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Aerial Experiment Association
(Aerial Experimental Association)
The Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) was a Canadian-American
aeronautical research group formed on 30 September 1907, under the
leadership of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell.
The AEA produced several different aircraft in quick succession, with
each member acting as principal designer for at least one. The group
introduced key technical innovations, notably wingtip ailerons and the
tricycle landing gear.
According to Bell, the AEA was a "co-operative scientific association,
not for gain but for the love of the art and doing what we can to help
one another." Although the association had no significant commercial
impact, one of its members, Glenn Curtiss, later established a
commercial venture that would ultimately become the Curtiss Aeroplane
and Motor Company. The AEA was disbanded on 31 March 1909.
Origins
The AEA came into being when John Alexander Douglas McCurdy and his
friend Frederick W. "Casey" Baldwin, two recent engineering graduates of
the University of Toronto, decided to spend the summer in Baddeck, Nova
Scotia. McCurdy had grown up there, and his father was the personal
secretary of Bell. He had grown up close to the Bell family and was well
received in their home. One day, as the three sat with Bell discussing
the problems of aviation, Mabel Bell, Alexander's wife, suggested they
create a formal research group to exploit their collective ideas. Being
independently wealthy, she provided a total of US$35,000 (equivalent to
$1,060,000 in 2021) to finance the Association, with $20,000 made
available immediately by the sale of property.
Curtiss, the American motorcycle designer and manufacturer and a
recognized expert on gasoline engines, was recruited as a member of the
association, and his associate Augustus Post assisted as representative
from the Aero Club of America. Curtiss had visited the Wright brothers
to discuss aeronautical engineering and offered them use of a 50 hp
engine. Wilbur cordially declined, saying that a motor of their own
development met their power needs, unaware that the AEA was about to
become a serious competitor in powered flight. Bell wrote to U.S.
President Theodore Roosevelt to have an interested young officer who had
volunteered his help, U.S. Army Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, officially
detailed to Baddeck. Selfridge was assigned to the Aeronautical Division,
U.S. Signal Corps on 3 August 1907, two days after its formation, and
was sent to Nova Scotia. A year later, on 17 September 1908, while
riding as a passenger with Orville Wright on a demonstration flight for
the U.S. Army, he became the first person killed in an aircraft accident.
First experiments
In 1898, Bell experimented with man-lifting tetrahedral kites and wings
constructed of multiple compound tetrahedral kites covered in maroon
silk. The tetrahedral wings were named Cygnet I, II and III, and were
flown both uncrewed and crewed (Cygnet I crashed during a flight
carrying Selfridge) in the period from 1907 to 1912. Some of Bell's
kites are on display at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site.
Later AEA designs
The AEA's work progressed to heavier-than-air machines, applying their
knowledge of kites to gliders. The AEA collaboration led to very public
success. Casey Baldwin became the first Canadian and first British
subject pilot on 12 March 1908 flight of Red Wing.
Its successor, White Wing, also of 1908, was the first airplane to have
Bell's ailerons. The following design, the June Bug, also of 1908 and
piloted by Curtiss, won the Scientific American Trophy by making the
first official one-kilometer flight in North America, although the
Wrights had already accomplished this in 1904.
Their fourth flying machine, the Silver Dart, also constructed in 1908,
made the first controlled powered flight in Canada on 23 February 1909
when it was flown off the ice of Bras d'Or Lake near Baddeck by McCurdy,
who had been one of its designers. On 10 March 1909, McCurdy set a
record when he flew the Silver Dart on a circular course over a distance
of more than 32 km (20 mi), a feat that the Wrights had already
accomplished in 1905. The Association made the first passenger flight in
Canada on 2 August, also in the Silver Dart.
Much development also took place in Hammondsport, New York, where in
1908 pioneering experimentation was done on seaplane carried out by
Curtiss. In France Henri Fabre successfully flew the first powered
seaplane in history, the Fabre Hydravion, in March 1910.
Organization's dissolution
Bell's organization was established with a fixed term mandate, which was
extended to March 31, 1909, by joint agreement of all its members, with
Mrs. Bell contributing an additional $10,000 of financing. After Lt.
Selfridge's death in September 1908, McCurdy became the organization's
secretary and Bell's cousin, Charles J. Bell, became the Association's
legal trustee. In March 1909, strained relations arose between Curtiss
and the Association's other members. A request for him to attend the
association's meeting and resolve the issue went unanswered.
It was also in March that Curtiss abruptly announced a new commercial
venture - in partnership with Augustus Moore Herring and backed by
wealthy members of the Aero Club of America - called the Herring-Curtiss
Company. This new development, plus the fact that it effectively
displaced the AEA's headquarters at Curtiss' own facility in
Hammondsport, resulted in the AEA's mandate expiring without further
extension on March 31.
Aircraft designed and constructed
AEA Glider (1907), biplane hang glider based on the designs and data
shared by Octave Chanute
Aerodrome No. 1 Red Wing (1908), Selfridge design, single-seat powered
biplane
Aerodrome No. 2 White Wing (1908), Baldwin design, single-seat powered
biplane
Aerodrome No. 3 June Bug (1908), Curtiss design, single-seat powered
biplane
Aerodrome No. 3A Loon (1908), June Bug modified as a floatplane
Aerodrome No. 4 Silver Dart (1909), McCurdy design, powered biplane
Aerodrome No. 5 Cygnet II & Cygnet III (1909), Bell design, single-seat
powered aircraft with unorthodox wing
Bell Oionus I (1910), tetrahedral triplane built after the AEA had
disbanded, constructed at Baddeck Kite House, Nova Scotia, and Bell's
final aviation pursuit
AEA Red Wing
AEA Red Wing
Role - Early experimental aircraft
Manufacturer - Aerial Experiment Association
Designer - Thomas Selfridge
First flight - 12 March 1908
Status - Destroyed on first flight
Primary user - Aerial Experiment Association
The Red Wing (or Aerodrome #1) was an early aircraft designed by Thomas
Selfridge and built by the Aerial Experiment Association in 1908. It was
named for the bright red color of its silk wings - chosen to achieve the
best result with the photographic materials and techniques of the day.
On 12 March 1908 Frederick W. Baldwin piloted the aircraft off the
frozen Keuka Lake near Hammondsport, New York in what would be the first
public demonstration of a powered aircraft flight in the United States
as well as the first flight by a Canadian pilot.
Contemporary accounts described the flight as the "First Public Trip of
Heavier-than-air Car in America." Reports entitled "Views of an Expert"
stated that Professor Alexander Graham Bell's new machine, the Red Wing,
built from plans by Lieutenant Selfridge, was "shown to be practicable
by flight over Keuka Lake, Hammondsport, New York, 12 March 1908 by F.
W. Baldwin, the engineer in charge of its construction."
The aircraft covered 319 ft (97 m) at a height of around 20 ft (6 m).
This was said to be the longest "first flight" by either an aircraft or
a pilot, up to that date. On March 17 Baldwin attempted a second flight,
also from the ice of Keuka Lake, before crashing 20 seconds after
takeoff. A portion of the tail gave way, bringing the test to an end.
The Red Wing was damaged beyond repair.
Specifications (Red Wing)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 26 ft 0 in (8.0 m)
Wingspan: 43 ft 4 in (13.21 m)
Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss B-8 air-cooled V8 engine, 40 hp (30 kW)
Performance
Range: 0.060 mi (0.097 km, 0.052 nmi)
AEA White Wing
AEA White Wing
Role - Early experimental aircraft
Manufacturer - Aerial Experimental Association
Designer - Frederick W. Baldwin
First flight - 18 May 1908
Status - Destroyed in crash
Primary user - Aerial Experiment Association
Produced - 1908
Number built - 1
The White Wing (or Aerodrome #2) was an early US aircraft designed by
Frederick W. Baldwin and built by the Aerial Experiment Association in
1908. Unusual for aircraft of its day, it featured a wheeled
undercarriage. The wings were equipped with ailerons controlled by a
harness worn around the pilot's body; leaning in one direction would
cause the aircraft to bank to follow. The ailerons led to a legal
dispute with the Wright brothers over the brothers' patent on movable
wing surfaces.
First piloted by Baldwin himself on 18 May and the aircraft flew very
well. White Wing was then piloted by Lt Thomas Selfridge at
Hammondsport, New York, on 19 May 1908 (becoming the first US Army
officer to fly an airplane) and then Glenn Curtiss made a flight of
1,017 ft (310 m) in it on 21 May. On 23 May, it crashed during a landing
by John McCurdy and was damaged beyond repair.
Specifications (White Wing)
Data from
General characteristics
Length: 26 ft 3 in (8.00 m)
Wingspan: 43 ft 3 in (13.18 m)
Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss B-8 V-8 air-cooled piston engine, 40 hp (30 kW)
Performance
Range: 0 mi (0 km, 0 nmi) 1,000 ft
AEA June Bug
AEA June Bug
Role - Pioneer era aircraft
Manufacturer - Aerial Experiment Association
Designer - Glenn Curtiss
First flight - June 21, 1908
Status - Crashed January 2, 1909
Primary user - Aerial Experiment Association
Produced - 1908
Number built - 1
The June Bug (or Aerodrome #3) was an American "pioneer era" aircraft
designed and flown by Glenn H. Curtiss and built by the Aerial
Experiment Association (A.E.A) in 1908. The June Bug is famous for
winning the first aeronautical prize ever awarded in the United States,
the Scientific American Cup.
Design and development
The competition offered a solid silver sculpted trophy, and $25,000 in
cash, to be awarded to whoever made the first public flight of over 1
kilometer (3,280 ft). Glenn Curtiss had a passion of collecting trophies
so he and the Aerial Experiment Association built the June Bug with
hopes of winning the Scientific American Cup.
Aerodrome #3 included the previously used aileron steering system, but a
shoulder yoke made it possible for the pilot to steer by leaning from
side to side. The varnish that sealed the wing fabric cracked in the
heat, and so a mixture of turpentine, paraffin, and gasoline was used.
The June Bug had yellow wings because yellow ochre was added to the wing
mixture in order to make the aircraft show up better in photographs, due
to the solely orthochromic-form monochrome photographic techniques of
that time.
It was named by Alexander Graham Bell after the common Phyllophaga, a
beetle known colloquially in North America as the "June bug," because
June bugs were observed to fly similarly to aircraft: they have large
stiff outer wings for gliding, and more delicate smaller propeller-like
wings that do the actual propulsion.
The June Bug was tested in Hammondsport, New York, at Stony Brook Farm.
Curtiss flew it successfully on three out of four tries on June 21,
1908, with distances of 456 ft (139 m), 417 ft (127 m), and 1,266 ft
(386 m) at 34.5 mph (55.5 km/h). On June 25, performances of 2,175 ft
(663 m) and 3,420 ft (1,040 m) were so encouraging that the Association
contacted the Aero Club of America about trying for the Scientific
American Cup.
Operational history
Cup attempt
The Aero Club contacted the Wright brothers, offering them the chance to
make an attempt first. Orville wrote to decline the opportunity on June
30, as the Wrights were busy completing their deal with the United
States government. The message was received by July 1, and Curtiss took
to the air as requested on July 4 (Independence Day).
The flight was a great public event, bringing people in from all
directions. The event was overseen by a delegation of 22 notable members
of the Aero Club, headed by Alan R. Hawley. Families came as early as 5
a.m. to claim a spot on the grassy hill, along with reporters,
photographers, and a motion picture film crew. Consequently, the June
Bug became the first airplane in the United States to perform in a
movie. A thunderstorm began, and umbrellas popped up around the
hillside. The town of Hammondsport was nearly empty, as everyone was
watching the event. The nearby Pleasant Valley Wine Company very
generously opened its doors and offered generous free samples to all who
were there. Charles M. Manly, who had unsuccessfully tested the Langley
Aerodrome in 1903, measured out the 1 km and 20 ft (6.1 m) distance with
plenty of volunteer help. The June Bug took one false start, going 40
feet (12 m) high, but not far enough. On the second try, the airplane
successfully flew 5,360 ft (1.6 km) in 1 minute 40 seconds, winning the
trophy and a US$25,000 cash prize. It was such an amazing sight that one
woman watching was hit by a train on nearby tracks and suffered two
broken ribs.[citation needed] After the flight, the wine cellars
reopened their doors with free champagne for all.
Amidst the publicity following the flight, the Wrights sent a warning to
Curtiss that they had not given permission for the use of "their"
aircraft control system to be used "for exhibitions or in a commercial
way", despite the fact that a British inventor had an earlier patent
from 1868 for just such a system, using hinged surfaces. In fact, none
of the AEA's aircraft used a wing-warping system like the Wrights' for
control, relying instead on triangular ailerons designed by Alexander
Graham Bell, which he successfully patented in December 1911. However,
in 1913 a court ruled that this technique was an infringement of the
Wright's 1906 patent.
Three years previous to the June Bug's flight, the Wrights had made
flights of up to 24 miles (38 km) without official witnesses. However,
the Wrights would have been required to install wheels and dispense with
a catapult launch to compete for the 1908 prize.
Later use
From October to November, the June Bug was modified by adding floats to
it in an attempt to create a seaplane. Renamed Loon, attempts to fly it
began on Keuka Lake on November 28. Although the aircraft could achieve
speeds of up to 29 mph (47 km/h) on the water, it could not take off,
and on January 2, 1909, one of the floats filled with water, and the
Loon unexpectedly sank. It was recovered, but finally rotted away in a
nearby boathouse.
A replica of the June Bug was built and flown in 1976 by Mercury
Aircraft of Hammondsport.
Specifications
Data from
General characteristics
Length: 27 ft 5 in (8.36 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft 6 in (12.95 m)
Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss B-8 V-8 air-cooled piston engine, 40 hp (30 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 39 mph (63 km/h, 34 kn)5,360 ft
AEA Silver Dart
AEA Silver Dart
Role - Pioneer Era aircraft
Manufacturer - Aerial Experiment Association
Designer - John McCurdy / Frederick W. "Casey" Baldwin / Glenn Curtiss /
Thomas Selfridge / Alexander Graham Bell
First flight - 23 February 1909
Status - Destroyed in crash
Primary user - Aerial Experiment Association
Produced - 1908
Number built - 1
The Silver Dart (or Aerodrome #4) was a derivative of an early aircraft
built by a Canadian/U.S. team, which after many successful flights in
Hammondsport, New York, earlier in 1908, was dismantled and shipped to
Baddeck, Nova Scotia. It was flown from the ice of Baddeck Bay, a
sub-basin of Bras d'Or Lake, on 23 February 1909, making it the first
controlled powered flight in Canada. The aircraft was piloted by one of
its designers, Douglas McCurdy. The original Silver Dart was designed
and built by the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), formed under the
guidance of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell.
From 1891, Bell had begun experiments at Baddeck and Hammondsport 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 June Bug, had already broken records. It won
the Scientific American Trophy for making the first official one mile
(1609 m) flight in North America.
The frame and structure of the Silver Dart were made of steel tube,
bamboo, friction tape, wire and wood. The wings were covered with
rubberized, silvery balloon cloth provided by Capt. Thomas Scott Baldwin
of Hammondsport; hence the name the "Silver Dart". Its Kirkham engine,
supplied by Glenn Curtiss, was a reliable V-8 that developed 50
horsepower (37 kW) at 1,000 RPM. The propeller was carved from a solid
block of wood. The aircraft had what is now called a canard or an
"elevator in front" design. Like most aircraft of its day the Silver
Dart had poor control characteristics; likewise, it had no brakes.
Operational history
When the Silver Dart lifted off on 23 February 1909, it flew only half a
mile (800 m) 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 Canadian Army 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 Camp Petawawa to demonstrate the
aircraft. The sandy terrain made a poor runway for an aircraft with
landing wheels about 2 inches (50 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.
Although a significant aircraft in Canada, the location of the initial
design and construction of the Silver Dart made it an American design.
Following the disbanding of the AEA, founding members, McCurdy and F.W.
("Casey") Baldwin obtained the Canadian patent rights for Aerodrome No.
4 (The Silver Dart), for the express purpose of producing a
Canadian-made version. Subsequently, the Baddeck No. 1 and Baddeck No. 2
were built by the Canadian Aerodrome Company, the newly formed company
that Baldwin and McCurdy established in 1909.
Tributes
50th Anniversary flight
There is a reconstruction of the Silver Dart on display at the Canada
Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. The reconstruction was built by
volunteers from the Royal Canadian Air Force between 1956 and 1958 to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first flight. The aircraft flew
over Baddeck Bay on the day of the anniversary but crashed due to high
winds. A number of other scaled and full-scale replicas are found in
Canadian and museum collections in other parts of the world, including
examples at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie,
the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum, Reynolds-Alberta Museum, Canadian
Warplane Heritage Museum A.G.Bell Museum, Baddeck Nova Scotia, the
National Air Force Museum of Canada and Aero Space Museum of Calgary.
2009 Centennial celebrations
A small group of volunteers from the not-for-profit Aerial Experiment
Association 2005 Inc. completed building a flying replica of the Silver
Dart in early 2009. The main goal of the group was to recreate the
original flight on 23 February 2009 - again on the frozen surface of
Baddeck Bay near Baddeck, Nova Scotia. However, due to weather
conditions forecast for the 23rd, the centennial flight and fly-by
occurred on 22 February. After a temporary repair made to the front
wheel, former Canadian astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason piloted five
successful flights that day. The replica is officially considered a
Canadian heritage project, and throughout the year was the centerpiece
of a series of events celebrating the centennial of the Silver Dart's
first flight in Canada. In 2013, it was moved to the Alexander Graham
Bell Museum in Baddeck, where it will be on permanent display.
Numerous other activities took place in 2009 to celebrate the Centennial
of Flight, including a new exhibition entitled "Canadian Wings - A
Remarkable Century of Flight" at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa
and a trans-Canada flight of vintage aircraft. The no longer functional
official Nova Scotia Ministry of Tourism website Centennial Celebration
of the Flight of the Silver Dart in Baddeck promoted the flight and
anniversary activities in Baddeck throughout the centennial.[citation
needed] Various historical photos and documents were posted on that
site, in a virtual museum presentation.
Commemorations
The 824 Silver Dart Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets in St.
Peter's, Nova Scotia is named in honour of the Silver Dart. Another
cadet squadron, the 602 McCurdy Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air
Cadets - in Florence, Nova Scotia - is named in honour of John McCurdy,
the original pilot of the Silver Dart.
Physical commemorations include Silver Dart Drive, located in
Mississauga, Ontario, which is a perimeter roadway within the confines
of Toronto Pearson International Airport. Another Ontario commemorative
site is the double ice-surface arena in CFB Petawawa, known as the
Silver Dart Arena.
On the 50th anniversary of its first flight, Canada Post issued a
Canadian Silver Dart stamp on 23 February 1959. During the Canadian
Centenary of Flight, Canada Post honoured the Silver Dart - and the
first flight in Canada - with a Canadian postage stamp released on 23
February 2009.
Specifications (Silver Dart)
Data from
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 2
Length: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
Wingspan: 40 ft 1 in (12.22 m)
Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
Wing area: 563 sq ft (52.3 m2)
Empty weight: 320 lb (145 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss V-8 air-cooled piston engine originally (later
changed to water-cooling by McCurdy), 50 hp (37 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 40 mph (64 km/h, 35 kn)
Range: 20 mi (32 km, 17 nmi)
AEA Cygnet
AEA Cygnet
Role - Early experimental aircraft
Manufacturer - Aerial Experiment Association
Designer - Alexander Graham Bell
First flight - 6 December 1907
Retired - 1910s
Primary user - Aerial Experiment Association
Produced - 1907-1912
Number built - 4
The Cygnet (or Aerodrome #5) was an extremely unorthodox early Canadian
aircraft, with a wall-like "wing" made up of 3,393 tetrahedral cells. It
was a powered version of the Cygnet tetrahedral kite designed by Dr
Alexander Graham Bell in 1907 and built by the newly founded Aerial
Experiment Association.
Design and development
Bell's experiments with tetrahedral kites had explored the advantages of
utilizing great banks of cells to create a lifting body leading to the
Cygnet I. On 6 December 1907, Thomas Selfridge piloted the kite as it
was towed into the air behind a motorboat, eventually reaching a height
of 168 ft (51 m). This was the first recorded heavier-than-air flight in
Canada. While demonstrably able to fly as a person-carrying kite, it
seemed unpromising as a direction for research into powered flight. It
was difficult to control, and was in fact destroyed when it hit the
water at the end of the flight.
The following year, a smaller copy of the design was built as the Cygnet
II, now equipped with wheeled undercarriage and a Curtiss V-8 engine.
Operational history
Attempts to fly the Cygnet II at Baddeck, Nova Scotia between 22 and 24
February 1909, met with failure. When the AEA Silver Dart was ready for
flight testing, the engine was removed from the Cygnet II, and then
returned. Rebuilt again as the Cygnet III with a more powerful 70 hp
Gnome Gamma engine, its final flight was on 19 March 1912, at Bras d'Or
Lake, Nova Scotia, piloted by John McCurdy. The results were highly
unsatisfactory with the Cygnet III only able to lift off the ground for
a foot or two, typically considered remaining in ground effect. After a
final trial on 17 March, the tetrahedral cell bank failed structurally,
leaving the aircraft irreparably damaged. The Cygnet II and III were
abandoned following this flight attempt.
Specifications (Cygnet III)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Wingspan: 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)
Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Gamma 7-cyl. air-cooled rotary piston engine, 70
hp (52 kW)
Propellers: 2-bladed
Performance
Service ceiling: 168 ft (51 m) |