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Dreams take to the air On February 23, 1909, on a frozen lake in Nova Scotia, a silver-winged "aerodrome" amazed onlookers as it flew 0.8 km (0.5 mi) to complete the first airplane flight in Canada. Designed & built by the Aerial Experiment Association under Alexander Graham Bell, the Silver Dart flew 50 times before being destroyed during military trials. Around the world, the potential value of flight in war was fast being discovered. The Silver Dart was the brainchild of the Aerial Experiment Association, a group of flight enthusiasts recruited by Alexander Graham Bell. The Silver Dart’s maiden flight in Canada took place on February 23, 1909, and the aircraft was piloted by John Alexander Douglas McCurdy, a young engineering graduate and AEA member. The experiment marked the first controlled powered flight in Canada & the British Empire, not to mention a new chapter in the nation’s history. Indeed, the First World War was the first to witness air combat. By the end of the Second World War, Canada had established itself as a leader in aviation. It had built some of the best bombers of the war. On March 25, 1958, the mesmerizing & equally intriguing Avro Arrow made its historic maiden flight as one of the most advanced aircrafts of its time. Building planes also meant testing them & pushing their limits. In 1942, 431 Bomber Squadron was formed, and flew many successful missions during the Second World War. Over the years, it has been disbanded & re-launched, and is best known today as the Snowbirds. Their breathtaking maneuvers are world-renowned, and seem a universe away from the tentative flight made by the Silver Dart a century ago. This coin features a young person running, arms spread out as if in flight. The silhouette echoes the dream, with three significant Canadian aviation achievements in the background: the Silver Dart, the Avro Arrow, and 431 Bomber Squadron (Snowbird), their formation giving shape to the maple leaf included in this design. Obverse Along the rim on the left, “CANADA” and “DOLLAR”. In the center, a young person running, arms spread out as if in flight, his shadow taking the shape of a plane. On the left, “1909-2009”. In the background, the Silver Dart, the Avro Arrow and 431 Squadron (Snowbird), their formation giving shape to the maple leaf included in this design. Reverse The portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Along the rim, the inscriptions "ELIZABETH II" on the left, and "D•G•REGINA" on the right. At the bottom, the Royal Canadian Mint mark. |
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