We all know that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, but did you know that he invented a way to record voices on a wax disk or cylinder?

Bell patented it and sold the patent to none other than Thomas Alva Edison. I thought that Edison invented it.

Bell was a Scotsman, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He emigrated to Canada and later, became a citizen of the United States. Much of the information about him and his accomplishments I learned from the very interesting book, “Silver Dart,” primarily about J.A.D. (Doug) McCurdy, by H. Gordon Green. McCurdy was the first Canadian to fly in a heavier-than-air machine, but more of that later.

Bell was instrumental in founding the Aerial Experiment Association. It had some notable members, in addition to Bell —Doug McCurdy, who was the first Canadian pilot, Fred Walker, who was the chief engineer, Glenn Curtiss, who designed motorcycle engines and the engine that powered the first military airship in 1905.

Bell convinced the Navy to build a platform on the deck off the cruiser, the U.S.S. Birmingham, on which Eugene Ely flew off in a Curtiss biplane on Nov. 14, 1910. That was our first aircraft carrier.

Of course, there was Lt. Thomas Selfridge who flew in Bell’s kite. He was later killed in the crash of the Wright Military Flier piloted by Orville Wright. Selfridge was sent to Canada by the U.S. Army to learn about flying with McCurdy and Bell.

More about Bell, he was well-educated, he had a law degree, PhD, D.Sc. a MD (a medical doctor). I think that Dr. Bell became interested in the telephone and recording devices because he made a study of the cause of deafness and what could be done to help deaf people. His wife, Mabel Hubbard, had been profoundly deaf since she was four years old. She was one who encouraged Dr. Bell to do experimenting with flying machines.

He envisioned adding an engine to his tetrahedral kite in which Selfridge flew, but working with Baldwin and McCurdy, they came up with a flyer much like the Wright Brothers’ machine.

If you will remember, the Wright Brothers used wing warping to help in turning the flyer. Those guys in the Aerial Experiment Association came up with the aileron, which was a hinged “little wing” that was attached to the end of the wings. Incidentally, the name “aileron” means little wing in French.

Of course, all modern planes use it, along with the rudder, to make turns since it would be rather difficult to “warp” an aluminum wing.

Doug McCurdy tried very hard to convince the Canadian government to support the development of the flying machines. Near the beginning of WWI, he was so convinced that the military powers would be using the airplane in the war, even if it was only for observation, that he founded an aviation school in Canada.

In the next column, I will tell you more about McCurdy and how it impacted the United States’ pilots.

Don Lee, a pilot flying out of Lawrence County Airport since 1970, has been in charge of equipment and grounds maintenance for the last several years. He can be reached at eelnod22@gmail.com