Alberto Santos Dumont and Aviation History
Famous Brazilian, Flight Pioneer & First Person to Fly an Airplane?
Nov 12, 2009
Alberto Santos Dumont is a Brazilian hero and one of the great aviation pioneers. While his place in aviation history is unquestionable, claims by his countrymen that he was the first person to fly an airplane are very much open to speculation.
Alberto Santos Dumont – Aviation Pioneer
Alberto Santos Dumont was born in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais on 20th July 1873. His father was a wealthy coffee baron whose success lay partly in the technological innovations he applied to the coffee growing process. These innovations were not lost upon the young Santos Dumont. His appreciation for machinery, and a youthful obsession for the stories of Jules Verne, was to send Santos Dumont on a path of innovation and adventure.
At the age of seventeen, Santos Dumont moved to France where he continued his education. A student of the sciences with a keen interest in modern technological innovations, Santos Dumont focused his attention skywards. With the wealth of his family behind him and a driving desire to take to the air, he would soon rise, quite literally, within French society.
The Rise of Alberto Santos Dumont into Aviation History
The diminutive Brazilian playboy was soon courted by the French well-to-do. His initial successes with dirigible (steerable) balloons made him a popular figure both in Brazil and France. Despite numerous close shaves and crashes, his achievements with lighter-than-air craft were being followed ever closer by the world press.
In 1901, Santos Dumont won the Deutsch de la Meurthe challenge, navigating his dirigible Number 6 from Parc Saint Cloud, round the Eiffel Tower, and back again within the challenge time of thirty minutes. With this victory, his celebrity status was sealed. More prizes and accolades were to follow before Santos Dumont decided to take the next step in aviation: heavier-than-air flight.
Alberto Santos Dumont – the First to Fly an Airplane?
With his entrance into the field of heavier-than-air flight, Alberto Santos Dumont also entered into the often controversial historical debate of “Who got there first?” The 1903 Kitty Hawk flight of the Wright brothers is now generally considered as the first controlled, powered and sustained flight in history. However, various elements of this are still open to debate.
At the time, controversy raged in Europe, particularly in French circles and within the Aéro-Club de France. Witnesses were lacking to support the Wright brothers’ claim, while the use of a catapult for launching their craft was also subject to debate. With the accolade of “first to fly” seemingly still available, Santos Dumont pushed forward.
In 1906, Santos Dumont completed the construction of his heavier-than-air craft, 14-bis. The airplane was unwieldy at best; aviation historian Cecil Lewis states that “It would not be too unkind to call the machine a freak, and a most dangerous one at that.”
However, Santos Dumont’s determination was matched only by his courage. His two successful flights of October and November, 1906, saw him officially recognized by the Aéro-Club as the first man to fly in Europe, as well as being the first officially witnessed airplane flight in the world.
The Legacy of Santos Dumont, Flight Pioneer & Famous Brazilian Hero
Today, most Brazilians will still shudder at the very mention of the Wright brothers and heatedly claim that Alberto Santos Dumont was indeed the first man to fly an airplane. However, the case for Santos Dumont is fragile at best. The Wright Brothers Aeroplane Co. website features a detailed, respectful and reasoned defense of their position regarding the Santos Dumont claims.
Alberto Santos Dumont’s contribution to the history of aviation is unquestionable. His achievements with both lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air craft advanced both flight technology and human endeavor. Brazilians can be justifiably proud of their hero. Whether he was the first to fly an airplane or not should not detract from all that he achieved.
Sources:
Fred Howard – Wilbur and Orville: A biography of the Wright Brothers, Dover, 1998, ISBN 0486402975
Cecil Lewis (Peter Wykeham) – Flight: Its First Seventy-Five Years, Volumes 1-12, Arno Press, 1962, ISBN 0405121466.
Lance Day, Ian McNeil – Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology, Taylor & Francis, 1996, ISBN 0415060427
 |
 |
 |
 |
