Who invented the airplane?
- Thread starter Starkey
- Start date
Starkey
Avenging Rooster
t.c.cgi said:I wonder why on Earth he didn't do his work in Brazil. Hmmm...
At the age of 18, his father sent Santos Dumont to Paris where he devoted his time to the studies of chemistry, physics, astronomy and mechanics. There weren´t good professors of those subjects in Brazil.
On a side note, the first plane built in Brazil was constructed by a French, in 1910.
Starkey
Avenging Rooster
The website I mentioned in my first post has more details (and some great pictures too), but about his death it says basically what I wrote:
In 1932, Santos Dumont was in great depression. Some historians think that the reason of the depression was the use of the airplane in wars; others think that he was stricken with multiple sclerosis. The fact is that Santos Dumont committed suicide in July 23 of that year - only three days after his birthday. He was 59 years old.
It is a fact, though, that he abandoned his airplane researches when people started using his last plane, the Demoiselle, as a military craft, and wrote letters to the French and American government urging them to stick to the civilian utilization of aircrafts. This page has a more detailed description (in Portuguese, sorry folks) of the day of his death, which reads:
A morte de Santos Dumont
No dia 23 de julho de 1932 a autoridade policial de Santos recebeu, por volta das 17h30, uma solicitação: amigos de Alberto Santos Dumont, hospedados no Hotel "La Plage" pediam à Polícia que comparecesse ao referido Hotel, eis que lá se hospedava, também, Santos Dumont que, trancado no banheiro não respondia aos chamados dos amigos.
A autoridade policial determinou que um de seus agentes observasse o que estava ocorrendo, através de uma pequena clarabóia. E veio a constatação: o corpo de Santos Dumont pendia, enforcado, no cano do chuveiro.
Estava morto o grande brasileiro, emocionalmente abalado pelos repetidos ataques da aviação da ditadura às guarnições da Baixada Santista.
Conforme registro feito pelos cronistas da época, na manhã daquele dia, Santos Dumont passeava pela praia com seu amigo e grande piloto, Edu Chaves e viu o sobrevoo de um grupo de aviões sobre a barra, com a intenção deliberada de atacar o Forte Itaipú. Isto teria sido a gota d'água na emoção de Santos Dumont, que vivia em estado depressivo e que chegou ao ponto máximo, com a eclosão da Revolução. O resultado final dessa depressão foi o gesto tresloucado do suicídio. Tristeza.
Basically it says that he hanged himself shortly after, during the 1930 Revolution, he saw some planes flying over him towards Fort Itaipu and attacking the Fort. Considering that he had the noblest of intentions with his airplane research, it must have been a shock for him watching - live - the military strapping bombs to his invention and using it to blow people up.
In 1932, Santos Dumont was in great depression. Some historians think that the reason of the depression was the use of the airplane in wars; others think that he was stricken with multiple sclerosis. The fact is that Santos Dumont committed suicide in July 23 of that year - only three days after his birthday. He was 59 years old.
It is a fact, though, that he abandoned his airplane researches when people started using his last plane, the Demoiselle, as a military craft, and wrote letters to the French and American government urging them to stick to the civilian utilization of aircrafts. This page has a more detailed description (in Portuguese, sorry folks) of the day of his death, which reads:
A morte de Santos Dumont
No dia 23 de julho de 1932 a autoridade policial de Santos recebeu, por volta das 17h30, uma solicitação: amigos de Alberto Santos Dumont, hospedados no Hotel "La Plage" pediam à Polícia que comparecesse ao referido Hotel, eis que lá se hospedava, também, Santos Dumont que, trancado no banheiro não respondia aos chamados dos amigos.
A autoridade policial determinou que um de seus agentes observasse o que estava ocorrendo, através de uma pequena clarabóia. E veio a constatação: o corpo de Santos Dumont pendia, enforcado, no cano do chuveiro.
Estava morto o grande brasileiro, emocionalmente abalado pelos repetidos ataques da aviação da ditadura às guarnições da Baixada Santista.
Conforme registro feito pelos cronistas da época, na manhã daquele dia, Santos Dumont passeava pela praia com seu amigo e grande piloto, Edu Chaves e viu o sobrevoo de um grupo de aviões sobre a barra, com a intenção deliberada de atacar o Forte Itaipú. Isto teria sido a gota d'água na emoção de Santos Dumont, que vivia em estado depressivo e que chegou ao ponto máximo, com a eclosão da Revolução. O resultado final dessa depressão foi o gesto tresloucado do suicídio. Tristeza.
Basically it says that he hanged himself shortly after, during the 1930 Revolution, he saw some planes flying over him towards Fort Itaipu and attacking the Fort. Considering that he had the noblest of intentions with his airplane research, it must have been a shock for him watching - live - the military strapping bombs to his invention and using it to blow people up.
Delance said:
Nice article indeed !
The most important statement is, in my opinion, this sentence :
Apparently, the debate comes down to how you define the first flight of an airplane.
It is not stated here but if you ask in France most people will say that the first man to fly an airplane was Clément Ader. Yes a new guy...
Why that ? It's explained here:
So Ader was indeed the first to fly a powered heavier-than-air flying machine. But can we say he was the first to fly an airplane ? Of course not ! Because its machine could not change its direction, accomplished only a small jump, and the tests always ended in a wreckage...
That's why, as stated in Wired, even in France "authorities" consider that the first "real" fly was accomplished by the Wright Brothers.
Side note: The French word for airplane is "avion", which is also the name Ader gave to its second flying maching.
Couldn't it be argued the first "flight" took place when people learned how to jump? Technically, it is a powered, but very short flight. But then this also brings up birds and such who own flight from evolution.
If a guy stands on another guy's shoulders, and the bottom guy jumps, you've got yourself an airplane.
If a guy stands on another guy's shoulders, and the bottom guy jumps, you've got yourself an airplane.
Delance
Victory, you say?
Because of all this discussions is that people set down and decided to have a set of standards and rules to classify what would be considered a powered flight. This would have made a nice debate in the late 19th century -- and it probably did.
So they had a few requirements like: it had to be heavier then air, take off on its own, it had to be public, fly for x time and for y distance, that kind of thing. If you research it, you can probably find out.
By what that article says, while the Wright's brothers first flight didn't met all the standards (like taking off by its own means), some later flights did before 1906. They were never officially observed before that, however.
So they had a few requirements like: it had to be heavier then air, take off on its own, it had to be public, fly for x time and for y distance, that kind of thing. If you research it, you can probably find out.
By what that article says, while the Wright's brothers first flight didn't met all the standards (like taking off by its own means), some later flights did before 1906. They were never officially observed before that, however.
Yeah, but that assumes we accept the opinion of a bunch of Victorians who had never flown before. Presumably we could make a better set of standards now... in fact, there are probably still standards somewhere for what qualifies as a powered flight, in case you invent a new type of airplane and need to prove that it can fly to an audience of quibblers.
Presumably we could make a better set of standards now... in fact, there are probably still standards somewhere for what qualifies as a powered flight, in case you invent a new type of airplane and need to prove that it can fly to an audience of quibblers.