[en] The All-Sky Monitor on Ariel 5 has observed the Aquila--Serpens region on a quasi-continuous basis since launch in 1974 October. During this time Aql X-1 exhibited major flares in 1975 June and 1976 June, with the measured x-ray intensities increasing more than an order of magnitude to approximately that measured from the Crab nebula, and remaining above the experiment threshold (approximately 0.1 x s crab) for almost two months in both instances. These outbursts resemble the x-ray light curves of transient sources such as A0620-00 and are interpreted in terms of episodic accretion in a dwarf nova-like binary. Combination of the epoch of phase minimum for the 1.3d period (1976) with the 1975 data yields a value of P = 1.28d +- 0.02d with a corresponding modulation of approximately 3% (3--6 keV). Modulation at this period is not apparent in the 1976 data, with an upper limit of 2% during that time. (Author)