| Airplane buffs hope to recreate flight of Silver Dart in NS
BADDECK, N.S. — A landmark in Canadian aviation history could be repeated in 2009 if the builders of a replica of the Silver Dart realize their dream.
Doug Jermyn of Welland, Ont., and a group of other airplane aficionados have been working on a full-scale flying model of the famous airplane, which made the first controlled power flight in the British Empire on Feb. 23, 1909, in Baddeck, N.S.
Jermyn said they hope to finish making the airplane, test fly it, and ship it to Cape Breton in time for the 100th anniversary of the flight of the original Silver Dart, which was developed under the direction of Baddeck's most famous citizen, telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell.
He isn't sure whether they will use the frozen surface of Baddeck Bay or a nearby runway for the flight.
Qantas Airbus makes aviation history
Qantas Airways made US aviation history when its new superjumbo passenger jet touched down at Los Angeles International Airport. It was a spectacular US debut for the Airbus A380 - the world's largest passenger jet, which can carry up to 850 passengers. The test flight began in Toulouse, France, and the landing drew thousands of spectators who ringed the Los Angeles airport. The touchdown was also broadcast live by several Los Angeles TV stations. "This is an historic event and this is a magnificent aircraft," Wally Mariani, Qantas's senior executive vice-president of the Americas and Pacific, told AAP. Airbus, the French-based airline maker, ensured maximum publicity for the US debut of its new superjumbo, which dwarf's rival Boeing's 747.
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