Frederick Walker Baldwin

Frederick Walker Baldwin also known as Casey Baldwin (January 2, 1882 - August 7, 1948) was an engineer and a hydrofoil and aviation pioneer who was also the first Canadian to pilot an aircraft.

Biography

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Casey Baldwin was educated at the University of Toronto from which he graduated in 1906 with a degree in electrical and mechanical engineering. The following year he moved to Baddeck in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to work with inventor Alexander Graham Bell. With an interest in aviation, the two men teamed up Douglas McCurdy, Glenn Curtiss and Thomas Selfridge to form the Aerial Experiment Association.

Baldwin used his engineering skills to help build the "Silver Dart" plus several other experimental aircraft and on March 12 1908 he became the first Canadian to pilot an airplane. Baldwin also helped design and build the "White Wing" airplane and the "Red Wing", piloting the latter in a public demonstration of powered aircraft flight at Hammondsport, New York in 1908. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Selfridge Aerodrome Sails Steadily for 319 Feet. At 25 to 30 miles an Hour. First Public Trip of Heavier-than-air Car in America. |url= |quote= Professor Alexander Graham Bell's New Machine, Built After Plans by Lieutenant Selfridge, Shown to Be Practicable by Flight Over Keuka Lake. Portion of Tail Gives Way, Bringing the Test to an End. Views of an Expert. Hammondsport, New York, March 12, 1908. Professor Alexander Graham Bell's new aeroplane, the Red Wing, was given its test flight over Lake Keuka today by F. W. Baldwin, the engineer in charge of its construction. The machine was built by the Aerial Experiment Association for Lieut. Thomas Selfridge, U.S.A. |publisher=Washington Post |date=May 13, 1908 |accessdate=2007-07-21 ]

In the summer of 1908 Casey Baldwin and Alexander Graham Bell began discussing powered watercraft and began building and testing various types before turning to the construction of an aircraft that could take off from water that the two called a "hydrodrome." While the project was temporarily shelved, in 1919 Baldwin built the HD-4 hydrofoil that set a world water speed record of 70.86 mph on Bras d'Or Lake. However, the watercraft was not a commercial success and the HD-4 project was ended in 1921. Following the death of Alexander Graham Bell, Casey Baldwin continued boat building and experimenting in hydrofoils in Cape Breton. A local celebrity, in 1933 Baldwin was elected to the Provincial Legislature as the member from Victoria County.

Casey Baldwin died in Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia in 1948. Following its creation, in 1974 he was inducted posthumously into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. In his honour, the "Casey Baldwin Award" is granted annually by the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute to the authors of the best paper published in the "Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal".

He graduated from Ridley College in St.Catharines, Ontario in 1900.

References

Casey Baldwin graduated from Ridley College in St.Catharines, Ontario in 1900