Bits and Pieces Airport Aerodrome Airfield Whats the difference?
First attempt to fly the manned Langley Aerodrome, October 7,
1903 This month’s word is actually several words relating to the
same place. Did you know that an aerodrome was first used as the
name for an aircraft? Samuel Langley, an unsuccessful aviation
pioneer, coined the term “aerodrome” after “hippodrome”, the
latter meaning a course or race for horses. Greek chariot races
were held in a hippodrome. Langley decided to call his aircraft
the Langley Aerodrome, and then Alexander Graham Bell adopted
the term for his Aerial Experiment Association aircraft. In
1909, Silver Dart - the first Canadian aircraft to fly was
called Aerodrome 4. It was later that “aerodrome” began to be
used as the name for a place to land and take off. The word
“airport” implies a higher status than “aerodrome”. The
Aeronautics Act R.S. 1985 states, “…for the most part, all of
Canada can be an aerodrome”; however, there are also “registered
aerodromes” and “certified ai