Early pilots had to learn to fly on their own. They also had to be able to carry out repairs on their own aircraft, which were lightweight and made of bamboo and canvass. The strong winds of the prairies often prompted early Alberta aviators to replace their original engines with more powerful ones.

Yet it was these tiny machines that excited the imaginations of those who watched them, and many attending summer fairs dreamed of flying themselves. These early, precarious demonstrations of flight were the first steps in creating a whole new industry in Western Canada.