Project Synopsis
The Aerial Experiment Association 2005 Inc.
A brief synopsis of what it took, and who it took,
to build a flyable, full-scale replica of The Silver Dart –
C-IIGY - to commemorate and celebrate in February 2009,
100 years of controlled powered flight in Canada and in the British Empire of Feb. 23rd, 1909
© by James Griffith - Board Member, AEA 2005 Inc.
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON – Canada – 2008 – 2009
Climatological data from Environment Canada records that it was a typically cold, Cape Breton day, February 23rd, 1909, at Baddeck on the shores of Bras d’Or Lake in Nova Scotia.
Overnight the temperature had dropped to -9° Celsius.
J. A.D. McCurdy, a recent engineering graduate from the University of Toronto, later recalled to his grandson that as he huddled anxiously on the uncomfortable wooden seat of the Silver Dart, preparing for his flight, that he was bitterly cold.
In those early, daring days, aircraft were dubbed aerodromes, and on that day, cold or not, rising from the ice of the frozen lake, McCurdy became the pilot of the first airplane that was heavier-than-air, controlled, and made the first controlled powered flight in Canada.
Some would argue that by extension he was the first British subject to make a successful controlled flight to fly in then British Empire. McCurdy was one of a five-member syndicate of Alexander Graham Bell’s Aerial Experiment Association, the original AEA of 1909.
Underlining the future role of women in Canadian aviation and space flight was Bell’s shrewd wife, Mabel, who financed the enterprise, formed to experiment with flying contraptions of all types.
The AEA 2005 Inc. group
In the predawn, snowy twilight of December 12th, 2003, fourteen diehard, mostly aging, aviation groupies from Niagara Chapter 4910, of the Recreation Aircraft Association, RAA, gathered at the Tim Hortons at the Canadian end of the Peace Bridge at Fort Erie Ontario.
They were on a pilgrimage to attend the 100th anniversary of controlled powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA.
After the three-day gala, they all agreed that the Americans, as expected, had paid an extravagant, though respectful tribute to the Wright Brother’s historic achievement.
On the return trip, Jack Minor, aviation historian, ex-RCAF photographer and chief pilgrim, wondered “out loud”, what and how his covey of aviation fanatics could do to celebrate and honour the anniversary of Canada’s 100 years of controlled powered flight, coming in 2009.
Someone else opined that the first powered aircraft to fly in Canada, the Silver Dart, was actually nothing more than a super-sized ultra-light and although a biplane, building a flyable replica of it would be well within the scope and scale of their combined skills.
Jack obtained copies of the original plans, then turned them over to the group who went on to identify the material requirements, estimated the financial needs and thanks to fellow RAA member, Gilles Levesque in Welland, ON, they had a roof over their heads … his family garage.
Building the fuselage started almost at once but they soon realized that although they could mobilize the necessary human resources, money was going to be an entirely different matter.
Like Mabel Bell, they knew that a business plan was going to be essential to garner the necessary funding to complete the project. Emulating Alexander Graham Bell’s original syndicate, the group incorporated, with a five-member board of directors using the name of Bell’s original group, the Aviation Experiment Association with, “2005”, appended to it.
The idea was to build and fly an exact replica of the Silver Dart and fly it at the original site of the flight at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, on the 100th anniversary, February 23rd, 2009. Duplicating the original scale would be no problem but much of the original material was no longer available.
Moreover, to satisfy contemporary safety standards and common sense, the following deviations from the original plans had to be made. Unfortunately, the liquid-cooled 40 hp engine built by Glenn Curtiss, later to distinguish himself as a major manufacturer of aero engines, was a hand-built, one-off engine.
After the AEA had completed its experiments on the Silver Dart, the engine was put to good use in a Nova Scotia fishing vessel, which eventually sank.
In its place, AEA 2005 members were fortunate enough to have a 65-hp Lycoming aero engine donated to and even luckier to have it thoroughly inspected by one of their sponsors, Leavens Brothers of Toronto.
It was necessary to add brakes, a more comfortable seat and of course, the radiator was unnecessary. A prop matched to the more powerful, air-cooled Lycoming was used and a more practical fuel system meant replacing the aesthetically-designed teardrop fuel tank.
The silver-coloured balloon silk, used for the original wing covering giving the Silver Dart its name, would have been cost-prohibitive even if it had been available. Nylon painted with silver was used instead. Wheels were another problem but successful scrounging resulted in obtaining dirt bike wheels very close to the original dimensions.
The original wood was available and was used except that a heavier grade of bamboo was required for additional strength. The AEA 2005 had two benefits Bell’s adventurers never had … namely, CAD computer systems and a fully integrated, high technology wind tunnel.
The nuts, bolts, screws, cables and turnbuckles used meet current aviation standards. The extra weight entailed by the modifications was accounted for by the use of the more powerful Lycoming engine.
Once the centennial year flights of the Silver Dart are complete, the aircraft will be restored to its original, authentic appearance for, it is hoped, display at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck.
The Lycoming, its prop, and fuel system will be replaced and in their place an exact copy of the original power plant with its prop, fuel tank, oil tank and radiator, all to exact scale, will be installed.
The brakes will be removed and a copy of the original seat reinstalled. In fact, AEA 2005 has created a museum curators’ dream, one historic aircraft that fills two roles, one to fly and one to display. In other words, two aircraft in one. It is so authentically constructed that it should be possible in future years to take it out, dust it off and with slight modifications, fly it again.
Gilles Lévesque’s shop in the garage behind his house in Welland, although small in space, was big enough to satisfy the imaginations of the dedicated volunteers, who for over four-and-a-half years built the Silver Dart.
It was only in the last few months of the project that all the parts were gathered together for assembly in Ed Russell’s Russell Aviation Group hangar on Sodom Road at Niagara Falls South Airport. It was there, as stable mates of Ed’s thoroughbreds, a Spitfire, Hurricane, Me 109 and a Harvard, that the Silver Dart replica took shape.
Early on, retired Pratt & Whitney engineer, Doug Jermyn, took on the role of president and project leader. With his trusty sidekick, Ray Larson, an electrical engineer, as vice president, they ensured that the aircraft was built to professional standards, consistent with contemporary regulations, yet fulfilling the obligation that it be as close to the original as possible.
Eighty-five-year-old, WWII veteran and survivor of the D-Day glider assault, Sandy McCallion, as well as being secretary treasurer, worked on the fuselage until his hands-on work was curtailed by a bicycle accident - nevertheless, he has continued to fulfill his executive duties.
Bjarni Tryggvason, retired NASA / Canadian Space Agency Astronaut. aeronautical engineer and professor at the University of Western Ontario is our pilot.
A replica of the original engine, consisting mostly of wood, and the original fuel-oil tank, all exact down to the last millimetre were built by eighty-two-year-old retired pattern maker, Don Feduck. A retired Mohawk College director, Randy Brinkman, built the wooden pilot’s seat, the control wheel, the replica propeller and, together with a fellow woodcrafter Michel Dupuis, fabricated the many intricate laminated Sitka spruce and ash wing ribs.
The radiator of Curtis’s engine was duplicated by a metalworker, from St. Catharines, ON, using copper tubing.
Jermyn’s wife, Carol, painted the nylon wing material silver.
Jaro Petruk was a steadfast worker and gopher who completed any of the multiple tasks assigned to him no matter how mundane or complicated right from the very beginning.
A journalist, Ted Beaudoin, and a college professor from Niagara College Linda Roote, produce and update the web page.
One of the more recent volunteers is Gerald Haddon, non other than J.A.D. McCurdy’s grandson.
Many other innumerable volunteers from all over the Niagara Peninsula came and went over the four years and 6,000 hours it took to complete. They did their thing and then moved on. Being of a certain age, illness and family obligations took their toll.
Special mention has to be made of wing stitcher, Irene Manuel. Although injured in an equestrian accident, then diagnosed with cancer, she continued stitching throughout her chemotherapy until the job was done.
All the volunteers contributed their skills or gave useful advice and were greatly appreciated by AEA 2005. It is often forgotten that the amount of work and dedication demanded by this type of undertaking means time away from family. The Silver Dart would not have been possible without continual strong support and sacrifices from the home front.
Although not as exciting or glamorous as building and flying an aircraft, the founders of AEA 2005 realized that obtaining funding was going to be dependant on community-wide involvement.
They attached just as much importance to a public education program as building the Silver Dart and included the program in their mission statement and letters of patent. Coincidentally with the start of fuselage construction in early 2004, Jack Minor and a team of volunteers, at the outset from the RAA, began an education program included in the constitution of AEA 2005. At first, the inter-active presentations included principles of flight, the Wrights and general aviation history but as the program matured, it focused more on Bell’s AEA and its iconic role in Canadian aviation history.
The inclusion of this endeavour was probably the defining clause that cinched the keystone funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
To date, the roughly 2,000 hours of community programs continues at schools in the Niagara Peninsula, at senior’s homes, libraries, service clubs, cadets and other community organizations.
Initially a small business in Port Colborne, the RAA and in the latter stages, the Ultralight Association of Canada, UPAC, provided funds to supplement the money that came mainly from the volunteers own pockets.
Whether financial times are good and especially when they are bad, most nations celebrate their country’s historical benchmarks to demonstrate to their people that former achievements can inspire future recovery and hope.
Unfortunately, it seems to be part of the Canadian psyche to denigrate rather than venerate our heroes and their achievements.
How many in the aviation industry, for example, realize just how many significant inventions that Canada has made to worldwide aviation? How many know that Bell’s AEA invented the aileron and tricycle undercarriage?
How many people know that it was a woman that put her faith and money behind Canada’s first venture into the world of aviation?
The successful flight of the Silver Dart built by the dedicated team of the AEA 2005 Inc. group represents the culmination of a truly grass-roots, heritage endeavour, extending over five years, involving the resources of not only aviation enthusiasts but of the entire Niagara community and beyond.
The AEA 2005 members hope, dependant on additional funding from corporate and governmental sponsors, that they can share the joy of seeing this truly magnificent aircraft take flight, with Canadians from coast to coast to coast.