A replica of the Silver Dart has landed in the village where its namesake made aviation history more than a century ago.
The same aircraft fled on Baddeck Bay in 2009 to mark the centennial of the British Empire’s first manned flight. The original bi-plane flew in February of 1909.
Now, the Silver Dart is back home in Baddeck, N.S., where it will remain a permanent fixture at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum.
“I think for most people, they associate Alexander Graham Bell with the telephone. They don’t really know his role as an aviation pioneer,” says David Ebert, superintendent of the museum. “So, we are hoping it tells that story in a really effective way.”
When the replica flew on the centennial flight in 2009, it resembled the original aircraft. However, modifications had been made to meet current safety and technical standards.
Now that this Silver Dart’s flying days are over, the plane has been stripped of that equipment.
“When we flew, we had brakes on it, we had an instrument panel, we had a safety seat for the pilot,” says Doug Jermyn of the Aerial Experiment Association. “All that has been taken out and brought back to the original Silver Dart configuration.”
The replica will be elevated in a large exhibit hall. Visitors will view the plane from a surrounding mezzanine and will be able to walk beneath the aircraft.
The reproduction of the aircraft was disassembled two years ago and placed in storage. Bell’s great grandson, Martin Myers, watched the plane as it was reassembled.
“It’s pretty exciting,” says Myers. “Actually, I saw it fly down the bay for the centennial. I think everyone was thrilled then. The fact that it is here at the museum is wonderful.”
The replica made 13 successful flights, from its first takeoff in 2005 to its final landing in Baddeck, more than four years ago.
The Silver Dart is now home for good and is expected to be one of the museum’s most popular exhibits.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Randy MacDonald
