Talk:Santos-Dumont 14-bis

Untitled

Contradicts claim of Wright brothers; ref "First flying machine" article for more discussion. - Antonybarka

Brazilians claims that 14 Bis was the First flying machine. - basic information, as a Brazilian I'm tired of hear this on TV. --Brazil4Linux 02:23, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

• I don't believe there's any contradiction, because the article describes the controversy of the first flight. And, besides that, if we think about the "real first flight", then we should "give the medal" to Sir George Cayley, or maybe to Otto Lilienthal. Anyway, I think the message about contradiction should be out of the article...10:07, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

• There will always be discussion on that. My guess is that Santos Dumont performed the first flight that resembles what we see in today's aviation.

• Given that there is an entire article focusing on the controversy: eg first flying machine Perhaps the best thing to do is add reference from both this article as well as the Wright Flyer article to "first flying machines" thus avoiding any sense of contradiction while still acknowledging the controversy. Blimpguy 14:25, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

The Morris Tribune. [volume], September 29, 1906, Image 7

KEEPING TAB ON THE WORLD

Concluded from page 2.

Santos Dumont's Mechanical Flight.

Although M. Santos-Dumont in his new aeroplane, the Bird of Prey, was able to traverse the air at Paris only a distance of thirty-seven feet before his ship came to the ground with a crash, nevertheless the test is regarded as one of great importance because it was the first time an airship had ever left the earth unaided.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn91059394/1906-09-29/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1770&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Dumont+Santos+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=15&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=santos+dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:26, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Nature – November 8, 1906, Page 35

The First “Manned” Flying Machine.

OCTOBER 23 of the present year will be remembered as a red-letter day in the history of flying machines, for it was on that day that the first flying machine, constructed on the “heavier than air” principle, successfully raised itself and its driver from the ground several feet, and transported itself by means of its own power over a distance of eighty yards.

In this his first successful flight with this machine. M. Santos Dumont is to be sincerely congratulated, for he has accomplished a performance which many workers in different parts of the world have been striving after for many years past and failed.

https://www.nature.com/articles/075035a0#:~:text=OCTOBER%2023%20of%20the%20present,itself%20by%20means%20of%20its 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:33, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

• I also think the message about a non-world-wide view should be removed. That "First Airplane" section explains the controversy, lays out why it is that one could define the 14-bis as the first practical airplane, and also explains how one could define the Wright Flyer to be the first practical airplane. This section shows that the accomplishments of Santos Dumont and those of the Wrights are not disputed, and explains how controversy arises simply from how different people choose to define "first practical airplane", without favoring one definition over the other (but stating the fact that Brazilians do overwhelmingly favor one definition - a fact that cannot be reasonably disputed). Malfita 10/10/2006. (Yes, I am Brazilian, but as an aerospace engineer and amateur aviation historian, the truth is I would hate for the accomplishments of either Santos Dumont or the Wrights to be ignored, forgotten, or overshadowed by the other).

I reverted changes to intro paragraph made by Lostan. I thought it was confusing (made it sound like article was about the inventor, not the invention). Also, too much detail for introduction and all detail covered in later sections. Glendoremus 18:38, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

The Morris Tribune. [volume], September 29, 1906, Image 7

KEEPING TAB ON THE WORLD

Concluded from page 2.

Santos Dumont's Mechanical Flight.

Although M. Santos-Dumont in his new aeroplane, the Bird of Prey, was able to traverse the air at Paris only a distance of thirty-seven feet before his ship came to the ground with a crash, nevertheless the test is regarded as one of great importance because it was the first time an airship had ever left the earth unaided.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn91059394/1906-09-29/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1770&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Dumont+Santos+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=15&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=santos+dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:34, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Nature – November 8, 1906, Page 35

The First “Manned” Flying Machine.

OCTOBER 23 of the present year will be remembered as a red-letter day in the history of flying machines, for it was on that day that the first flying machine, constructed on the “heavier than air” principle, successfully raised itself and its driver from the ground several feet, and transported itself by means of its own power over a distance of eighty yards.

In this his first successful flight with this machine. M. Santos Dumont is to be sincerely congratulated, for he has accomplished a performance which many workers in different parts of the world have been striving after for many years past and failed.

https://www.nature.com/articles/075035a0#:~:text=OCTOBER%2023%20of%20the%20present,itself%20by%20means%20of%20its 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:34, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

New-York Tribune. [volume], November 20, 1906, Page 6, Image 6

SANTOS-DUMONT ANTICIPATED.

A fresh reason for determining the amount of glory due to Santos-Dumont for his recent flights with an aeroplane is afforded by an article in the latest number of "Nature" to reach this country. In that periodical it is asserted that on October 23 "the first flying machine, constructed on the 'heavier than air' principle, successfully raised itself and its driver from the ground several feet, and transported itself by means of its own power over a distance of eighty yards." While that statement is probably correct, the merit of the performance can be rightly estimated only by a comparison with what Wilbur and Orville Wright, of Dayton, Ohio, have been able to accomplish.

Santos-Dumont has been at work on the aeroplane only about a year. Most of his aeronautic experiments were conducted with an entirely different class of airship, the self-propelled balloon. On the other hand, the Wright brothers have been identified with the aeroplane for at least four or five years and perhaps longer. In a letter to the Aero Club of America, last winter they told the results attained by them up to the close of 1905. So startling were their claims that in France and Germany their story was received with much skepticism. With a creditable desire to vindicate the honor of the country, The Scientific American" addressed a circular letter of inquiry to seventeen persons who, according to the Wrights, had witnessed their aerial voyages. Twelve responses were received, one of them coming from Mr. Octave Chanute, the author of a well known work on aeronautic experiments and a man whose veracity no well informed foreigner or American would venture to question. The testimony of each of these witnesses was in substantial agreement with that of the others. Though now and then doubt would be expressed as to the exact date of a flight, the distance covered or some other detail, the general tenor of the letters seemed to put the truthfulness of the Wrights' statement quite beyond dispute.

It is worthy of note, in the interests of justice, that the Brazilian has made better provision for launching an aeroplane than the Wrights did last year. His machine, when on the ground, is supported by wheels. When the Wrights were ready to start, theirs was arranged crosswise on a pair of rails. To overcome the friction between these and the lower part of the frame, it was necessary to rely on external aid. Their aeroplane would not lift itself clear of the rails until it had been pushed forward twenty-five or thirty feet by hand, whereas the one which has just created a sensation in Europe will advance without assistance as soon as the propellers begin to revolve and will rise shortly afterward unhelped. Strictly speaking, then, "Nature" is quite right when it says that Santos-Dumont's machine is the first to raise Itself by means of its own power.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1906-11-20/ed-1/seq-6/#date1=1770&index=18&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Dumont+Santos+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=santos+dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:36, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Evening Star. [volume], December 09, 1906, Sunday star, Page 5, Image 53

The Sunday Star, Washington, D. C., December 09, 1906—Part 4.

(Copyright, 1906, by John Elfreth Watkins.)

SANTOS-DUMONT is the first man to have performed aerial flight with a self-propelled machine heavier than the air which it displaced. He has solved a problem which has caused inventive geniuses to burn the midnight oil and toss restlessly upon their couches since centuries before the dawn of the Christian era. During three millenniums or more ambitious men have broken their hearts and their heads seeking the great goal which this fearless Brazilian has won within the past few weeks.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1906-12-09/ed-1/seq-53/#date1=1770&index=0&rows=20&words=aerial+air+displaced+DUMONT+first+flight+have+heavier+machine+man+performed+propelled+SANTOS+SANTOS-DUMONT+self+self-propelled+than+which&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=SANTOS-DUMONT+is+the+first+man+to+have+performed+aerial+flight+with+a+self-propelled+machine+heavier+than+the+air+which+it+displaced&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:38, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Further comments

As a pilot i agree with the previous comment. I believe the problem is to confuse the first flight, with the first airplane. If we talk about the first person to fly in a controllable, heavier than air machine, that was Otto Lilienthal. He made many gliders, developed advances maneuvers and it is very well documented. Petty he died flying.

In the other hand, the first airplane is normally attributed to the wright’s flyer for a very good reason. Not only was it a heavier than air machine but it was fully controllable in the 3 axes: Pitch, roll and yaw. While it is debatable whether the 14bis or the Flyers flew first, what it is clear is that the 14bis had no roll control and that is why it could not make but straight flights. The flyer had a primitive wing torsion mechanism to control roll, and that’s what allowed it to fly more than 30 minutes in a circle. … That it required a catapult to take off, yes, just like any modern jet fighter, but it is unthinkable a plane with no roll control. I don’t see the issue there.

While the Wright brothers were new comers, and the flyer was of a more primitive built and design, they had a great advantage: They made bicycles. Unfortunately for Alberto, European aviators believed that an airplane should fly like a boat or an airship… naturally roll stable and only controlling yaw with a rudder. It was believed that a roll unstable airplane would be impossible to fly, that’s why you see the clear dihedral in the 14bis.

In the other hand a bicycle is completely roll unstable and still, you can drive it with no problem. I believe that’s why the wright brothers used the completely different approach of adding roll control to the pilot rather than designing a roll stable airplane, which, as we now know, is not practical in most circumstances. -Alex —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.177.23.105 (talk) 04:25, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

The Morris Tribune. [volume], September 29, 1906, Image 7

KEEPING TAB ON THE WORLD

Concluded from page 2.

Santos Dumont's Mechanical Flight.

Although M. Santos-Dumont in his new aeroplane, the Bird of Prey, was able to traverse the air at Paris only a distance of thirty-seven feet before his ship came to the ground with a crash, nevertheless the test is regarded as one of great importance because it was the first time an airship had ever left the earth unaided.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn91059394/1906-09-29/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1770&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Dumont+Santos+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=15&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=santos+dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:29, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Nature – November 8, 1906, Page 35

The First “Manned” Flying Machine.

OCTOBER 23 of the present year will be remembered as a red-letter day in the history of flying machines, for it was on that day that the first flying machine, constructed on the “heavier than air” principle, successfully raised itself and its driver from the ground several feet, and transported itself by means of its own power over a distance of eighty yards.

In this his first successful flight with this machine. M. Santos Dumont is to be sincerely congratulated, for he has accomplished a performance which many workers in different parts of the world have been striving after for many years past and failed.

https://www.nature.com/articles/075035a0#:~:text=OCTOBER%2023%20of%20the%20present,itself%20by%20means%20of%20its 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:32, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Evening Star. [volume], December 09, 1906, Sunday star, Page 5, Image 53

The Sunday Star, Washington, D. C., December 09, 1906—Part 4.

(Copyright, 1906, by John Elfreth Watkins.)

SANTOS-DUMONT is the first man to have performed aerial flight with a self-propelled machine heavier than the air which it displaced. He has solved a problem which has caused inventive geniuses to burn the midnight oil and toss restlessly upon their couches since centuries before the dawn of the Christian era. During three millenniums or more ambitious men have broken their hearts and their heads seeking the great goal which this fearless Brazilian has won within the past few weeks.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1906-12-09/ed-1/seq-53/#date1=1770&index=0&rows=20&words=aerial+air+displaced+DUMONT+first+flight+have+heavier+machine+man+performed+propelled+SANTOS+SANTOS-DUMONT+self+self-propelled+than+which&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=SANTOS-DUMONT+is+the+first+man+to+have+performed+aerial+flight+with+a+self-propelled+machine+heavier+than+the+air+which+it+displaced&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:39, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Is part of this artixle missing?

We have a secion called "Conception, development, and initial tests" but no further information. After the initial tests than what? Further flights? Crashes? Does it still exist? Or was it destroyed? Rmhermen (talk) 02:05, 8 July 2011 (UTC)

Bird of prey?

I cannot find a single reliable source for this name. It certainly wasnt called that at the time. Any offers?TheLongTone (talk) 17:39, 16 April 2014 (UTC) Hmm. Found one, but not strictly contemporary.TheLongTone (talk) 16:42, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Found two, they are not contemporary: Historia N°s 110-121 : "Santos-Dumont est de l'autre bord. ... Voici le Santos-Dumont 14 bis, biplan aux ailes cellulaires relevées en dièdre, d'une surface de 52 mètres carrés. Un long fuselage ... Santos... Les regards convergent vers son étonnant Oiseau de Proie ...

Gonda da Fonseca 1940: em Paris, "Canard" e "Oiseau de proie"; em Inglaterra, "Bird of prey". --Askedonty (talk) 15:33, 26 March 2015 (UTC)

I think it is "harangue de reporter". In plain text 1909 it is invariably called "Canard". --Askedonty (talk) 15:43, 26 March 2015 (UTC)

The Morris Tribune. [volume], September 29, 1906, Image 7

KEEPING TAB ON THE WORLD

Concluded from page 2.

Santos Dumont's Mechanical Flight.

Although M. Santos-Dumont in his new aeroplane, the Bird of Prey, was able to traverse the air at Paris only a distance of thirty-seven feet before his ship came to the ground with a crash, nevertheless the test is regarded as one of great importance because it was the first time an airship had ever left the earth unaided.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn91059394/1906-09-29/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1770&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Dumont+Santos+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=15&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=santos+dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:40, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

The Morris Tribune. [volume], September 29, 1906, Image 7

KEEPING TAB ON THE WORLD

Concluded from page 2.

Santos Dumont's Mechanical Flight.

Although M. Santos-Dumont in his new aeroplane, the Bird of Prey, was able to traverse the air at Paris only a distance of thirty-seven feet before his ship came to the ground with a crash, nevertheless the test is regarded as one of great importance because it was the first time an airship had ever left the earth unaided.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn91059394/1906-09-29/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1770&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Dumont+Santos+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=15&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=santos+dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:41, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Voisin hired by Santos-Dumont??!!

I couldn`t find any reliable source for the statement that Santos-Dumont "commissioned Voisin to help him construct an aircraft". Only source is a biography written by the prestigious Air Marshall Sir Peter Guy Wykenham. Need to see the sources for that. Did he research? Where? Anybody can write things - to prove it can be something MUCH more difficult. RobertoRMola (talk) 15:55, 4 July 2015 (UTC)

It's a cited source, in a book published by a very reputable aviation publisher. So, a reliable source. Get it from a library if you don't believe me.TheLongTone (talk) 13:16, 5 July 2015 (UTC)

Sure! He`s a reputable publisher and a prestigious writer. Period. It happens that the subject is extremely controversial - and sorry, nothing personal about that - but I do not believe in you or Sir Wykenham, since on the very same November 12, 1906 both gentlemen disputed the primacy of heavier than air machine: Voisin failed - Santos-Dumont did it. They were friends, yes. But contenders, in any aspect. And yes, I`m a skeptical, and internet and - specially - Wikipedia, provides just a little evidence of truth and sincerity, unfortunately. We need to be discerning about that. Sir Wykenham made a statement, a opinion. He didn`t provide us with real evidences of the fact. Everything will begin to be more meritorious when citation incorporate this fact. And, no, I will not buy ANOTHER copy of Sir Wykenham book - this will be useless (or IOW, talk about you know). Change back the edition. RobertoRMola (talk) 17:35, 5 July 2015 (UTC)

Prestigious writer, reliable publisher....sound like a reliable source. Given that the aviation world in Paris was very small I really fail to see why the claim is so implausible. These guys may have been rivals but they were all working towards a common cause, and I do not see that rivalry would prevent collaboration.TheLongTone (talk) 11:48, 6 July 2015 (UTC)

I've been researching the topic for some time (unrelated to editing the Wiki) and unfortunately, like many other things related to Santos Dumont scholarship, there are serious contradictions involved. Contrary to what has been stated above, the Wykenham biography does not cite a source for this specific claim and (although it is a well sourced book) contains inaccuracies on many other points (including the notion that Henri Farman was in the Aéro-Club's follow car dropping plates to measure the distance covered, which is also incorrectly referenced in the "Operational History" section. The man dropping the plates was Jaques Faure, see Le Petit Journal Nov 25, 1906.) There are no contemporaneous allusions to Voisin having participated in the construction/design of the 14-bis. Voisin's own memoirs (Men, Women and 10,000 Kites) do not mention a collaboration with Santos Dumont... in fact it mentions the opposite: when Santos Dumont was building the 14-bis (between Jan-Oct 1906) Voisin was working with Louis Blériot on a competing plane (which is well documented on the Wikipedia pages for Blériot and Voisin.) Voisin was present on the trials of Nov 12, but with a competing plane built in partnership with Blériot (pictured in the background of the portrait image on this page.) Voisin in fact goes as far as expressing resentment in his memoirs at Santos' success that day when his own plane failed to take off. I can only guess at why Wykenham wrote what he did, I would say he got confused with some reference-- since Voisin was in fact the first person in Paris to build a box-kite glider from which the 14-bis took inspiration. The partnership that he describes also sounds reminiscent of the way Voisin describes his partnership with Blériot in his memoirs... Paul Hoffman's "Wings of Madness" (great book) repeats Wykenham's legend and again has no source (aside from Wykenham.) Anyhow, I'll leave this here for discussion and leave it up to someone with more Wikipedia experience to fix the actual page. 12.216.166.60 (talk) 21:02, 24 August 2017 (UTC)

Dis-improved syntax

TheLongTone (talk · contribs), Your edit does not improve the article syntax. "although the nosewheel left the ground, it had insufficient power..." The nosewheel had not just insufficient power, it had no power and was never meant to. The craft had power, the engine had power, but the nosewheel? Please return the text to my edit. Grammar'sLittleHelper (talk) 00:30, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

Have fixedTheLongTone (talk) 09:01, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

What the heck does this sentence say?

Santos Dumont supporters claim that Flyer takeoffs were not unaided, although this is not the case with their first flights.

Even my masters degree in English is no match for this triple negative sentence. The statement is completely without source, so we cannot research what the editor was trying to say. Can we improve it or just delete it? Grammar'sLittleHelper (talk) 00:59, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

It may be unsourced but its a far from being a contentious statement, I agree it's poor writing.TheLongTone (talk) 09:01, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Headwind

TheLongTone (talk · contribs), I noticed that you undid my edit. The criticism that we Brazilians make to the Flyers is not only because of the rails and the catapult, it is also because of the fact that, to take off, they needed a strong headwind if they did not use the catapult, at least until 1908. The 14-bis could take off in a calm climate, without needing a contrary wind.

This fact is mentioned in the article itself in: "Written and photographic documentation by the Wrights authenticated by historians shows that the 1903 Wright Flyer accomplished takeoffs in a strong headwind without a catapult and made controlled and sustained flight nearly three years before Santos Dumont made his first takeoff".

References:

"Into the 27-mph wind, the groundspeed had been 6.8 mph, for a total airspeed of 34 mph. The brothers took turns flying three more times that day, getting a feel for the controls and increasing their distance with each flight."

"They also ignore the records of the flights the Wrights made in 1904 and 1905, which show that the catapult wasn't always used. If the Wrights felt they had sufficient headwinds, they took off without it."

"Brazilians also claim that the Wrights launched their Flyer in 1903 with a catapult or at an incline, thereby disqualifying it from being a true airplane because it did not take off on its own. Even Santos-Dumont experts like Lins de Barros concede this is wrong. But he says that the strong, steady winds at Kitty Hawk were crucial for the Flyer's take-off, disqualifying the flight because there was no proof it could lift off on its own."

Dbenndorf (talk) 19:30, 5 March 2017 (UTC)

This is a fatuous canard (in the old-fashioned French meaning of the word). The flyer would have lifted off with no headwind; it would merely have taken longer to accelerate to the necessary airspeed. I'm a great admirer of Santos Dumont, but the 14-bis was a horrible bit of kit. As evidenced by its very brief career.TheLongTone (talk) 13:24, 6 March 2017 (UTC)

I do not know of any evidence that the Flyers could take off without the wind before 1908, when they installed a more powerful engine in Flyer III. The excerpts from this reference () make it clear that even Flyer II needed a headwind to take off.

"I'm a great admirer of Santos Dumont, but the 14-bis was a horrible bit of kit. As evidenced by its very brief career."

Santos Dumont, in 1906, was more concerned with creating a vehicle capable of taking off by his own means, sustaining himself in the air and with limited control, which he did with the 14-bis. A complete airplane, capable of taking off without external assistance, able to stand in the air and to maneuver freely was built a year later: the Demoiselle.

The Wright brother were more concerned with the control of an aircraft in the air, which they began to develop with gliders and publicly demonstrated in 1908.

Dbenndorf (talk) 16:23, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

The Wright Flyer did not require a catapult to launch nor did it require a hill. In fact the first flight used no catapult at all. The catapults were added later for more consistency. Ergzay (talk) 09:22, 11 November 2021 (UTC)

The Morris Tribune. [volume], September 29, 1906, Image 7

KEEPING TAB ON THE WORLD

Concluded from page 2.

Santos Dumont's Mechanical Flight.

Although M. Santos-Dumont in his new aeroplane, the Bird of Prey, was able to traverse the air at Paris only a distance of thirty-seven feet before his ship came to the ground with a crash, nevertheless the test is regarded as one of great importance because it was the first time an airship had ever left the earth unaided.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn91059394/1906-09-29/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1770&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Dumont+Santos+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=15&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=santos+dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:46, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Nature – November 8, 1906, Page 35

The First “Manned” Flying Machine.

OCTOBER 23 of the present year will be remembered as a red-letter day in the history of flying machines, for it was on that day that the first flying machine, constructed on the “heavier than air” principle, successfully raised itself and its driver from the ground several feet, and transported itself by means of its own power over a distance of eighty yards.

In this his first successful flight with this machine. M. Santos Dumont is to be sincerely congratulated, for he has accomplished a performance which many workers in different parts of the world have been striving after for many years past and failed.

https://www.nature.com/articles/075035a0#:~:text=OCTOBER%2023%20of%20the%20present,itself%20by%20means%20of%20its 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:46, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

New-York Tribune. [volume], November 20, 1906, Page 6, Image 6

SANTOS-DUMONT ANTICIPATED.

A fresh reason for determining the amount of glory due to Santos-Dumont for his recent flights with an aeroplane is afforded by an article in the latest number of "Nature" to reach this country. In that periodical it is asserted that on October 23 "the first flying machine, constructed on the 'heavier than air' principle, successfully raised itself and its driver from the ground several feet, and transported itself by means of its own power over a distance of eighty yards." While that statement is probably correct, the merit of the performance can be rightly estimated only by a comparison with what Wilbur and Orville Wright, of Dayton, Ohio, have been able to accomplish.

Santos-Dumont has been at work on the aeroplane only about a year. Most of his aeronautic experiments were conducted with an entirely different class of airship, the self-propelled balloon. On the other hand, the Wright brothers have been identified with the aeroplane for at least four or five years and perhaps longer. In a letter to the Aero Club of America, last winter they told the results attained by them up to the close of 1905. So startling were their claims that in France and Germany their story was received with much skepticism. With a creditable desire to vindicate the honor of the country, The Scientific American" addressed a circular letter of inquiry to seventeen persons who, according to the Wrights, had witnessed their aerial voyages. Twelve responses were received, one of them coming from Mr. Octave Chanute, the author of a well known work on aeronautic experiments and a man whose veracity no well informed foreigner or American would venture to question. The testimony of each of these witnesses was in substantial agreement with that of the others. Though now and then doubt would be expressed as to the exact date of a flight, the distance covered or some other detail, the general tenor of the letters seemed to put the truthfulness of the Wrights' statement quite beyond dispute.

It is worthy of note, in the interests of justice, that the Brazilian has made better provision for launching an aeroplane than the Wrights did last year. His machine, when on the ground, is supported by wheels. When the Wrights were ready to start, theirs was arranged crosswise on a pair of rails. To overcome the friction between these and the lower part of the frame, it was necessary to rely on external aid. Their aeroplane would not lift itself clear of the rails until it had been pushed forward twenty-five or thirty feet by hand, whereas the one which has just created a sensation in Europe will advance without assistance as soon as the propellers begin to revolve and will rise shortly afterward unhelped. Strictly speaking, then, "Nature" is quite right when it says that Santos-Dumont's machine is the first to raise Itself by means of its own power.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1906-11-20/ed-1/seq-6/#date1=1770&index=18&rows=20&words=aeroplane+Dumont+Santos+Santos-Dumont&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=santos+dumont+aeroplane&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:47, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Evening Star. [volume], December 09, 1906, Sunday star, Page 5, Image 53

The Sunday Star, Washington, D. C., December 09, 1906—Part 4.

(Copyright, 1906, by John Elfreth Watkins.)

SANTOS-DUMONT is the first man to have performed aerial flight with a self-propelled machine heavier than the air which it displaced. He has solved a problem which has caused inventive geniuses to burn the midnight oil and toss restlessly upon their couches since centuries before the dawn of the Christian era. During three millenniums or more ambitious men have broken their hearts and their heads seeking the great goal which this fearless Brazilian has won within the past few weeks.

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1906-12-09/ed-1/seq-53/#date1=1770&index=0&rows=20&words=aerial+air+displaced+DUMONT+first+flight+have+heavier+machine+man+performed+propelled+SANTOS+SANTOS-DUMONT+self+self-propelled+than+which&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=SANTOS-DUMONT+is+the+first+man+to+have+performed+aerial+flight+with+a+self-propelled+machine+heavier+than+the+air+which+it+displaced&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:47, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

Then We Quit Laughing

The Man Who Was in the First Airplane Wreck Tells of Those Days When Wilbur and Orville Wright Were "Just a Pair of Poor Nuts" Playing With Kites and Watching the Gulls Fly on the North Carolina Coast

By W. O. Saunders

(From Collier's Weekly, Sept. 17, 1927.)

John Daniels was one of a little group of natives of the North Carolina coastland who stood by at Kill Devil Hills that morning when Wilbur and Orville Wright prepared to try out their first power-driven airplane. The brothers Wright had to have help in handling that first plane, and Captain Daniels, then a patrolman on duty at the Kill Devil Hills Coast Guard Station, volunteered as one of their helpers.

"It's just like yesterday to me," said Captain Daniels. "The Wrights got their machine out of its shed that morning, and we helped them roll it out to the foot of the big hill, on a monorail.

"That first plane had only one wheel to roll on, not like the planes now that have two wheels. It couldn't stand up without somebody supporting it at each end, and I had hold of one of the wings on one end.

The Dayton Gannets

"The Wrights came down to Kill Devil Hills, where they could find a good elevation for trying out their glider, where there were good winds almost all the time, where they would have a soft place to land almost anywhere when their glider came down, and where they wouldn't be bothered by outsiders. They didn't seem to mind us natives.

"That first plane... It couldn't stand up without somebody supporting it at each end, and I had hold of one of the wings on one end."

"The Wrights came down to Kill Devil Hills, where they could find a good elevation for trying out their glider, where there were good winds almost all the time”

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages/results/?state=&date1=1770&date2=1963&proxtext=++The+Wrights+came+down+to+Kill+Devil+Hills%2C+where+they+could+find+a+good+elevation+for+trying+out+their+glider%2C+where+there+were+good+winds+almost+all+the+time+&x=0&y=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&rows=20&searchType=basic 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:51, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

The independent. [volume], April 27, 1928, SECTION 2, Page 1, Image 9

The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C. April 27, 1928

The frame of the glider had been manufactured by the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright in their shop at Dayton, Ohio, and here put together and clothed with suitable canvas. Mrs. Tate assisting in the latter. It was then transported by horse cart three miles down the shore of Kitty Hawk Bay to the vicinity of the huge sand dunes known as Kill Devil Hills, where the high winds and declivity of the dunes were utilized in their gliding experiments.

“shore of Kitty Hawk Bay to the vicinity of the huge sand dunes known as Kill Devil Hills, where the high winds and declivity of the dunes were utilized in their gliding experiments.”

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025812/1928-04-27/ed-1/seq-9/#date1=1770&index=0&rows=20&words=declivity+Devil+dunes+ex+ex%7Cieriuients+glid+high+Hills+i+I+ieriuients+inir+j+Kill+known+utilized+were+where+winds&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=known+as+Kill+Devil+Hills%2C+where+I+i+the+high+winds+and+declivity+of+the+j+dunes+were+utilized+in+their+glid+inir+ex%7Cieriuients&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 00:53, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

THE CENTURY MAGAZINE

Vol. LXXVI September, 1908 No.5

The Wright Brothers' Aeroplane

By Orville and Wilbur Wright

Page 644

FIRST FLIGHT OF THE WRIGHT BROTHERS’ FIRST MOTOR MACHINE, AT KILL DEVIL HILL, DECEMBER 17, 1903

This picture shows the machine just after lifting from the track, flying against a wind of twenty-four miles an hour.

We began our active experiments at the close of this period, in October, 1900, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Our machine was designed to be flown as a kite, with a man on board, in winds of from fifteen to twenty miles an hour. But, upon trial, it was found that much stronger winds were required to lift it. Suitable winds not being plentiful, we found it necessary, in order to test the new balancing system, to fly the machine as a kite without a man on board, operating the levers through cords from the ground.

Page 649

In the spring of 1904, through the kindness of Mr. Torrence Huffman of Dayton, Ohio, we were permitted to erect a shed, and to continue experiments, on what is known as the Huffman Prairie, at Simms Station, eight miles east of Dayton. The new machine was heavier and stronger, but similar to the one flown at Kill Devil Hill. When it was ready for its first trial, every newspaper in Dayton was notified, and about a dozen representatives of the press were present. Our only request was that no pictures be taken, and that the reports be unsensational, so as not to attract crowds to our experiment-grounds. There were probably fifty persons altogether on the ground. When preparations had been completed, a wind of only three or four miles was blowing, —insufficient for starting on so short a track,—but since many had come a long way to see the machine in action, an attempt was made. To add to the other difficulty, the engine refused to work properly. The machine, after running the length of the track, slid off the end without rising into the air at all. Several of the newspaper men returned the next day, but were again disappointed. The engine performed badly, and after a glide of only sixty feet, the machine came to the ground. Further trial was postponed till the motor could be put in better running condition. ‘The reporters had now, no doubt, lost confidence in the machine, though their reports, in kindness, concealed it. Later, when they heard that we were making flights of several minutes’ duration, knowing that longer flights had been made with air-ships, and not knowing any essential difference between airships and flying-machines, they were but little interested.

Page 650

In order to show the general reader the way in which the machine operates, let us fancy ourselves ready for the start. The machine is placed upon a single rail track facing the wind, and is securely fastened with a cable. The engine is put in motion, and the propellers in the rear whir. You take your seat at the center of the machine beside the operator. He slips the cable, and you shoot forward. An assistant who has been holding the machine in balance on the rail, starts forward with you, but before you have gone fifty feet the speed is too great for him, and he lets go.

“In the spring of 1904, through the kindness of Mr. Torrence Huffman of Dayton, Ohio, we were permitted to erect a shed, and to continue experiments, on what is known as the Huffman Prairie”

‘The new machine was heavier and stronger”

“every newspaper in Dayton was notified, and about a dozen represntatives of the press were presente”

“Our only request was that no pictures be taken, and that the reports be unsensational”

‘a wind of only theree or four miles was blowing, -insufficient for starting on so short a track,”

“The machine, after running the length of the track, slid off the end without rising into the air at all. Several of the newspaper men returned the next day, but were again disappointed. The engine performed badly, and after a glide of only sixty feet, the machine came to the ground”

Weather dependency (high winds), monorail, declivity, ramps, catapult or slopes VS. The Wrights

https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/encore/ncgre000/00000037/00036710/00036710.pdf 2001:1284:F034:F558:99E4:A026:7985:61F4 (talk) 01:00, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

References

2016 Olympics

Was the flight of this aircraft at 2016 Olympics opening ceremony entirely simulated or real ?--— ⦿⨦⨀Tumadoireacht ^Talk/_Stalk 22:59, 24 June 2017 (UTC)

@Tumadoireacht: in some images is possible to see that the replica was lifted by a crane. Erick Soares3 (talk) 15:49, 14 July 2019 (UTC)