Who was Edward C Boyce The man who bought #9 La Baladeuse

Edward C Boyce known for having bought La Baladeuse Nº9 and Santos=Dumont Nº 8, was the first man to pilot an airship in America. He was also an accomplished architect, amusement park mogul and co-owner of Dreamland in Coney Island as well as the White City in Chicago.

It is important to say here that perhaps the Number 8 airship, purchased by Boyce, is the modified Number 6, just as the Number 6 came from modifications to the Number 5 after the August 8 accident. The criteria for numbering Dumont's dirigibles were never clear.

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Boyce was undoubtedly a multifaceted figure in the early 20th century, who devoted himself to the emerging aviation of the time, becoming one of the pioneering founders of the Aero Club of America.

That's where the intriguing part comes – we don't have his date of birth, death, little is known about his contributions to the Aeroclube, not even a good photo of him. 

Photo of Boyce's office 302 Broadway, NY - Modern Amusement Parks Catalog 1904

One of the most intriguing claims about him is that he was the first man to fly an airship in America, as reported in THE EVENING TIMES article of October 1, 1902.

Article in THE EVENING TIMES of October 1, 1902.

“The dispute was between the airship Santos=Dumont Nº 6 (some dumontologists believe that it could have been Nº 8), the great airship that was in Brighton Beach all summer, and the Pegasus, airship of the rival aviator, that was in a stable in Manhattan”.

It is curious that Stevens' exploits have received more prominence in the historical record, while Boyce has remained relegated to a secondary role.

As for Boyce's description, the article goes on to say that “...Edward C. Boyce, a wealthy young man, who was vice president of the Syndicate Construction Company, whose offices are at 74 Broadway. He has an income of $50,000 a year, and a passion for experiments, is a member of the Aeroclube, and his fight was in fulfillment of his declaration that Santos-Dumont No.6 should fly it he had to take her up himself.”.

Huh! Why couldn't Dumont fly his own airship in America? - ...let's continue...

“...It was an important race.

...

The flight was a surprise; Boyce began without any warning, Mr. Stevens saw his companion in the air and was unwilling to allow the honor of the first airship ride in America to go to his rival, so within twenty minutes, after Mr. Boyce was in the air, he took his out of the shed in Brighton Beach and shot it up onto the roofs of houses.” Ready Mr. Stevens was also venturing over Manhattan.

The article says that Mr. Boyce landed smoothly in a field, so easily he wouldn't have broken an egg, while Stevens fell into an electric light pole and tangled himself in the wires.

Boyce's flight was a jagged ellipse from Brighton Beach in the northeast to a field in Sheepshead Bay. He circled his starting point and actually went into the wind most of the way.

This same article has been published in newspapers around the world, yet it appears that Mr. Boyce decides to disappear from history for a while.

It is important to note that Pegasus itself, which was not a replica of the number 6, shared extremely similar characteristics with Dumont's airships.

Oh, and we also know that in this beautiful Dreamland shed, number 9 was on display before it went to the Smithsonian - Thankfully, it didn't burn in the great Coney Island fire of 1911.

But the question remains: why has Edward C. Boyce's story been so overlooked in the historical record?

Left, Clement nacelle and engine from La Baladeuse #9 at the Smithsonian, on loan from Edward C. Boyce - right, Leo Stevens' airship nacelle on display in the beautiful Dreamland pavilion..

I have a theory, which perhaps seems a bit conspiratorial – that it was because of his friendship with Santos=Dumont.

Yes, saying that Santos=Dumont's aircraft, Nº 6, (perhaps Nº 8) and Nº 9, bought by Boyce, ended up at the Smithsonian Institution, has a bad political connotation for the history told in America.

Anyway, to mention less conspiratorial reasons, here are other possible reasons:

Lack of Proper Documentation: In an age when historical documentation was not always as comprehensive or detailed, it is possible that records about Boyce were lost or not properly preserved;

Historical inequalities: Historical inequalities, such as gender, racial or social class prejudices, may have influenced the representation and protagonism of certain individuals in historical records;

La Baladeuse Nº 9 de Santos=Dumont, which was purchased by Edward C. Boyce displayed in a beautiful pavilion at Dreamland in Coney Island

Focus on other pioneers: In a competitive field like aviation and the amusement park industry, more prominent names may have received more attention, leaving figures like Boyce in obscurity.

In Search of Historical Truth.

Although the story of Edward C. Boyce remains shrouded in mystery, it is essential to continue the search for information about his life and accomplishments. Research into primary sources such as old newspapers, business documents and personal files can shed light on Boyce's legacy. Also, it's important to question the official story and pursue one.

If any readers know anything else and want to add, please comment - It will be a pleasure to know more about this great man.

The Mystery of Airships Number 6 and Number 8

Para saber se existiu ou não um dirigível número 8, a resposta pode ser encontrada nas evidências e em artigos de jornal.

De acordo com um artigo no The Sketch of London em 4 de junho de 1902, o dirigível N.6 que foi resgatado do acidente na baía de Monte Carlo, Mônaco, em 13 de fevereiro de 1902, foi danificado no Crystal Palace em Londres (provavelmente sabotado), e por lá ficou até 1919 (pelo menos a quilha e o invólucro). Renato Oliveira acredita que o cesto exposto no Le Bourget é o que foi resgatada do mar.

Por outro lado, de acordo com o The Evening Times, em outubro de 1902, o Sr. Boyce voou com ele.

Portanto, é provável que o Sr. Boyce tenha pilotado o N.8 e não o N.6, Santos=Dumont fez uma cópia do N.6 para levar para a América.

O próprio Leo Stevens tinha várias cópias de seu dirigível espalhadas pelo mundo; 2 na Inglaterra 1 nos Estados Unidos e outro na Itália idênticos de 1902 a 1905.

Renato Oliveira afirma que "cronologicamente não havia como o N.6 estar em Londres e Nova York ao mesmo tempo".

The article of The Sektch of London, June 4, 1902, with the picture of the huge shed specially built to house the airship Santos=Dumont N.6, near the Crystal Palace pole, in London

Well, let's wait, soon he will release a book on the subject.

Next, the article of 

The Sektch of London, June 4, 1902

----

The threatening eye with which, according to Shakspere, Fortune looks upon men when she means most good has been almost too much in evidence with M. Santos-Dumont. Air-ship after air-ship has belied its name by sinking unbidden to the earth; on more than one occasion the daring aeronaut has been in imminent peril of his life, and now the public lights which were to have begun this week have of necessity been ostponed indefinitely. Even M. Damont's customary nonchalance must have been sorely tried when, on his return from Paris, it was found that the silken casing of his balloon had been badly left in several places. The scene of the unfortunate accident outrage, as the case may be, was the huge shed specially constructed near the Crystal Palace polo-ground. It had been deemed visable to hold some preliminary experiments before the public trials, the inventor's two French assistants were busily adjusting the chanical portion of the vessel when its owner arrived. All was apparently well then, but while he was at luncheon it was discovered that the silk was torn and quite beyond repair. Detectives and police were, of course, at once summoned to take the matter in hand. The theory was that the damage was malicious, or, at least, mischievous;

-------

read the full article of THE EVENING TIMES, 1º de outubro de 1902:

THE EVENING TIMES, October, 1st  1902

RIVAL AIRSHIPS IN EXCITING RACE THROUGH THE CLOUDS

Santos-Dumont and Stevens Machines High in the Sky Above Sheepshead Bay Interest Racegoers.

American-Built Flyer Guided by Leo Stevens Victorious Over the Brazilian Vessel. Met With Mishaps.

NEW YORK, Oct. 1-America had its first race of airships yesterday.

The contest was between SantosDumont N. 6, the big airship which the Brazilian would not go up in and put go up is and which has been at Brighton Beach all summer, and Pegasus, the rival flyer, that has been stabled at Manhattan, and which has made one or two false starts.

Reception of Satnos=Dumont in the United States on April 19, 1902. Moments of joy alongside Emmanuel Aimé and Samuel Pierpont Langley

Yesterday both navigated the air.

The Santos-Dumont was operated by Edward C. Boyce, a wealthy young man, who la vice president of the Syndicate Construction Company, the offices of which are at No. 74 Broadway. He has an income of $50,000 year, and a passion for experiments, is a member of the Aero Club, and his fight was in fulfillment of his declaration that Santos-Dumont No.6 should fly it he had to take her up himself.

Pegasus was operated by Leo Stevens, an aeronaut, and a candidate for the $200,000 prize which is to be sailed for at the St. Louis Exposition. He has made many ascensions in hot-air balloons near New york.

Both machines flew high and long and well. The Stevens airship crossed the path of the other and went much higher, but as it was a test of divisibility there is some doubt whether the higher flight counts for our against man who made it.

Was an important Race.

From the ground it seemed that the low flight machine was able to turn more easily, and to be more under control than the other, but Mr. Stevens disputes this.

The flight was a surprise; Mr. Boyce started without any announcement, and Mr. Stevens started because the other fellow did and was not going to see the honor of the first voyage of airship voyage in America go to his rival, so within twenty minutes, after Mr. Boyce’s machine bulged from the shed at Brighton Beach and shot above the house tops, Mr. Stevens was also adventuring upward from Manhattan.

Santos=Dumont N.6 (or maybe N.8) airship in a shed of Brighton Beach, NY

Mr. Boyce came down gently in a field, so easily, he says, that he would not have cracked an eggs ball. Mr Stevens came down on a telegraph and electric light pole and got mixed up with the wires, but he was not hurt and his machine was not damaged to amount to anything.

Mr. Boyce’s flight was an irregularity wavy line from Brighton Beach northeast to a field in Sheepshead Bay. He circled his starting point, and really went against the wind most of the way.

Mr. Stevens course was a double ellipse, according to his own statement, ranging form Manhattan north and westto his landing place on the tlegraph pole at the corner of the Sheepshead Bay Road and First Street.

Nearly Broke Up Race.

Both passed almost over the race track, and they were in sight spectators, bookmakers, and jockeys, and even the horses themselves watched nothing else. It was so serious that the Jockeys had to be admonished in the fourth race to mind their start instead of the two big cigars that bung in the air above.

It was 3:45 when Mr. Boyce made his start. He had come down to the Aerodome, which is what they call the barn in which an airship is kept, to his automobile with his wife and two little children. His little boy bewalled the fact that be could not accompany his father, and Mr. Boyce gave the word to let go, calling back directions to his party to meet him in Grimes Fields at Sheepshead Bay.

Santos=Dumont reception in St Louis

The two ropes at the rear of the airships holding it, should have them pulled off when it ascended. But one of them was not pulled by the man that held it. It went up with the balloon and was caught in by the propeller. Those on earth who saw him try to disentangle it, and apparently, he succeeded, for his turn about over the shed was as smooth and steady as a trolley car coming around a curve. Then he sailed away toward the notth, every now and then describing a curve, first to the right, then to the left, and so on until be finally sank in the field for which he was aiming.

Another Airship Ahoy!

Meanwhile over the eastward the other machine had risen and came across the right angle to the course of the other, from the Stevens machine depended on a rope, which, he says, is 1,800 feet long, and which acts like the tail to a kite, steadying the flight. It has its disadvantages, for once it caught, some telegraph wires, and Stevens was prisoner until some lineman cut off a few feet of rope. Hi did his lofty circling, snooping in wide curves three quarters of mile in the air, while Mr. Boyce never got higher than 800 feet.

When Mr. Stevens began to descend his troubles began. He says a crank that controls the spark of his machine worked loose and began to fling out electric flashes so long that the aeronaut feared they would ignite the hydrogen, of which he had 22,000 feet in his gas bag. In reaching for this crank he knocked out a plug that controlled the machinery, and had to think of descending at once. 

His long, trailing rope caught in the electric wires in front of Lundy’s fish market, Sheepshead Bay Road and First Street, and later his anchor, which he cast out, caught in these same wires ad there was a display of electric fire.

Stevens pulled the valves and came down on the electric light react and the wires , and half of the population of that part of the world came out and shouted to him that he would be grilled alive on those wires. He skipped about on the frame of his machine, however, until some lineman got a ladder up to him. 

He freed his ropes, which were eagerly graped by as many of half a thousand volunteer assistants as could take hold, while he conducted the airship over the roofs to a large lot, where the descent was finally made in safety and comfort.

On his second trip to the United States after the Deutsh Prize, in the spring of 1904, Dumont booked a series of engagements and demonstrations, and returned to France on 28 May to make the various preparations until he was thwarted at St. Louis. Louis. On June 12, 1904, Santos=Dumont leaves for his third and last trip to the USA aboard the SAVOIE, upon arriving there he realizes that his airship N.7 had been destroyed (possibly sabotaged). In the photo next to mechanics Chapin and Dozon.

The race was a success from the standpoint of everybody but the trolley people, who are figuring what kind of an injunction will hold against these new birds of the air who mess up their wires with trail ropes and anchors.

Stevens’ anchor was pretty well burned by the electric wires.

Santos Dumont 150 years - Chronology of Inventions

 

At this very moment, the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Alberto Santos=Dumont is taking place at the Brasília Air Force Base (which can be followed live on YouTube).

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Whatch the video of this article

At the same time, Renato Oliveira, a brilliant biographer of Dumont who promises many new things about the aviator, and I investigated unpublished aspects of Dumont's life, such as his intention to travel to the Arctic and the first flights in the United States.

Hangar built for Santos=Dumont to store his airships on Long Island

There is still much to be said about the period after winning the Detutch prize, November 4, 1901, such as:

-His trip to Monaco from the end of 1901 to February 1902, and consequent trip to London;

-Their tour of New York on April 19, with the number 6, when Mr. Boyce becomes the first man to fly in America (minutes before Leo Stevens);

-His return to Paris in February 1903 to build the N.7 and N.9;

-Return to the USA in the spring of 1904, with the rebuilt N.6 (possibly the N.8) and with the N.9 to sell to Mr. Boyce.

-Returns to France on May 28, 1904, to make preparations for a busy schedule for his third return to the USA;

- And finally, June 12, 1904, when S=D departs for the USA on his 3rd trip, with several scheduled activities, including the demonstrations in St Louis (aboard the SAVOIE), when everything is frustrated to see his N. 7 damaged.

In these almost four years of research, a photo emerged that definitely made me write this article about the Dreams of Santos=Dumont.

This incredible photo, in which Santos=Dumont appears holding a scaled airship, is moving because it shows the tangible symbol of all the passion and hard work invested to conquer flight, until then impossible.

It's a picture of him holding a scale model of #6 in the Long Island hangar just before Mr. Boyce make the not-so-famous flight before Stevens (infamous indeed for Americans).

Dumont inspires the entrepreneurial spirit of every Brazilian, who sees in the great aviator a source of pride and inspiration.

That's why I decided to post today an article entitled 'Santos Dumont and his Methods for Transforming Dreams into Realities', which also has a video on Youtube (read it and watch it).

Santos Dumont and his Methods to Turn Dreams into Realities

Santos=Dumont was self-taught - He created his own methods to turn his dreams into reality. 

THE LIGHTER THA AIR

At the end of the 19th century, no one would know whether or not it would be possible for man to fly, just as today it is impossible to say whether we will reach the moons of Jupiter, or a planet outside our solar system.

Santos=Dumont intended to explore all possibilities of flight known at the time, as well as those only imagined by Jules Verne in his fiction.

Flights with captive balloons lacked maneuverability and steerability. Henry Giffard put a steam engine in his airship, and tried unsuccessfully to drive it through the air.

Balão Brasil of Santos=Dumont

Santos=Dumont’s father suffered an accident that left him a hemiplegic. Unable to take care of the farm, he decided to sell it for a pulp and paper company in Brazil. The sale took place in 1891, and the amount paid to its owner was a huge fortune, 12 thousand contos de reis. Still young S=D was emancipated and received part of his fortune.

Now he already had the technical and financial conditions to pursue his dreams.

Then he went to Paris, met the balloon builders Lachambre a Marchuron and began his flying adventures. He quickly mastered all the techniques he needed to drive a captive balloon through the air – his reports of these flights are fascinating, Santos Dumont saw wonders from up there.

It was then that he decided to order the smallest captive balloon ever made, with only 113 cubic meters of hydrogen it had the strength to lift only him from the ground.

The individual balloon, idealized by Dumont, had the purpose of enabling the next steps - to test the possibilities that would be validated or discarded, following a rigorous scientific process - and it had to be rigorous, because his life depended on how well designed his next project would be. 

He saw in the wicker basket the perfect safety equipment, the shock of the sudden landings of the balloons were perfectly absorbed by its flexible and resistant structure.

L'Amerique

The balloon  ‘Brasil’ was tested and approved, however it had a problem - during the captive flight, the balloon flew at the whim of the winds and Dumont needed a bicycle to return from wherever he had landed. It was then that in less than 8 days of his inaugural flight with Brazil, Dumont arrived with his second balloon, the L'Amerique, with a capacity of almost 5 times more hydrogen.

With L'Amerique Dumont won his first prize, he took first place in the Aeronauts Cup for staying 22 hours in the air. This would become the first of many other important awards.

Once the first stage of his cycle of inventions had been mastered, Dumont could now soar through the skies monobracing his balloon and design new equipment, but he was still very uncomfortable with the lack of steering power over the captive balloon, with that he gives a new direction for his inventions. He decided to put the engine of his De Dion bouton tricycle, coupled to a propeller, in the wicker basket. So he could steer the balloon in whatever direction he wanted.

In what he considers his first scientific experiment, with the help of mechanics, Dumont hung the tricycle from a tree and revved it up, trying to see if torque and vibration would cause problems during flight. He realized that this would not be a problem, but he decided to modify his engine, duplicating it from one to two pistons.

Taking advantage of its now 3.5 horsepower, Dumont dismantled his tricycle and added an engine and carburetor to a nacelle, made up of a wicker basket and a 40cm propeller.

Dumont realized that a spherical balloon has a lot of drag and that it would fly better if his airship had a cylindrical shape like Guiffard's model. Sparks from the tricycle could ignite the hydrogen in the envelope, so he decided to pull it away from the nacelle by means of very long ropes, added a rudder to turn to port and starboard, envelope pressure control, and counterweights to steer the airship up and down.

The hydrogen in the envelope equalized the weight of the airship with its nacelle and ropes, sandbags were used to weighting the bow and stern. To make the dirigible rise, he released the stern bag and collected the bow bag, creating an imbalance causing the nose of the envelope to tilt upwards. The force of the engine pushed the dirigible upwards. 

And to go down, he would do the opposite, he recolect the stern bag and release the bow bag, unbalancing the nose of the envelope downwards. Again, the power of the engine drove the airship to the ground.

It was the first time in human history that someone could control two other axes of flight:

1- Lateral axis controlling the pitch of the airship, allowing it to go up or down;

2- and the vertical axis, controlling the yaw to the right and left through the tail rudder;

The third axis of flight, the roll axis, will only appear on airplanes, we'll talk about them later.

Despite the numerous achievements with the number 1, there were a few more tweaks to the project that had to be made.

Even having a small ballon in the center of the envelope, which could be inflated at the sign of loss of tone, the elongated cylindrical shape of the number one meant that the center had little ability to remain intact, and when it did, it would bend in a V shape and fall directly to the ground. 

Another very characteristic adjustment that made it leave number 1 and go to number 2 was to remove the rudder from the cables and place it in the stern of the envelope.

But still the envelope continued to bend in the center. It was then that he decided to make airship number 3, in the shape of a rugby ball. With this airship he achieved perfect flight autonomy, but still with little power and poor maneuverability.

Another important change that Santos=Dumont made with the N-3 was the lengthening of the bamboo shaft to consolidate engine, seat, ballasts more efficiently. With number 3 SD made several flights over Paris.

Dumont's method was simple and elegantly scientific, the modifications often coming from his multidisciplinary experiences.

He gradually became a better pilot, engineer and designer – all at breakneck speed. 

It is from that moment on in his life that Dumont starts to conceive his inventions as extensions of his body, which would later make him known for being for a long time the only man to pilot the so-called “wearable aircrafts” with each innovation.  Replacing the ropes tied to the wicker basket with key handles, he sought to improve item by item in a continuous process of efficiency and practicality.

With number four Dumont tested several innovations, abandoned the wicker basket as a central element and started to adopt rigid nacelles, when he realized the benefits of the rigid bamboo of number 3.

He also increased the volume of the envelope, first to 420 and then to 520 m3 of hydrogen.

In addition, it replaced sand ballast with liquid ballast.

Another important replacement was that of the engine, changing from his picturesque De Dion Boutton modified, first to a 2cl Buchet with 7hp and then to another 4cl Buchet with 16hp.

Number 4 brought great advances to his airships, but he still noticed some defects that needed modifications.

The first of these was a nacelle-like structure that could be a much more efficient nacelle to carry the fuel tank, liquid ballast tank and much more.

He also understood that the bicycle saddle did not have the necessary safety conditions compared to the simple and highly efficient resource that is the wicker basket.

And finally, due to constant colds that he got due to the wind generated by the propeller, he decided to change the layout, which no longer pulled the airship but started to push it through the air.

Meanwhile, Santos=Dumont and Emmanuel Aimé build a balloon called Le Fatum, with the aim of carrying out aerostatic balance experiments. It was a balloon with a detachable cuff made of frou-frou fabric, with black and white paint, called Thermosphére. It was an elongated aircraft 7 meters high and 310 cubic meters.

The first flight took place on May 30, 1901.

And behold, champion airships arrives 

Its new nacelle is made of pine wood, attached to the Japanese silk envelope by means of piano strings. The seal of the involucre is a compound with latex, specially developed by the company La Chambre & Marchuron, so that Santos=Dumont has the best chances of winning the Deutsch prize – whose 11-kilometer route was to leave the Saint-Cloud Aerodrome, go around the Eiffel Tower and back in less than 30 minutes.

Santos=Dumont worked harder than anyone else to win the prize, he had no competitors to match, he successfully completed the long route on July 12, 1901, falling the next day in the chestnut trees of Baron de Roschild.

Santos=Dumont Dirigible N. 5 

Santos=Dumont Dirigible N. 5 in details

He continued his flights until he suffered a serious accident on August 8 at the Trocadero hotel.

Santos=Dumont Dirigible N. 6 in details

Domont quickly fixed the number 5 by creating the number 6.

As usual, he made important changes, moving the basket and engine closer to the bow and increasing the tail rudder.

Santos=Dumont Dirigible N. 6

He had his first flight on September 6, 1901 and ended up winning the Deutsche prize on October 19 of the same year, becoming the first man to sail through the air.

COMPETITION & TOURING AIRSHIPS

N.7 was built to participate in the Louis World's Fair, an international exhibition held in the state of Missouri, in the United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904.

The airship was dispatched on June 6th, and encountered a series of setbacks before reaching the US. First, an exorbitant customs fee was charged to retrieve the boat and then it was found that the package arrived damaged. There are indeed suspicions of sabotage related to these incidents.

MISSING MEMORIES

From the end of 1902 on, Santos=Dumont passages are not very clarified. Unfortunately, Santos=Dumont's life could have been better documented, were it not for the episode in Benérville, on the French coast near the Balneario de Deuaville, in which he himself burns his documents, photos and personal objects.

It was the 1st airship to fly in America, piloted by Mr. Boyce on October 1, 1902

So it is accepted that maybe the airship No. 8, acquired by Boyce, is the modified No. 6, just as the No. 6 came from modifications to No. 5 after the August 8 accident. The criteria for numbering Dumont's dirigibles were never clear (see more).

With that, perhaps Nº 8 or Nº 6 was the first airship to fly on American soil, piloted and purchased by Mr. Boyce on October 1, 1902.

For chronology purposes I also include the explanatory drawing of number 8.

The first version of “La Baladeuse“ with a capacity of 220m3 of gas

However, it was with balloon Nº9, called “La Baladeuse“, that Dumont began to realize several other dreams, flying like someone driving a chariot through the air of Paris (hence the name).

Since June 24, 1903, he had been flying at night with an enormous headlamp, made by his personal friend, the also famous Louis Blériot, stopping by her apartment for coffee, going to La Casacade to meet friends, even transporting people on his flights.

With the second version of “La Baladeuse“, now with a capacity of 261m3 of gas, it made night flights with a huge headlamp

The first woman to pilot an airship in history was Aida de Acosta, driving her number 9, on July 11, 1903.

Even taking great pleasure in fulfilling his dreams of personal flights, Dumont was a humanist, he understood that his inventions should not only serve his individual pleasures, flight was an achievement for humanity.

In this sense, in November 1903, he developed an Omnibus capable of carrying a few more pairs of wicker baskets in its nacelle to transport passengers.

There is no consensus whether number 11 was really this prototype, here recreated in George Cayley's design, of a 15-meter airplane that was supposed to fly with a 24 hp Levavasseur engine.

TRIP TO THE ARTICLE

The dream of living the adventures of Jules Verne never left his head. Inspired by Andrée's expedition to reach the North Pole in 1897, Dumont designs a balloon that combines hydrogen and hot air, with the aim of keeping gases at a good temperature and not falling like Salomon Andrée, on his third day of travel.

Another possible solution for not suffering from the pressure of gases in the cold could have been solved by replacing the upward force of the gas envelope with the propellers of a helicopter, supposedly associated with the number 12 by Henrique Lins de Barros and other biographers.

THE VARIOUS 14'ERS

Still with the intention of creating racing aircraft, simplifying and making their inventions more elegant, they were the watchword. Santos=Dumont presents his airship number 14 on the beach of Trouville - the smallest airship in the world.

Placing the propeller immediately in front of the basket and a short steering wheel, all in one set, it attracted attention due to the elongated shape of its 40-meter-long enclosure.

He made a few flights with it and soon modified the casing of his "racer", with which he made several flights from August 1905 onwards.

Then, I let Dumont explain his decisions regarding the airplane, in his own words:

  "The reader will ask me why I didn't build it sooner, at the same time as my airships. It's just that the inventor, like Linnaeus's nature, doesn't make leaps; it progresses smoothly, it evolves. I started by making myself good free balloon pilot and only later did I attack the problem of its drivability. I became a good aeronaut in handling my airships; for many years I studied the oil engine in depth and only when I verified that its state of perfection was enough to fly, I tackled the heavier-than-air problem.

The issue of the airplane had been on the agenda for some years now; I, however, never took part in the discussions, because I always believed that the inventor must work in silence; strange opinions never produce anything good".

On July 19, Dumont began connecting the plane to the N.14 airship, calling it "14-bis" (a name that would become famous).

HEAVIER THAN AIR

After mastering everything about flying with the N14 in conjunction with the 14-bis, Santos=Dumont had already learned to pilot himself.

He got rid of the casing (N.14) and began testing a structure built on land he owned in Neuilly, with the help of the famous donkey Cuigno to take the plane back to its highest point.

Now that S=D already knew how to fly an airplane, it was finally time for test flights.

His dreams come true on September 4, 1906, when he flew for the first time in his plane number 14-Bis named Oiseau de Proie. It was small flights of 7 to 8 meters in the Campo de Bagatelle, but perhaps the happiest day of his life, as he finally managed to take off, with enough force to stay in the air.

Upon realizing that he needed the bearing axle (as we saw there arthras), he put ailerons on the tip of each wing.

This encouraged him to continue until on the 23rd of October he claimed the Archdeacon's cup, flying 60 meters away from three meters high - Dumont didn't stop there...

On November 12, 1906, he also won the prize of the Aeroclube de France.

AFTER 14-bis

Once again, Santos=Dumont was not satisfied with the flight of the 14-bis, much still had to be done.

Still in the spirit of competitions and with the intention of participating in the Gordon Bennett Cup, as well as giving continuity to the experiments to get rid of ballast in ballooning, started with Le Fatum, Santos=Dumont created Les Deux Ameriques, a spherical balloon with two horizontal propellers that played the role of ballast.

It raced on September 30, 1906, starting from the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

Unfortunately, he didn't win the prize and decides to go back to flying with the N.15.

It was a wooden plywood airplane, it was 16 meters long and 2150 cubic m3, used a 6 horsepower Dion engine to drive two propellers.

Number 15, testing controls for the roll axis on March 21, 23 and 27, 1907.

Even before the fall of 14-bis on April 4, 1907 in Saint-Cyr, Dumont was already carrying out tests with Number 15, testing controls for the roll axis on March 21, 23 and 27, 1907.

From June 1907 to March 1908, Dumont tests the N.16, a hybrid aircraft, with wings and casing, as light as air. The idea is to test engine power and flight controls.

First with the 50 horsepower 8-cylinder Antoinette engine, and then

with two 2-cylinder Darracq engines of 20 horsepower each.

In September 1907 Dumont doubled the power to 100 horsepower, putting a 16-cylinder Antoniette engine in the new aircraft number 17. It was never tested.

Some sources suggest that the nickname "La Sauterelle" may have been a reference to the shape of the folding wings, while others claim that the name came from the high landing gear.

The N18 came from a bet, Mr. Charron wagered 10,000 francs against Mr. Bleriot that it would not be possible to travel 100 km/h over water with any device before April 1, 1908.

Although Dumont was unable to win the bet due to his high jumps, the test of the hydrodynamic effects of N. 18, with its hydrofoils, simulated in water the relationship of resistance and lift that the wing shapes should have in the atmosphere.

At that time, Dumont made changes to practically every flight, each aircraft that took off was unique, his innovations happened at a fast pace.

S=D N. 19 model with 20 hp Dutheil & Chalmers engine with propellers more similar to current ones, flew 200 m.

S=D N. 19 model with 20 hp Dutheil & Chalmers engine with propellers more similar to current ones, flew 200 m.

The Aeroplano de Numero 19 - Built in 1907, performed flights in St-Cyr and Issy-les-Moulineaux on the 16th, 17th and 21st of November 1907, it was powered by a 2-cylinder Dutheil & Chalmers engine of 19 hp.

This model with two propellers combined with a central tripod, was designed to try to gain power and flight time, with the aim of winning the 1km Archdeacon prize.

Tests also carried out with a 30 horse Darracq.

S=D N. 19-bis model with 50 hp Antoinette engine

Detalhes do Santos=Dumont N. 19-bis modelo com mtor Antoniette de 50 CV

Another version of the Numero 19 called the 19 Bis was tested, with an 8-cylinder Antonette engine that weighed 180 kg, it did not fly.

This last plane number 19 was the last stage before the N 20, it had its first flight on March 1, 1909 in St Cyr, in this first format, giant crowns made a great rotation of the propeller, during the test one of the propeller blades detached, it was launched a great distance, until it was planted in the sandy soil, of a neighboring property.

S=D N. 19-bis 2 model with 30 hp Darracq mtor with tripod and two conjugated propellers

Details of S=D N. 19-bis 2 model with 30 hp Darracq mtor with tripod and two conjugated propellers

Already with propellers remade in the molds of modern propellers, Number 20 called "La Demoiselle", broke the record for the distance needed for takeoff on September 16, 1909, on September 17 of that year it flew to the castle of Wideville, it was 5.55 meters long, and 5.50 meters wide, weighing 115 kg.

After testing with different models, it tested different engines, including Dutheil & Chalmers with 2 cylinders and 30hp, Darracq with 30hp and Clement Bayard with 40hp.

Improving with each flight, as he always has, after only 8 years since he hung his tricycle on the tree, Santos=Dumont learns to fly in a balloon, design and build airships, and also invents, builds and flies airplanes.

Santos=Dumont N. 20, Demoiselle - in this configuration it carries an extra fuel tank to increase flight autonomy.

As if that weren't enough, he makes the first airplane to be built in series, the Demoiselle, using open source culture, something that only in 100 years would be seen again.

That done, now finally, S=D dominates flying through the air with 'lighter' and 'heavier than air'.

Today, just 150 years later, the whole world is interconnected and reduced with more than 100,000 daily commercial flights on the planet.