Santos=Dumont parking his Dirigible Number 9 in front of his apartment at Avenue Champs Elysées - ParisLeia este artigo em Português
Santos=Dumont had a well defined line of reasoning, attacked the lighter than air vehicles and evolved step by step up to the heavier than air, and finally began his studies with the individual flight and ornithopter, "the inventor, as in the nature of Linnaeus, achieve no leaps: he evolves in a slow, gradual process. I have started by improving my ballooning pilot skills attacking the problem of dirigibility. Than I became an aeronaut in the good management of my airships, for many years I have studied the background to the petrol engine, and only when I realized that their state of perfection was enough to make it fly, I attacked the problem of heavier than air". Find below the list of inventions of Santos-Dumont in chronological order.
"Dirigible, biplane and monoplane, - My family, Rio de Janeiro, January 8, 1929".
THE LIGHTER THAN AIR
- Brazil – Smallest captive balloon ever created - with a wingspan of 6 feet in diameter, able to hold 113 m3 of hydrogen, weight 27.5 kg.
First flight made on June 4, 1898;
- --> L'Amérique - was built in 1898, the airman usually took his bicycle attached to the cords in order to return from the place where he had landed - with a wingspan of 9.8 meters in diameter, volume of 500 m3;
- --> Dirigible Number 1 – Santos=Dumont dispensed the web and held the cords directly to the involucre, suffered falls on 18 September and 20 September 1898.
A 25 meters length involucre, 3.5m of diameter at the widest part of the involucre (enclosure), scaling 186m3, De Dion Boutton engine modified with two overlapping cylinders, that reached 3.5 horsepower and a two blades propeller with 50 cm from tip to tip;
- --> Dirigible Number 2 – Santos=Dumont has made changes to the rudder in order to make it more functional, fell on June 11, 1899. Increased the size of the involucre to 26.5 m long, 3.8 meters in diameter at the widest part, able to hold 200m3 of hydrogen, used the same engine De Dion Boutton, now with adjustments that increased the power to 4.5 hp and propellers of 50 cm long tip to tip;
- --> Dirigible Number 3 - After several falls by folding the involucre solved the problem with the design of the "vesica piscis" by increasing the curvature and reducing the length, first flew on November 13, 1899. 20m meters long, 7.5 meters in diameter at the most bulging of the involucre, cubature of 500m3, used the same engine De Dion Boutton of 4.5 hp and propellers 50 cm long from blade to blade;
- -->Dirigible Number 4 - First flight on 08 August 1900. contrary to its own beliefs, the wheels were not landing gears, it was used only to taking the aircraft from hangar, used water ballast. With 29 meters long, S=D sat dangerously on a saddle attached to a bamboo cane, 5.6 meters in diameter at the most bulging part of the enclosure, cubature of 420m3, used a 2-cylinder engine Buchet with 7 hp, the propeller had 4 meters in diameter;
- --> Dirigible Number 5 - First airship with the design of Deutsch Prize winner, first flight on 12 July 1901, on July 13, 1901 flew 11km in 40 minutes, destroyed in the crash of August 8, 1901. 34 meters long, 6.5 m in diameter at the most bulging part of the Involucre (enclosure), 500m3 of cubature, engine Buchet with 20hp 4-cylinder with blades 4 m;
- -->Dirigible Number 6 - First flight on 06 September 1901, S=D made changes at the helm, won the prize in Deutsch October 19, 1901, was destroyed in the accident in Monaco on 14 February 1902.
Dirigible Number 8 - An exact replica of the dirigible Number 6, sold to the director of the Aeroclub of America(USA), Mr Boyce, contrary to its own beliefs, the number eight has been built. Was destroyed in a crash on his first flight in the vicinity New York in September 1902;
- --> Dirigible Number 9 – --> "La Balladeuse" - First flight on June 7, 1903, also sold to Mr. Boyce, with this one, S=D had made several individual flights in metropolitan Paris. It was 2 m long, 5.5 m in diameter, 220m3 of cubature, 2 a cylinders Clement Bayard engine with 3hp ativated a 2.8 m from tip to tip propeller;
Click on the image above to see how Santos=Dumont used the steering apparatus to turn the Dirigible No 9 to the left or to the right
Click on the image above to see how Santos=Dumont steer his dirigible Number 9 up and down
-->- Dirigible Number 10 "Lo Omnibus" - It flew attached to the ground on October 18, 1903. With 48 meters long, 8.5 m involucre in diameter, cubature of 2010m3, worked with a Clement Bayard engine of four cylinders able to 46hp to move two propellers of 3m, one at the bow and other at the stern;
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| Dirigivel Santos=Dumont Número 10 - “Lo Omnibus” |
- -->Number 12 - Project of a Helicopter - (photo of an essay which was built but did not fly) part of the structure and the engine was ready. It had two propellers of 4 meters and tensile prop with 2m in diameter, the helicopter appears in this photo next to an 8-cylinder Antoinette engine of 50 hp;
- --> Number 13 – Dangerously concept of a half hot air balloon and half hydrogen dirigible - S=D attempt to achieve greater autonomy, (fortunately it was destroyed in the hangar during a storm on December 29, 1904 before tested). 19 meters long, 14.5 m in diameter, cubature -1902 m3 of hydrogen and 750 m3 of air;
- --> Dirigible Number 14 - The spear shaped involucre was not stable, at risk of folding as occurred with the number 1 and 2, first flight on June 12, 1905. With 41 meters long, 3.4 m in diameter, cubature of 186m3, weighed 150 kg, and worked with a Peugeot engine of 2 hp;
- --> Dirigible modified Number 14 - The involucre was changed to 20 meters in length, 6m in diameter and cubature of 200m3;
- --> Dirigible Number 14 coupled with the 14 Bis - Hybrid of an airplane with Hargrave wings and a balloon attached. Tests that will lead to flight of heavier than air. Tests performed on July 21, 22 and 23, 1906;
- -->Les Deux Amerique - Spherical balloon with two horizontal propellers to replace the use of balasts, built to participate in the Gordon-Bennett Cup on September 30, 1906, departing from Place de la Concorde-Paris. With 16 meters long and 2150 m3 of cubature, used a 6-horsepower engine Dion to move two propellers;
-->
THE HEAVIER THAN AIR
- 14 Bis airplane - Built in 1906, made a short flight at Bagatelle Field on 04 September 1906, flew 7-8 meters on September 13, 1906, won the Archdeacon Cup on October 23, 1906 with a flight of 60 meters to 3 meters high, 220m. Flew 6 meters high on November 12, 1906 and won the prize Aeroclub of France - IT WAS THE FIRST DOCUMENTED FLIGHT IN THE HISTORY OF AVIATION, Destroyed in SaintCyr on April 04 1907.
Click on the image above to see how the airplane 14 a blimp in conjunction with number 14 was unstable.
Click on the image above to see how the airplane 14 a blimp in conjunction with number 14 was unstable.
It was 9.6 meters long, 11.46 meters wingspan, 290 kg, and an Antoinette 50 hp engine used to activate a 2m propeller.
We could see in the photo a specially constructed contraption used to start the engin.
Airplane Number 15 - built in plywood, had tests on days 21, 24 2 March 27, 1907, was too unstable to fly.
6 m long, 11 m wingspan, 325 kg, equipped with a 50 hp Antoinette engine, had one single wheel as landing gear;
- Number 16 - Hybrid of airplane with dirigible - Plane as heavy as the air, a envelope filled with hydrogen nullified the weight of an airplane, the first presentation on June 4, 1907, unsuccessful attempted of flight without in June 18, 1907 . Envelope 21 meters long, 3 m in diameter, cubage of 99 m3, with 50 horsepower 8-cylinder Antoinette engine;
- Number 16 modified - Hybrid dirigible with a twin-engine airplane - the change was the placement of two 6 hp engines each in a special structure, tested after the accident of June 18, 1907 in order to test more features to the "heavier the air ";
- Number 17 airplane (La Sauterelle) "grasshopper" - improved version of the number 15 completed in September 1907, was never tested. With 7 m long, 12.4m wingspan, 320 kg, had a 16-cylinder Antoinette engine with 100 hp of power, propeller casing with 2.10 m;
- Number 18 - floatplane had submerged wings and rudder in order to test the hydrodynamic, careened in all tests (see http://santosdumontvida.blogspot.com/2008/10/uma-aposta-cria-o-numero-18-le-hydro.html) tests in October of 1907 on the Seine;
Was 8 m long, 6m wingspan, with a 16-cylinder Antoinette motor of 100 hp, moved the same number 17 of the casing;
- Aeroplane Number 19 - "La Demoiselle" - Built in 1907, made flights in St-Cyr and Issy-les-Moulineaux on 16, 17 and 21 November 1907. Was 8 meters long, 5.1 meter wingspan, weighed 180 kg and was powered by a Dutheil & Chalmers 2-cylinder, 19 hp. Tests were also conducted with a Darracq 30 horsepower. Was tested a version of Number 19 called 19 Bis, Antonette engined 8-cylinder engine that reached to weigh 180 kg, did not fly;
- Aeroplane Number 20 - "La Demoiselle" - First flight on March 1, 1909 in St. Cyr, had record distance required for takeoff on September 16, 1909, on 17 September of that year flew to the castle Wideville, was 5.55 meters long and 5.50 meters wingspan, 115 kg, has tried several engines, among these, Dutheil & Chalmers, Darracq, Clement Bayard, etc.;
