The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was the air force of Canada from 1924 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Forces. The modern Canadian air force has been known as Canadian Forces Air Command (AIRCOM) since 1975, but still refers to itself as the "Air Force" and maintains many of the traditions of the RCAF.
The aviation age came to Canada on 23 February 1909, when Alexander Graham Bell's Sil...
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The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was the air force of Canada from 1924 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Forces. The modern Canadian air force has been known as Canadian Forces Air Command (AIRCOM) since 1975, but still refers to itself as the "Air Force" and maintains many of the traditions of the RCAF.
The aviation age came to Canada on 23 February 1909, when Alexander Graham Bell's Silver Dart took off from the ice of Bras d'Or Lake at Baddeck, Nova Scotia with J.D. McCurdy at the controls. This 1/2-mile flight was the first "controlled powered flight" (also the first flight of a "heavier than air craft") in Canada and the British Empire. A longer flight of 20 miles was flown at Bras d'Or Lake on 10 March 1909.
It was hoped that the Department of Militia and Defence would be interested in buying the aircraft. Although the general impression at the time was that aircraft would never amount to much in actual warfare, one...
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