About the Silver Dart team
The Aerial Experiment Association 2005 Inc. is a not-for-profit Ontario corporation established in August 2005 in the Niagara region. It is made up of a small group of about 25 volunteers who have dedicated themselves to building and flying a replica of Canada’s first airplane, the Silver Dart. This is a very important Canadian heritage project that will form the centerpiece of a series of events celebrating the centennial of the Silver Dart’s first flight in Canada. This historic event took place on the frozen surface of Baddeck Bay near Baddeck, Nova Scotia on February 23rd 1909. Our main goal is to recreate that flight on February 23rd 2009, weather and other conditions permitting of course!
Following the centennial celebrations we intend to place the Silver Dart replica in a suitable Canadian museum where it will serve as a lasting legacy to the creators of the Silver Dart—Alexander Graham Bell and his design team who made up the original Aerial Experiment Association.
Our team has been working on the construction of the Silver Dart since July, 2004. To date, August, 2008, in excess of 4300 man hours and approximately $28,000 of members’ and sponsors’ funds have been spent on the project. Completion of the aircraft is targeted for late autumn of 2008, when a series of short test flights will be conducted. If these fights are successful, the aircraft will then be partially dismantled and shipped to Nova Scotia toward the end of 2008 or early 2009. A lot of work still remains to accomplish our goals and further corporate and government assistance will be needed.
A secondary mandate of the AEA 2005 is to create an awareness of this historic aviation event by creating a series of educational lectures and making them available to the Niagara region general public. School groups, service and community groups are welcome to contact us to schedule a lecture. The lectures are centered on Dr. A. G. Bell’s efforts to create a flying machine, the formation of the original Aerial Experiment Association and the flights of Silver Dart. The lectures are accompanied with story boards, original photographs and short videos.
Our modern version of the Aerial Experiment Association, the AEA 2005 is comprised of the following executive personnel:
Douglas R. Jermyn, President, Welland, ON
Raymond F. Larson, Vice-President, Fonthill, ON
Sandy McCallion, Secretary / Treasurer, St, Catharines, ON
James Griffith, Director, Niagara on the Lake, ON
David Gladman, Director, Smithville, ON