terça-feira, 23 de outubro de 2012

Santos Dumont and the Celebrations for the First Flight of an airplane Heavier than Air


Santos=Dumont arrives with his 14-Bis dismantled


At exactly 106 years ago Santos=Dumont lived the happiest day of his life; he had made the first flight with an airplane heavier than air.
Contrary to many beliefs Santos=Dumont perform the first flight, differently from the Wright brothers, Santos=Dumont flew in front of a technical committee, with the presence of several witnesses and therefore, was homologated as the first flight of history.

In his book Dans l'air Santos Dumont reports:

"Shortly thereafter, on October 23, before the Scientific Committee of the Aero Club and the large crowd, I've made ​​the famous flight of 250 meters, which fully confirmed the possibility of a man fly.
This last experience and the one of July 12, 1901, gave me the two of the happiest moments of my life".


A fan is photographed next to his idol Santos = Dumont shortly after being the first man to fly an aircraft heavier than air -  Bagatelle, Paris on October 23, 1906. On that date, Santos=Dumont took off with
his 14-Bis and flew 60 meters in 7 seconds, at a height of 2 meters above the ground, in front of more than a thousand spectators and the Official Committee of the Aero Club of France.
(i.e. mounting illustrative)


Article published in the Brazilian magazine “O Cruzeiro" recounting the picturesque case in which a donkey called Kuignot help Santos=Dumont in his experiments.

14-bis being transported amid the crowd

The fact was reminded on several different dates, the first Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes in his mission to space, did the most significant homage.

At 23h30 min of March 29, 2006, Brazilian astronaut, Lieutenant Colonel Marcos Cesar Pontes, leaving the Baikonur Base, in Kazakistan, aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-7, went to the International Space Station, in company of North American Astronaut William McArthur and Russian Valery
Tokariov. It was called “Centennial Mission” in honor of the first flight of Santos=Dumont.
Marcos Pontes and his homage to Santos=Dumont (with a Panama Hat and a handkerchief that belonged to the aviator)
On April 3, 2006 was sent a interview with a tribute to Santos Dumont, in which Marcos Pontes used aboard the International Space Station a Panama hat equal to the inventor and a handkerchief that belonged to Santos=Dumont.
Handkerchief that belonged to Santos=Dumont with the stamps of the International Space Station and the dated stamp (April 8, 2006) from the Russian segment of the ISS (Российский сегмент Международной космической станции)

Marcos returned to Earth on the night of April 8, at 20h56 Brasilia time, April 9th ​ Kazakhstan time.

configuration of the 14-Bis on its first flight.


with this model S=D won the cup Archdeacon - flew on October 23 1906 60m at 3m high


With this model S=D has addapted his latest invention, the Aileron - On November 12 1906, flew 220m  at 60 m high


S=D also invented the engine starter device for 14-Bis



sexta-feira, 20 de julho de 2012

Santos Dumont Doodle


I really enjoyed the homage paid by Google today for the birthday of Alberto Santos-Dumont. This is perhaps Brazil's most relevant personality, which stand to be the rightful inventor of autonomous aircraft heavier than air.

Leaving that polemic aside, I would like to salute Google initiative.


Cheers!

sexta-feira, 15 de junho de 2012

The science behind involucres and valves of Santos=Dumont Dirigibles



Santos=Dumont used the ascensional force of hydrogen in almost all of his dirigibles. Unlike modern balloons that make use of hot air, the hydrogen envelopes were sealed and the internal pressure should be controlled through valves.


The technology of gas balloons is quite old; this Illustration from the late 19th century shows Jacques Charles performing an experience with the first hydrogen gas balloon in August, 27th 1783, at the Champ de Mars, Paris.

The system to obtain hydrogen was invented by French balloonist and manufacturer Gabriel Yon (1835-1894). It consisted of placing a bit of iron filings in dilute sulfuric acid inside two large tanks. Hydrogen bubbles were formed and pumped through tubes inside the water to be cleaned of impurities. Finally it was stored in a steel tank under pressure.

The association hydrogen envelope and petrol explosion engines was very dangerous, dozens of hydrogen dirigibles exploded or burned in the years, the most famous of them was the Hindenburg disaster that took place on May 6, 1937, as the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station killing 35 people.

This High-speed videography at thousand frames per second makes it possible to observe in detail the sequence of events after the balloon has been lit with a match.
Santos=Dumont made use of the technology available at that time to create dirigibles very safe with regard to anti-flammability and the most perfect envelope was used in his Dirigible Number 6.

As observed in several accidents that happened before the conquest of the Deutsch prize, Dumont knew that the envelope could not be too long because it ran the risk of bending the middle, as happened with his Dirigible Number 1 and 2. He also knew that he should take a very special care with expansion and contraction of hydrogen at different altitudes as happened with Augusto Severo.


Augusto Severo was a Brazilian congressman who devoted his life to dirigibles, he died tragically on May 12, 1902, when he performed maneuvers with his dirigible named Pax in Paris. Fifteen minutes after his takeoff from the Park Vaugirand the rigid envelope broke down due to expansion of hydrogen through the rarefied atmosphere, releasing hydrogen directly over the internal combustion engine and caused a huge explosion, flame debris fell on the Avenue du Maine, causing uproar in the city.

In the chart above shown in Figure 1 a sudden escape of hydrogen and in figure 2 the fan is used to inflate the cuff to prevent the internal envelope fold in half.
In the chart above we see in Figure 1 the Dirigible Santos=Dumont Number 6 ascended up far, the atmosphere was thin and the pressure inside the envelope went high. In figure 2 the safety valve automatically opens to prevent collapse of the envelope.
In the chart above we see in Figure 1 Santos Dumont voluntarily decides to empty the envelope. In figure 2 he turns the fan on to inflate the cuff preventing the envelope fold in half.
Santos=Dumont knew how to compensate for variations in pressure by safety valves that worked automatically, letting out the gas when the pressure increased significantly and closed automatically when the pressure returned to normal. Manual valves and an inner inflatable cuff was inflated with a fan and emptied directly from his nacelle.

He also took great care with his envelope, demanded that it was always well sewed and varnished to prevent leaks, above we see Santos Dumont at Lachambre & Machuron headquarters overseeing the manufacture of his envelope. He also made sure to keep the balloon far away enough from the engine exhaust pipe, it could burn the delicate envelope made of Japanese silk.

segunda-feira, 5 de março de 2012

Life imitates art and art imitates life Jules Verne – Santos=Dumont - Tom Swift


The eccentric Santos=Dumont driving a carriage pulled by an ostrich

Just like the stories of Jules Verne inspired Santos=Dumont to create their flying machines, their flying machines inspired other writers to create their characters. Santos=Dumont eccentricities and adventurous life has inspired lots and lots of adventurers and writers, just after his trip to United States and his return to Paris, great number of toys and publications appeared. I believe that Tom Swift was the most expressive character ever created based on Santos=Dumont real life.
Tom Swift is the name of the central character in five series of books, first appearing in 1910 and totaling over 100 volumes, of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention and technology.
Tom Swift's Electric Car and Santos=Dumont Electric Buggy

Edward Stratemeyer, one of the most prolific writers in the world, producing in excess of 1,300 books, created the character himself, selling in excess of 500 million copies, and created the well-known fictional-book series for juveniles.

Tom Swift's combined aeroplane-dirigibile and Santos=Dumont Number 14. 

Most of the inventions in the Tom Swift series are enhancements of real inventor’s creation, as we see here, the combined aeroplane-dirigibile balloon was a perfectly inspired in Santos=Dumont Number 14.
Tom Swift's Giant Telescope and Santos=Dumont's Giant Telescope. 

Of course, many other characters of real life inspired Stratemeyer to create Tom Swift, however, several examples may be found with some elements in common with the Santos=Dumont's actual history.

sábado, 3 de março de 2012

Tom Edison Airship’s talk with Santos-Dumont



The meeting of two of the most inventive minds in the world at the beginning of last century showed great promise, however proved to be somewhat inconclusive.
Emmanuel Aime - Santos=Dumont - Chapin
I believe the main point of divergence between these two geniuses was that Santos=Dumont made ​​his inventions in order to create global integration, with a certain "Wiki" approach , inspiring the next inventors to use their ideas free of patent (mankind took almost 100 years to understand the concept of unpatented inventions and open source software as a source of prosperity).

In other hand, Thomas Edison had great commercial interest in their inventions and not devoted his time to anything that could not be patented and have some financial result.

Hope you enjoy this American article. - May 1902

(Copyright 1902 by Herbert Wallace)

THOMAS A. EDISON believes that mankind ought to be ashamed of itself because the problem of aerial navigation by human beings was not solved years ago. He also makes the rather remarkable statement that, while Santos-Dumont has done a great thing in steering airships about through the air, it will be a long time before any contrivance for air navigation is commercially possible, because no inventor will be able to secure any reward for his labor in this line of work under the present patent laws. To make this great possibility practical, it seems that we shall have to establish a sort of protective academy of invention, which shall reward the successful inventor of the commercial airship.

“I was down in Florida recently and one day I watched a big bird – I think it was a vulture – that floated about in the air a whole hour without moving its wings perceptibly. When God made that bird He gave it a machine to fly with, but He didn’t give it much else. He gave the bird a very small brain with which to direct the movements of the machine, but He gave to a man a much larger brain in proportion to that of the bird.”

Mr. Edison is not the first to make such a comparison, but when he talked this way the other day to Santos-Dumont, the Brazilian aeronaut, there was a world of meaning in the words. The wizard of the laboratory was much interested in the young man who had wondered Paris and the world by steering an airship over the city, not once but several times.

“You are the only man who has done such a thing.”
Exclaimed Mr. Edson.
“I am sure you have never worked on the problem of aerial navigation,” replied Santos-Dumont, “or you would have accomplished years ago more than I have done now”. The aeronaut was not trying to be complimentary; he has this biggest admiration for Mr. Edison and his inventive genius.

“I don’t know about that,” said Edison. “I did take it up once several years ago and built a specially light motor to be operated by exploding gunpowder, I experienced a lot in lifting weights with it, but I worked with a small model and did not attempt to fly. I gave it all up because I had a number of other things to do which were far more profitable.”
Santos-Dumont Finds a Supporter in Edison.

New York Journal – April 14th, 1902

“I took so much interest in Dumont’s flying machine scheme that I suggested to him an aerial club in this country. There are plenty of men to be interested in such an enterprise, and I will probably join myself

Famous aerial navigator greatly pleased with his reception at Orange house NJ – He will go to Washington tomorrow.”

“His miniature model still in customhouse.”

“Proposed exhibition of little flying machine, which was to have been given today, is therefore postponed.”

The article emphasizes the importance of meeting of the two great men (yesterday) when “the Wizard” acquainted with the “King of the Air”.
Santos-Dumont spent the whole of the afternoon with Thomas Edison at the latter’s home in Orange, N. J. and was greatly impressed with the great investor’s workshops.

At the end, Emma Kaufman article “Santos-Dumont as a woman sees him” 
_______________________________________________________________________________

“I’ll tell you,” he went on earnestly, “If the patent office only protected the inventor sufficiently the problem of aerial navigation would have been solved thirty years ago.”

Must Discard the Balloon.

Santos-Dumont looked at Edison with some surprise and turned to M. Aime, his companion, to remark that had the laws been right the thing would have been done before he was borne, Mr. Edison saw the discomfiture of his guest and remarked:

“But you are all right. You are on the right track. You have made an airship and you have steered it and you have made a step toward the final solution of the problem. Keep at it. But get rid of your balloon. Make it smaller all the time.”

“Have you noticed, Mr. Edison,” inquired the aeronaut, “that I am making the balloon smaller every time I build a new airship?”.

“Yes, and that’s right,” replied Edison, “but make it smaller Yet. You are doing well, but it will take a long time to make the thing commercially possible. When you get your balloon part smaller and yet smaller until it is so small that you cannot see it with a microscope then you solved the problem.”

Here, in a nutshell, Is Mr. Edison’s solution of the problem of aerial navigation. He believes firmly it can be solved. But he believes just as firmly that the solution must be reached by means of the flying machine and not by the airship. Only with the machine, he says, can air navigation ever be made either safe or commercially profitable. This will be clear to the reader when it is explained the term “airship” applies to a contrivance that, being lighter than the air, floats in it as a ship floats on the water. The term “flying machine,” on the other hand, refers as he uses it, to a contrivance heavier than the air it is intended to navigate. At rest such an apparatus would not float at all, the high speed at which it moves. In Edison’s mind, then, aerial navigation is simply a question of sufficient motive power, properly applied, to overcome the lack of buoyancy necessary to make the machine rise and to keep it in sufficient motion to hold it in position a certain number of feet above the earth. He constantly refers to the figure of the bird which anyone may see rise and fly at will.

“Take the case of the vulture,” he said “here is a natural flying machine which is a thousand times as heavy as the air it displaces. In a few seconds of leisure flight it can sweep over a distance which man finds encumbered with all sorts of obstacles and there is scarcely a flutter of its wings in the operation. There is nothing there but a machine and a small brain and it is not a very remarkable machine either. Why is it that a man cannot make a flying machine as efficient as the bird? A lot of people say that it was never meant that a man should fly; that if nature had intended such a thing, man would have been provided with the necessary machinery in his body, such as is now possessed by the bird. But you might just as well say that it was never intended that man should have any light aside from the sun and the moon and stars which were originally provided for him, or that he should not move about faster with the aid of wheels because no wheels were supplied to him by nature.

No Electric Flying Machine


Someone asked Mr. Edison whether his new storage battery would be of service in solving the problem of aerial navigation.

“Oh, no, of course not,” he replied, “It would be too heavy. We must get the lightest possible motive power. Thus the greatest factor of this problem is to get a very light motor, which will be powerful enough to operate the flying machine properly. The best thing now in sight for this purpose is a gasoline or gunpowder motor, something that will get up power quickly and which, at the same time, weights little. Santos-Dumont is on the right track in this regard, but of his gasbag. You cannot control a balloon in a gale of wind. In order to make a commercial possibility of the airship it will be necessary to make its operation absolutely sure and its use safe. The flying machine is bound to come, but it will take some time at the rate we are progressing now.”

It was suggested to Mr. Edison that perhaps he might take up the problem again himself and assist in the final solution.

“No, I will not go into anything which cannot be protected from the pirates who live off the work of inventions, and I do not believe it would be possible to secure a patent on other a flying machine or an airship or any part of one that would stand the test of the courts. If someone should make a commercially successful flying machine dozens would at once copy the models and take away the fruits of the original inventor’s labor. There isn’t a judge in the country who would hold that there was really any invention in such an apparatus, because so much has been done and written about it that the only difference between the successful machine, which have been, will be very alight. I doubt whether any new principle will be discovered on which even a claim for a patent may be made.

“The man or men who really solve the problem of flying through the air will find out nothing new. Powerful motors of wonderful compactness will be applied to a framework of extreme lightness and that will be all there will be to it. Doubtless this framework will be something similar to physical structure of a bird. I do not believe it will be difficult, because we have many mechanical devices now, which are superior to the devices used by nature in human beings and animals, and I do not see why we may not put together a contrivance which will be at least equal to the machine and brain of the bird.”

Prof. Langley’s Efforts

Professor S. P. Langley of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, was on of the first men in this country to experiment with flying machines – machines Heavier than the air – unless we admit the Immortal Darius Green ("Darius Green and His Flying Machine" is a famous story poem written in 1869 by John Townsend Trowbridge) and his far-farmed flying machine into our chronology of scientific experiments. Professor Langley had a theory to prove and proved it. He did not accompany his aerodrome in its flights, but he demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt that mechanical flight is possible. Sir Hiram Maxim showed this also with his aeroplane. As a man of science, who had much work to do, Langley proved all he wanted to. It is time now for others to make the flying machine commercially available. It took Prof. Langley several years to develop his main idea as to flying, but during those years he reached many interesting conclusions which will doubtless be taken into account by the inventors who attempt to follow him and carry on the idea of Edison as to navigate the air.

In his preliminary experiments, Prof. Langley a bowed that, disregarding the friction, which is slight, a 200-pound plate could be moved through the air at a rate of fifty miles an hour with the expenditure of one horse power energy. That is a ton of weight could be drown horizontally through space and upon the air with an engine of only ten-horse power. In his airship No. 7, Santos-Dumont will have engines of ninety aggregated horse power sufficient to move a flat plate weighting nine tons through the air at the rate of fifty miles an hour. As a mater of fact, the Santos-Dumont No. 7 will weight when collapsed less than a ton and when the gas bag is filled with hydrogen the whole machine will have a lifting power of 2.500 pounds. With this equipment the young man hopes to speed through the air at the rate of forty-five miles an hour.

Thomas Edison card to Santos=Dumont


It must be clearly understood, however that Santos-Dumont type of airship cannot be operated in a stiff breeze or in changeable winds; indeed, the aeronaut does not make any claim that he can navigate the air in all kinds of weather. Given fair weather Santos-Dumont will not beallain to launch his craft and fly away over cities and seas; the sensation of fear seems to be entirely absent from his make-up.

“I always have a good deal to do when I am in my ship,” he explains, “and I do not have time to think about being afraid. I don’t know what it is to be afraid of falling.”
Langley Experiments

Interesting Experiments

It seems an almost universal belief that the air itself offers tremendous resistance to the passage of any body through it. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t. the bird in its flight has been both a constant wonder to man and as unending promoter of hope that some day he may equal its aerial movements, but if the air resisted flight, according to the computations.

(Continued on Seventh Page.)

quinta-feira, 23 de fevereiro de 2012

Santos=Dumont apartment in Paris



Dirigible Santos=Dumont # 9 parked in front of the famous address Paris Champs Elysées, 114 ou rue Washington, 5

Santos=Dumont lived in Paris for 22 years. There is an extensive tour of the points Santos=Dumont visited, including the apartment where the inventor lived at 114 Champs-Élysées.


It was very difficult for me to reconstruct the colors and atmosphere of this apartment, for which I used the description of several biographers and the description given by reporters in the newspapers of the time.

Many describe details of elaborate decoration, Michel Benichou says that the predominant colors were red and pink and Paul Hoffman, who until 1996 had never heard of Dumont's flair (a very common fact in the USA) did an exhaustive research, says that the Aspects of decoration and setting are extravagant.

It can be said that basically there are four distinct environments that always appear in the photos: 1- the roundabout room, with the pyramid in the background; 2-the office, with wallpaper with an owl motif; 3- engineering, where he tests models and has spare parts, and 4- dinner in the sky room, where he has the giant table.

According to Antonio Sodré, in his biography about Santos=Dumont “Santos Dumont, Um Heroi Brasileiro” the rumor that Santos=Dumont was homosexual, and had a feminine decoration, was the result of a commercial competition as explained by Paul Hoffman in his book Wings of Madness:


2 - Santos=Dumont's office, photo overlooking the shelf, detail for the large amount of paper on the table, including journalistic articles, flight photos, templates for cutting envelopes and models of nacelles for their airships, etc.

Santos=Dumont's office front photo - S=D evaluates a metal piece, details to be observed: wallpaper with an owl motif, the radica table, lamp and art nouveau frame


“The New York papers were engaged in a fierce competition for readers, and the New-York Mail and Express had sent a reporter to Santos-Dumont's Paris apartment so it could publish an exclusive story when he arrived in the States.”

Also according to Sodré, Santos was almost daily subject in the pages of a newspaper competitor, the New York Herald, for being a celebrity and also for being a friend of its owner, James Gordon Bennett, a millionaire who lived in Paris. 

Front view of the oval room (roundabout room N.1) - detail of the background with the great pyramid, 1890 photo by Lekegian studio, collection of clocks on the fireplace, replica of the statue of Jean-Antoine Injalbert (1845–1933), La Renommée - "the fame" and bust of Victor Hugo, work of Auguste Rodin.
 
Of course, the first hand news about the aviator sells more newspapers.

Therefore the editor of the New York Mail and Express decided tarnish the shine of Santos Dumont, the journalist said himself:

Planta baixa do apartamento de Santos=Dumont em París

"The tea service displayed on a corner of the room and there he often drink this female drink. Everything in the room is extremely tasteful and nothing indicates, nor for a moment, a masculine touch".

Santos=Dumont's third room would be the equivalent of engineering. Place where he designs the technical part of his aircraft, maintains ropes, cables and fuel, spare parts, as well as builds and tests his miniature models.


.
and the fourth environment is the dinner in the sky room, where there is the high table.

Sodré concludes that the tea set, as well as the good taste of Santos was sufficient for this prejudiced reporter to create a biased article.
Santos=Dumont exotic invention, the two meter high table and chairs

All other newspapers have treated our hero more respectfully as this beautiful article written by the British magazine "The Sketch" inset in the Illustrated London News to cover the aristocracy and high society of the time.

Anyway, as I am in the midst of a creative process, seeking to understand the life of the aviator, and create the illustrations for my book as well, I decided to put some references of my research on the apartment that Santos Dumont kept on Avenue Champs Elysées, 114 or rue Washington, 5 in Paris. 
 S=D Office
Apartment nowadays
papier peint 1
papier peint 2
Main door handle

About the property

Please find below a detailed plan of the building where Santos=Dumont lived. Located at Avenue des Champs-Élysées and Rue Washington in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.

This building consists of two apartments per floor (here we see the corner apartment, where S=D used to live) and has interesting architecture, including details such as the corner rotunda, the sculptures on the stairs and decorative stained glass.

Plan prontonil of the apartment of Rue Washington where Santos Duomnt lived

The building was built in 1893 by architect Albert Le Voivenel for Heudebert.

It has a monumental composition with five spans on the avenue and a corner rotunda that houses loggias, in addition to six spans on Rue Washington.

The main facade of the building is richly decorated and has a carved entrance. The ironwork on the door is also notable, contributing to the building's distinctive appearance.

Wonderful entrance hall and door of the Santos=Dumont apartment.

Throughout the 20th century, the building underwent some transformations. The ground floor has been converted into four open shops, each with two bay windows. One such store is the J.-M. Weston boutique, a shoemaker, which is still present today.

The building has a pentagonal atrium in the center, surrounded by three wings that rest on adjacent buildings.

Access to the courtyard is via a vehicle passageway that formerly allowed taxis to enter. This passageway is vaulted in a semicircular shape.

Detail of angels on the window facing Rue Washington.

The building has six floors above and four below ground level. The structure includes the creation and relocation of stairs and elevators on all floors, renovation of facades, replacement of exterior window frames and modification of bales on facades on the ground floor and 1st floor on the street and patio. In addition, there was the creation of a glass roof on the 5th floor.

The building is protected by the P.L.U. (Local Urbanization Plan) and is part of the Champs-Élysées District. Its architecture and features are considered remarkable and valuable, contributing to the architectural identity of the area.


Wallpaper, Owl Motif

In the 1950s, modifications were made to the apartments, including the demolition of old service stairs and the construction of new stairs on the Rue Washington side. The main staircase (main staircase) was also extended to reach the attic level.

Some parts of the building's decorations were removed to allow modification of the walls of the cage d'escalier (staircase cage).

In the 1990s, more transformations took place, including replacing more apartments with offices and renovating the floor of the cour principale (main courtyard) to create a disco dance floor.

Some future proposals were discussed, such as covering the cour (courtyard) with a large verrière métallique (metal skylight) and creating a trémie (opening) in the floors to offer different heights and spaces for customers.
The Apple company has expressed interest in using the building for its offices and a store.

View of the facade with roundabout.

The Commission du Vieux Paris (Commission for Old Paris) examined the restructuring project for the building constructed in 1893 by architect Albert Le Voisvenel.

Proposed changes, such as a new, more cohesive socle commercial (commercial base) for the building, were suggested by the Commission.

Sources and Bibliographies

- GRAHAL, Étude historique et documentaire, 2015.
- Pascal Payen-Appenzeller et Brice Payen, Champs-Élysées: Dictionnaire historique, architectural et culturel, Paris, Ledico éditions, 2013.