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The Silver Dart was the first airplane to fly in Canada and in the British Empire. It was designed and piloted by J.A.D. McCurdy and was powered by a 40 horsepower engine built by American engineer Glenn Curtiss. The Silver Dart's historic flight took place on February 23, 1909, over the frozen Bras d'Or Lake at Baddeck Bay on Cape Breton Island, N.S. The plane was towed onto the ice by a one-horse sleigh, and the propeller was turned by hand to start the engine. McCurdy then flew the plane about a kilometre at a maximum speed of 65 km per hour and a height of 9 m, before making a perfect landing. He later flew this silver-winged "heavier-than-air-machine" more than 200 times. But he damaged it beyond repair when landing on soft sand in August, 1909. The Silver Dart was one of the world's earliest planes. Only six years had passed since the Americans, Wilbur and Orville Wright, had made their first flight. Only one year had passed since Casey Baldwin, piloting the Red Wing at Hammondsport, U.S. became the first Canadian to fly a plane and the seventh person in the world to do so. Like McCurdy and Curtiss, Baldwin was a member of the Aerial Experiment Association, a group of enthusiasts recruited by Alexander Graham Bell to build flying machines. A full-scale model of the Silver Dart can be seen at the National Aviation Museum, Ottawa. Related Article: AVIATION; ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL; J.A.D. MCCURDY.
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