers, . The original Silver Dart was designed and built by the (AEA), formed under the guidance of Dr. .

AEA Silver Dart - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia