Speculations on the mechanics of airships of Santos=Dumont - Propeller Shaft and Rudder

In this photo we see the stern of No. 6

The researchers of Santos = Dumont knows well the episode of Bénerville (http://santosdumontlife.blogspot.com.br/2011/06/santosdumont-erases-part-of-his-history.html) in which Santos=Dumont set fire in all his projects, leaving us only with our assumptions, some texts and photos to fathom the workings of his inventions.

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The only way to reconstruct his mechanics are doing a composition of texts written by him, with a deep analysis of old photos and then to extrapolate the remainder from pure logic.

One of the adaptations that raises more questions is how the bottom part of the helm of dirigibles No. 6 and No. 9, appear to be connected directly to the propeller shaft. We see old photos and we get scared when realizing that the rudder cables seem to come straight from the spinning axis of the helices, which, of course would be impossible.

 

Here the stern has its parts was transferred to a software, so that we can study each function separately.

Once you have eliminated the impossible, like the character of Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes does, we set out to the unlikely however plausible alternatives. In the case of Santos=Dumont, the word 'unlikely' should be replaced to 'elegant solutions'.

That said, we reached the conclusion that the only way for the rudder cables not curl all around the propeller shaft would be that the dirigibles mentioned, would use something equivalent to a "tube-in-tube 'system. A tubular external shaft that supports the helix, would rotate freely around a internal and thin shaft, firmly connected to the nacelle.

 

In this photo we isolated even more the important parts, in order to know how the inner shaft, fixed to the nacelle, holds the rudder cables.

Once formulated this theory, I pick up a photo of the back of a dirigible, I designed structures over the photo and extrapolated the 'tube-in-tube' system. The result was astonishing.

In this diagram, we understand even better how the 'tube-in-tube' system works, the outer shaft has at its tip a large cogwheel that spins around the inner shaft, fixed to the nacelle, triggered by the small cogwheel, whose axis comes directly from the engine.

Luiz Pagano receives the medal 'Merit of Cabangu'

Luiz Pagano receives the medal 'Mérito de Cabangú (Merit of Cabangu) from the hands of Mr. Tomás Castelo Branco

This Friday I had the great honor to receive the medal "Merit of Cabangu" for my work to preserve, disseminate and improve the memory Santos=Dumont (my work could be seen on this blog).

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The ceremony took place on July 18, 2014, at the Farm Cabangu in a city called Santos Dumont, in the estate of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was the event tha would celebrate the 141st anniversary of Santos=Dumont birth by Cabangu House Foundation, by the patron Jorge Henrique Dumont Dodsworth, the Preparatory School of the Air Cadets and the Municipality of Santos Dumont - MG. At the ceremony it were handed medals "Merit of Cabangu" and "Merit Santos=Durnont".

Luiz Pagano and Jane Bieringuer in Cabangu – MG

The Medal "Merit of Cabangu" was established on April 2, 2005, for the commemoration on birth of Alberto Santos Dumont, on July 20th, 1873 in Cabangu Farm. Was created to distinguish people who have contributed to the preservation, promotion and enhancement of the "Museu Casa Natal de Santos=Dumont" (The Homeland museum of Santos=Dumont). The Medal "Santos Dumont Merit" was established by the Air Ministry Decree No. 39,905 of September 5, 1956 in honor of Alberto Santos=Dumont, in celebration of the 1st flight of the 14 Bis. Brazilian Air Force awards the distinction to citizens who have become entitled to receive the honors.

On the moment of my arrival I was kindly received by Mrs. Monica and Mr. Tomás Castelo Branco, coordinators of Cabangu House Foundation, and trustees of the namesake museum, amidst a band and military buglers, I was invited to take my place in grandstand.

The ceremony began exactly 10 o'clock in the morning with military honors and homage to the Patron of the Air Force, The Air Marshal Alberto Santos=Dumont, then they entered into a military formation, in order to begin the reading of the official agenda by the Commander of the Air Force, we sang the Aviators Anthem, and finally the ceremony of delivering of medals, made by Mr. Tomas Castelo Branco

Among medal recipients of this year, was the astronomer of the Astronomical Observatory of the city of Piracicaba (state of São Paulo), Travnik Nelson, author of the first photograph of the crater on the Moon named after Brazilian Santos=Dumont, taken in 2006, the year of celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the flight of the 14-Bis.

Other recipients of the medal in previous years were Dr. Henrique Lins de Barros, researcher and biographer of Santos=Dumont with several published works, João Luís Musa photographer who restored and published awesome new photos Aviator and also great biographer Mrs Laurete Godoy , author of seven books on aviation and on Greek mythology.

Luiz Pagano receives the medal 'Merit of Cabangu' - With high collar, Cartier Santos and hat S=D style

At the end of the medal delivering ceremony, I along with the other holders of medals, which had gone out of military formation to stand at the right side of Brazilian Flag, returned to our seats in the grandstand for the hearing, in my opinion, one of the most exciting moment of the day, when Tomás told us the story of Cabangu Museum.

Very few people knows that the idea of building the museum, as well as the decision to change the name of the city came on the very same day of the death of aviator (July 23rd, 2932). The name changed in a quickly decision, on July 31, 1932, by the state decree n ° 10.447, the city was no longer called Palmyra in order to become Santos Dumont, but, in other hand, the creation of the museum still follows a much more difficult path.

A few days after the death of aviator in 1932, some citizens of Palmyra decided to go check on his home and became very sad to see the dilapidated state of the house, inhabited by squatters, with belongings and documents scattered all over the place. They immediately expelled the invaders and proceeded to the guardianship of existing goods in house of Cabangu.

The statute of the museum was not written until February 9, 1949, but the harsh struggles to protect the house and farm of Santos=Dumont seemed to be an ungrateful task. Without any help from any government agency, the foundation has only had her first visit of the Air Ministry on 23 October 1952, which started to pay attention to the historical legacy.

In order to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the aviator, in 1973, it was created the National Commission for the Commemoration of the Air Force, then graduated from the House Museum of Santos=Dumont and even a road was built to connect the museum to the road BR 499.

Finally in 2006 the museum received the first help from Federal Government and a headquarters was built. The dream of Alberto Santos=Dumont, who made clear the intention to transform the farmhouse into a museum, began to take its first steps.

According to Mr. Tomás, there is still much to be done, and he (like me) hopes one day to see our country giving the due weight to our historical legacy of Santos=Dumont, and other important figures of our history.

Officials entered into military formation, in order to begin the reading of the official agenda by the Commander of the Air Force, we sang the Aviators Anthem and the event ended with the ceremony of delivering the medals, made by Mr. Tomas Castelo Branco

Below,  the Aviators Anthem Lyrics in Portuguese

Vamos filhos altivos dos ares

Nosso vôo ousado alçar

Sobre campos, cidades e mares

Vamos nuvens e céus enfrentar

D´astro rei desafiamos os cimos

Bandeirantes audazes do azul

Às estrelas de noite subimos

Para orar ao Cruzeiro do Sul

Contato, companheiros !

Ao vento sobranceiros

Lancemos o roncar

Da hélice a girar

Mas se explode o corisco no espaço

Ou a metralha na guerra rugir

Cavaleiros do século do aço

Não nos faz o perigo fugir

Não importa a tocaia da morte

Pois que a pátria dos céus o altar

Sempre erguemos de ânimo forte

O holocausto da vida a voar

Contato, companheiros !

Ao vento sobranceiros

Lancemos o roncar

Da hélice a girar

Santos=Dumont - Father of 'Post-scarcity Prospenomics Philosophy'

The idea of ​​Santos=Dumont to share knowledge, without any compromise with patent laws, focusing only the sole purpose of conquering the flight, certainly caused the anticipation of discovering of the aircraft to the beginning of the 20th century. But was also the great cause of the misinterpretation of Americans conferring to the Wright brothers' the status of inventors of the airplane.

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Santos=Dumont anticipated the 'wiki' philosophy for over 100 years, in which all the information about an invention, in a specific development process, are placed at the disposal of everybody, in order to multiply the chances of advancement - opening opportunities to a greater number of people involved in the issue, aiming the final creation of such invention (the term 'wiki' to designate this phenomenon appears today in the Wikipedia site and also in the book "Wikinomics" by Anthony D. Williams and Don Tapscott ) - know more about Santos=Dumont father of wiki philosophy

What is known today as "philosophy of post-scarcity" was also created by Santos=Dumont ( economic/political science which Luiz Pagano, the writer of this blog, has updated and modified to a doctrine and onomics that is starting to getting on called PROSPENOMICS - learn more) - but today the term 'post-scarcity' is still taken more like science fiction, than a science.

The process of invention/creation through the method of 'post-scarcity' implies in using full mental devotion, seeking to resolve the issues, concerning the stages of creation, taking into consideration that "we can find in nature any and all recourse in order to resolve any and all issue".

The 'post-scarcity' is the method in which the profound observation of nature, combined with the most perfect use of the creative mind, allows to test all possibilities to the exhaustion, in order to obtain the invention of something in its best form.

- scarcity ends at the time when realize the unlimited nature of resources that we consider, in ignorance, as scarce. -

As the name says, the method of 'post-scarcity' also implies in measuring well the use these resources to avoid waste and misuse.

See the following article in which Santos=Dumont presents the use of "aeroplanes " as part of the solution for the development of a dirigible designed to carry passengers, such as an air bus, and draw your own conclusions.

Dirigible Santos=Dumont n.10 - "The Bus" with its "aeroplanes"

Evening Journal Artist, Coffin, Interviews Inventor and Explains His Ideas - July 30, 1902

By G. A Coffin.

Nerve, intellectual and physical.

That is the impression you receive in talking with Santos-Dumont, the Brazilian aeronaut. He is a fatalist. Generally speaking, navigators of the air will avail themselves of every safeguard in their dangerous undertakings, but M. Santos trusts entirely to his airship, discarding the parachute and merely says, with expensive shrug, when the possibility of an accident during his flight is broached:

“Well then, it is all over.”

In discussing aerial navigation, M. Santos is rather cuscreative, He admits that the only way to carry passengers is an airship is by enormously increasing the size of the balloon and that of course makes it more unwieldy in unfavorable weather.

The limit of buoyancy or lifting power has been practically reached by using hydrogen gas for inflations.

Theoretically it might be possible to obtain a gas that would give an increased lifting power. The increased power would be small and the cost large. But the saving would be so doubtful and the results so small that it is useless to figure on it.

So like everyone else who has studied the subject. M. Santos will find that he must delve in other direction seeking assistance from some other source.

 

His Latest Experiment

He informed me that his balloon “dips” during flights. It rocks as though it were riding a swell of the ocean. In order to partially rectify this tendency the young aeronaut has planed two partitions in his balloon, which divide the gasbag into three compartments. The surfaces of the partitions are not varnished, are holed and porous, permitting the gas to percolate or pass slowly through, thus avoiding the evils of gas displacement.

To make his airship absolutely steady M. Santos is about to add a number of aeroplanes to the framework. They are simple frames of some light but strong material. Bamboo or aluminum, on which, light silk is stretched. The adjustment of these at the will of the operator will prove efficacious in giving greater control of the airship.

This departure by Santos-Dumont would seem to indicate no very radical change in construction but in reality it is a noteworthy alteration of his design.

The young Brazilian, to some, may seem a very narrow man, but to me his ability to see things one side only appears as the result of that supreme quality which every successful man possesses, namely, concentration.

Takes One Thing at a Time.

He looks at things from one point of view merely as a microscope searches for one small part of an object. He has devoted himself to the balloon part of his airship and has exhausted the subject and so turns to some other phase in the construction of vehicles of aerial navigation. He finds his attention centered in aeroplanes and for a time he will see nothing but these planes. He will learn all there is to be learned and put the practical use his knowledge and then divert it to some other phase and slowly but surely will arrive at practical results that the whole world will appreciate.

I think that when he fully realizes the lifting power of aeroplanes he will add great many of them to his future airship, and discovering that they undoubtedly add greatly to the lifting power he will eventually be able to construct a ship to carry a number of passengers without increasing the size o the present balloon.

Another thing that would greatly assist in his work of navigating the air is the possibility of liquefying hydrogen. If this can be done on a commercial basis, M. Santos will merely have to carry a few small receptacles containing liquid hydrogen, and be releasing a small quantity at a time can keep the balloon filled. There are, of course, difficulties in the way of even this, but they doubtless will be overcome, as have others before them.

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The 'family' inventions of Santos = Dumont - his own drawing, January 8, 1929

Logic of the inventive process of Santos=Dumont

  "The man is unable to fly" - that line that was constantly heard by Santos=Dumont, but it did not discourage him. He knew that the flight was plausible, all he had to do was to abstract the concept of impossibility. In his mind there was no shortage of resources, quite the contrary, S=D tested a huge range of real possibilities of flight.

These were the steps taken by Santos=Dumont for his inventions, note that as nature does, he did not jump from one invention to another. Every discovery was the result of a process of reasoning (by a privileged mind) applied to practical situations in a sequence of impeccable logic.

(See thechronological order inventions of Santos = Dumont) 

1 - He determined that the invention of the airplane, the flight of heavier than air, was possible, since the birds, insects and other animals’ flies;

2 - He began his inventive process from technology in hand, undirigible balloons and steam engines;

3 - He questioned the use of oil engine and step-by-step invented the dirigibility of balloons;

4 - His invention evolved following a logical order of inventions to improve his airship to the state of the art;

5 - He started experimenting with heavier than air, studied the fluctuation of heavier than air with the help of displacement and handling (n.11 and n.14), and in tests in the water (n. 18 );

6 - Created the flight of heavier than air (n. 14 Bis);

7 - Improved the flight of heavier than air aircraft in several other airships (no. 15 and n.20);

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.

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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

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!

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.

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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.

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.

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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.