The Oionus I was a

tetrahedral In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all the ...

triplane A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three vertically stacked wing planes. Tailplanes and canard foreplanes are not normally included in this count, although they occasionally are. Design principles The triplane arrangement ma ...

built for

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and T ...

It was the culmination of Bell's experiments with kites built at

Baddeck, Nova Scotia Baddeck () is a village in northeastern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated in the centre of Cape Breton, approximately 6 km east of where the Baddeck River empties into Bras d'Or Lake. Local governance is provided by the rural municipality ...

. The aircraft's design combined those of the

Aerial Experiment 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 eac ...

(AEA)'s

AEA Silver Dart 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. ...

biplane and his

AEA Cygnet 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 ...

kite. It was Bell's final aviation pursuit and Canada's first and only triplane design. The aircraft attempted a test flight in March 1910, but failed to achieve flight.

Design and development

The Oionus I had its origins in March 1909 with the dissolution of the AEA, when Alexander Graham Bell hired both Frederick W. "Casey" Baldwin as an engineer and J.A.D. McCurdy as assistant engineer to build the last of Bell's designs.Molson and Taylor 1982, p. 103. Incorporating tetrahedral sections in the structure of the triplane design continued the concept of the tetrahedral kites that had originally been tested in Bell's

series that had achieved a short hop in the Cygnet III but were abandoned as a concept by Bell.Payne 2006, p. 194. The triplane design that was chosen employed a longer central plane with wingtip ailerons, with flying controls based on a fixed biplane tail and rudder at the rear and a canard biplane elevator section at the front. The internal structure was based on tubular-steel with linen-covered wings and interior sections; a four-wheel chassis or running gear formed the undercarriage. A

Curtiss Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decad ...

pusher engine drove a propeller through a chain and sprocket arrangement; later a Kirkham engine from the Baddeck No. 2 was substituted.

Operational history

After construction was complete in February 1910, and a new engine was installed, McCurdy readied the aircraft for flight, taking it out on some ground runs. Ballast was added to the tail and on 25 March 1910, a test flight off the ice at Baddeck Bay succeeded in three of the four wheels coming off the ground. McCurdy ended the flight in order for modification to be made for future testing, including adding more incidence to the wings. Shortly after, the ice melted and no further attempts were made to fly the Oionus I.Molson and Taylor 1982, p. 104.

Specifications (Oionos I)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Green, H. Gordon. ''The Silver Dart: The Authentic Story of the Hon. J.A.D. McCurdy, Canada's First Pilot''. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Atlantic Advocate Book, 1959. * Harding, Les. ''McCurdy and the Silver Dart.'' Sydney, Nova Scotia: University College of Cape Breton, 1998. . * Milberry, Larry. ''Aviation in Canada: The Pioneer Decades, Vol. 1''. Toronto: CANAV Books, 2008. . * Molson, Ken M. and Harold A. Taylor. ''Canadian Aircraft Since 1909''. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982. . * Payne, Stephen, ed. ''Canadian Wings: A Remarkable Century of Flight''. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2006. . * Petrie, A. Roy. ''Alexander Graham Bell''. Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1992. .

External links

Baddeck no. 2 in ''Flight,'' 9 April 1910

Canadian Aerodrome Company

Canadian Aerodrome Company
1900s Canadian experimental aircraft Victoria County, Nova Scotia Alexander Graham Bell Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1910 {{Baddeck