In November, 1906, nearly the whole civilized world was astonished
to read that a rich young Brazilian aeronaut, residing in France,
had actually succeeded in making a short flight, or, shall we say, an
enormous "hop", in a heavier-than-air machine.
This pioneer of aviation was M. Santos Dumont. For five or six years
before his experiments with the aeroplane he had made a great many
flights in balloons, and also in dirigible balloons. He was the son of
well-to-do parents--his father was a successful coffee planter--and he
had ample means to carry on his costly experiments.
Flying was Santos Dumont's great hobby. Even in boyhood, when far away
in Brazil, he had been keenly interested in the work of Spencer, Green,
and other famous aeronauts, and aeronautics became almost a passion with
him.
Towards the end of the year 1898 he designed a rather novel form of
air-ship. The balloon was shaped like an enormous cigar, some 80 feet
long, and it was inflated with about 6000 cubic feet of hydrogen. The
most curious contrivance, however, was the motor. This was suspended
from the balloon, and was somewhat similar to the small motor used on
a motor-cycle. Santos Dumont sat beside this motor, which worked a
propeller, and this curious craft was guided several times by the
inventor round the Botanical Gardens in Paris.
About two years after these experiments the science of aeronautics
received very valuable aid from M. Deutsch, a member of the French Aero
Club. A prize of about L4000 was offered by this gentleman to the man
who should first fly from the Aero Club grounds at Longchamps, double
round the Eiffel Tower, and then sail back to the starting-place. The
total distance to be flown was rather more than 3 miles, and it was
stipulated that the journey--which could be made either in a dirigible
air-ship or a flying machine--should be completed within half an hour.
This munificent offer at once aroused great enthusiasm among aeronauts
and engineers throughout the whole of France, and, to a lesser degree,
in Britain. Santos Dumont at once set to work on another air-ship, which
was equipped with a much more powerful motor than he had previously
used. In July, 1901, his arrangements were completed, and he made his
first attempt to win the prize.
The voyage from Longchamps to the Eiffel Tower was made in very quick
time, for a favourable wind speeded the huge balloon on its way. The
pilot was also able to steer a course round the tower, but his troubles
then commenced. The wind was now in his face, and his engine-a small
motor engine of about 15 horse-power-was unable to produce sufficient
power to move the craft quickly against the wind. The plucky inventor
kept fighting against the-breeze, and at length succeeded in returning
to his starting-point; but he had exceeded the time limit by several
minutes and thus, was disqualified for the prize.
Another attempt was made by Santos Dumont about a month later. This
time, however, he was more unfortunate, and he had a marvellous escape
from death. As on the previous occasion he got into great difficulties
when sailing against the wind on the return journey, and his balloon
became torn, so that the gas escaped and the whole craft crashed down
on the house-tops. Eyewitnesses of the accident expected to find the
gallant young Brazilian crushed to death; but to their great relief
he was seen to be hanging to the car, which had been caught upon the
buttress of a house. Even now he was in grave peril, but after a long
delay he was rescued by means of a rope.
It might be thought that such an accident would have deterred the
inventor from making further attempts on the prize; but the aeronaut
seemed to be well endowed with the qualities of patience and
perseverance and continued to try again. Trial after trial was made,
and numerous accidents took place. On nearly every occasion it was
comparatively easy to sail round the Tower, but it was a much harder
task to sail back again.
At length in October, 1901, he was thought to have completed the course
in the allotted time; but the Aero Club held that he had exceeded the
time limit by forty seconds. This decision aroused great indignation
among Parisians--especially among those who had watched the flight--many
of whom were convinced that the journey had been accomplished in the
half-hour. After much argument the committee which had charge of the
race, acting on the advice of M. Deutsch, who was very anxious that the
prize should be awarded to Santos Dumont, decided that the conditions
of the flight had been complied with, and that the prize had been
legitimately won. It is interesting to read that the famous aeronaut
divided the money among the poor.
But important though Santos Dumont's experiments were with the air-ship,
they were of even greater value when he turned his attention to the
aeroplane.
One of his first trials with a heavier-than-air machine was made with a
huge glider, which was fitted with floats. The curious craft was towed
along the River Seine by a fast motor boat named the Rapiere, and it
actually succeeded in rising into the air and flying behind the boat
like a gigantic kite.
12th November, 1906, is a red-letter day in the history of aviation,
for it was then that Santos Dumont made his first little flight in an
aeroplane. This took place at Bagatelle, not far from Paris.
Two months before this the airman had succeeded in driving his little
machine, called the Bird of Prey, many yards into the air, and "11 yards
through the air", as the newspapers reported; but the craft was badly
smashed. It was not until November that the first really satisfactory
flight took place.
A description of this flight appeared in most of the European
newspapers, and I give a quotation from one of them: "The aeroplane
rose gracefully and gently to a height of about 15 feet above the earth,
covering in this most remarkable dash through the air a distance of
about 700 feet in twenty-one seconds.
"It thus progressed through the atmosphere at the rate of nearly 30
miles an hour. Nothing like this has ever been accomplished before....
The aeroplane has now reached the practical stage."
The dimensions of this aeroplane were:
Length 32 feet
Greatest width 39 feet
Weight with one passenger 465 pounds
Speed 30 miles an hour
A modern aeroplane with airman and passenger frequently weighs over 1
ton, and reaches a speed of over 60 miles an hour.
It is interesting to note that Santos Dumont, in 1913--that is, only
seven years after his flight in an aeroplane at Bagatelle made him
world-famous--announced his intention of again taking an active part in
aviation. His purpose was to make use of aeroplanes merely for pleasure,
much as one might purchase a motor-car for the same object.
Could the intrepid Brazilian in his wildest dreams have foreseen the
rapid advance of the last eight years? In 1906 no one had flown in
Europe; by 1914 hundreds of machines were in being, in which the pilots
were no longer subject to the wind's caprices, but could fly almost
where and when they would.
Frenchmen have honoured, and rightly honoured, this gallant and
picturesque figure in the annals of aviation, for in 1913 a magnificent
monument was unveiled in France to commemorate his pioneer work.