page_title: History of aviation in Canada
section_title: Centennial celebration
hierarchical_section_title: History of aviation in Canada / Centennial celebration
caption_attribution_description: English: CF-18 Hornet painted for the Canadian Centennial of Flight makes a photo pass in Gatineau, QC
context_page_description: The history of aviation in Canada begins with the first manned flight in a balloon at Saint John, New Brunswick in 1840. Development of the aviation industry in Canada was shaped by the interplay of Canadian national ambitions, national and international politics, economics, and technology. Experimental aviation started in Canada with the test flights of Bell's Silver Dart in 1909, following the epochal flight of the Wright Brothers in 1903. The experimental phase gave way to use of aircraft in warfare and many Canadians served in the British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War.
  After the war, aircraft turned from an expensive novelty into a vital transportation tool, particularly useful in exploration and development of Canada's North. Canadians who had served with the RAF put their acquired aviation skills to peacetime use. Aviation was applied to the task of tying together far-flung communities in the North, and to gather information on the natural resources of the country. Aircraft were as important to opening up the North as the railway was to opening the West in the previous century. Between the wars many small regional airlines were founded.
context_section_description: In 2009, commemorations of the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada were wide spread.  Part of the contribution of the Canadian military was to paint the 2009 Demonstration McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet in a dark blue and gold paint scheme which included the names of the 100 most influential people in Canadian aviation history.
caption: 2009 Demonstration Hornet
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