Editing Alberto Santos-Dumont (section)

===Airships===

[[Airship]]s, powered aerostats, were first demonstrated and patented by the Brazilian priest [[Bartolomeu de Gusmão]] in 1709, and were flown by the [[Montgolfier Brothers]] in 1783,<ref name="Brandão2018"/>{{rp|p=3}} but until the late 19th century had yet to be mastered, having been attempted by [[Henri Giffard]],<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=360}}{{efn|A 1902 Argentinean article commented on the similarities between Giffard and Santos-Dumont.<ref name="CENDOC-2021" />{{rp|p=78}}}} [[Charles Renard]] and [[Arthur Constantin Krebs]] in a flight with an electric motor in a closed circuit{{efn|According to Henrique Lins de Barros, they were left to the mercy of the wind.<ref name=Exacta2006 />{{rp|p=229}} The engine of Renard's balloon in 1890 reached 55 revolutions per minute; Santos-Dumont's Deutsch Prize flight reached 200.<ref name="CENDOC-2021" />{{rp|p=13}} After Santos-Dumont won the Deutsch Prize, Renard's colleagues claimed that he had merely replicated Renard's secret work.<ref name="CENDOC-2021" />{{rp|p=14}}}} in a project abandoned by the French Army, and by the Brazilian {{ill|Júlio César Ribeiro de Sousa|pt|Júlio César Ribeiro de Sousa}}, without success.<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=310}}{{efn|From the 18th century it had been proposed to use sails, steam engines, human propulsion and electric motors, without success. [[David Schwarz (aviation inventor)|David Schwarz]] developed an airship with metal cladding and a combustion engine, but died without testing it.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=1}}}} Public demonstrations, such as those performed by Santos-Dumont, were important in the sceptical academic environment.{{sfnm|1a1=Barros|1y=2003|1p=310|2a1=Barros|2y=2003|2p=312}}

Due to the weight of electric motors, Santos-Dumont chose the internal combustion engine. In initial tests, he hoisted the tricycle he had used in the Paris-Amsterdam race up a tree to check for vibration, which did not occur.<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=311}} He modified the engine by putting the two cylinders on top of each other,<ref name=Exacta2006 />{{rp|p=228}} creating a lightweight 3.5 horsepower unit, which was the first internal combustion engine successfully used in aeronautics.<ref name=Barros2006a />{{rp|p=38}}{{efn|Henrique Lins de Barros, in an article from 2021, says that this engine was patented by the inventor.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=2}} The "Correio Paulistano" says that the engine was refused by the Paris Aeroclub because of the inventor's nationality.{{sfn|''Correio Paulistano'', 03 de janeiro de|1900|p=1|loc=Col. 4}}}} An article presented in {{harvnb|CENDOC|2021}}, claims that the aeronautical movement in France was sparked by Santos-Dumont's experiments<ref name="CENDOC-2021" />{{rp|p=24}} and Santos-Dumont said he believed his experiences led to the founding of the [[Aéro-Club de France]].<ref name=Dumont1918 />{{rp|p=21}}

A detail raised by Santos-Dumont refers to the definition of what would be heavier than air: in June 1902 he published an [[:s:en:The North American Review/Volume 174/Issue 547/Air-Ships and Flying-Machines|article]] in the ''[[North American Review]]'' arguing that his work on airships was about aviation, because hydrogen gas itself was not capable of taking off, and engine power was also needed.{{sfn|Visoni|Canalle|2009|p=2|loc=3. Mais leve ou mais pesado?}} He also wrote: "...the flying-machine will be achieved only by the way of evolution, by making the air-ship pass through a series of transformations analogous to the metamorphoses by which the chrysalis becomes the winged butterfly."{{sfn|Visoni|Canalle|2009|p=5|loc=10. Considerações finais}}<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25119252.pdf|title=Air-Ships and Flying-Machines |last=Santos Dumont|first=A.|volume=174|number=547|date=June 1902|page=725|jstor=25119252|jstor-access=free|journal=[[The North American Review]]|access-date=2022-02-23}}</ref>

;No. 1
[[File:Santos-Dumont No1.jpg|thumb|upright|Airship No. 1]]

[[File:N.2 accident (My Airships p137).png|thumb|upright|Airship No. 2]]

The first airship designed by Santos-Dumont, the No. 1, was 25 metres long with a volume of 186 cubic metres,<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=3}}{{efn|He used a simple numbering system in his inventions, but made several modifications without changing the numbering. For example, "...the N. 16 appears sometimes with an engine turning one propeller, sometimes with two engines mounted on a new structure, connected to two propellers."<ref name=BarrosBarros2006>{{Cite journal|last1=Barros|first1=Henrique Lins de|last2=Barros|first2=Mauro Lins de|url=http://www.sbfisica.org.br/fne/Vol7/Num2/v13a04.pdf|title=Mudanças no conceito de vôo na primeira década do século XX: O trabalho pioneiro de Santos-Dumont|journal=Física na Escola|volume=7|number=2|year=2006|pages=21–28|language=pt-br|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306155935/http://www.sbfisica.org.br/fne/Vol7/Num2/v13a04.pdf|archive-date=2007-03-06|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|p=25}}}} made its first takeoff attempt in February 1898,{{efn|{{harvnb|Barros|2003}} says that the first attempt took place in September 1893, but that due to bad positioning the airship was launched against the treetops.<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=311}}}} after being inflated in [[Henri Lachambre]]'s workshops in Vaugirard. Snowy conditions caused the airship to flex and crash. "At a height of five or six metres, over Longchamp, the apparatus suddenly bent and the crash began. Of my entire career, this is the most abominable memory I have in store."<ref name=NECSD /><ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=15}}

No. 1 was inflated again in the [[Bois de Boulogne|Aclimation Garden]] in Paris on 18 September 1898, but was damaged before it could fly, due to a misjudgement by the ground crew holding the ropes. Repaired two days later, the aircraft took off and flew. The air pump for the internal balloon, which kept the envelope rigid, did not work properly,<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=15}} and the airship, at a height of 400 metres, began to flex and descend rapidly.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=3}} In an interview, Santos-Dumont told how he escaped death:

{{Blockquote|The descent was at a speed of 4 to 5 m/sec. It would have been fatal if I hadn't had the presence of mind to tell the passersby, spontaneously suspended from the dangling cable like a real human cluster, to pull the cable in the opposite direction to the wind. Thanks to this manoeuvre, the speed of the fall decreased, thus avoiding the greater violence of the shock. I thus varied my amusement: I went up in a balloon and came down in a kite.<ref>Aimé, Emmanuel. ''L'Aérophile. '' Paris: Aéroclub de France, 9o ano, no 4, apr. 1901, p. 76.</ref>}}

;No. 2
In 1899, Santos-Dumont built a new aircraft, No. 2, with the same length and similar shape, but a larger diameter of 3.8 metres, increasing the volume to 200 cubic metres.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=387}} To address the unreliability of the air pump which had almost killed him, he added a small aluminium fan to maintain pressure and rigidity.{{sfnm|1a1=Hoffman|1y=2010|1p=87|2a1=Barros|2y=2021|2p=3}}

The first test was scheduled for 11 May 1899. At the time of the flight, rain made the balloon heavy. The demonstration consisted of simple manoeuvres with the aircraft attached by a rope, but ended in the adjacent trees. The airship had folded under the combined action of the contraction of the hydrogen and the force of the wind.<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=15}}{{sfnm|1a1=Barros|1y=2021|1p=4|2a1=Dumont|2y=1902|2p=454}}

;No. 3
In September 1899 Santos-Dumont started the construction of a new elongated airship, the No. 3,{{efn|{{harvnb|Mattos|2012}}, says that this airship used the design of [[Albert Tissandier|Albert]] and [[Gaston Tissandier]].<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=356}} The reuse of earlier concepts was something done by Santos-Dumont and other inventors in France.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=355}} The FlightGlobal (1909a) stated: "The [[Voisin brothers]] and their engineer and works manager M. Colliex make no secret of the fact that they have based their work on that of pioneers such as Lilienthal, Langley, and others, and in fact they say they never miss an opportunity of utilizing any information or data on which that can lay hands."<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=368}} The inventors shared some data but acted independently of each other.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=378}}}} inflated with [[coal gas|lighting gas]], 20 metres long and 7.5 metres in diameter, with a capacity of 500 cubic metres. The basket was the same one used in the two other aircraft.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=89}}

[[File:Start of N 3. (My Airships p145).png|thumb|left|upright|Airship No. 3]]

At 3:30 pm on 13 November Santos-Dumont took off in No. 3 from Vaugirard Aerostation Park and went around the Eiffel Tower for the first time.<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=15}} From the monument he went to the Parc des Princes then to the [[Bagatelle Gamefield]] in the Bois de Boulogne (near the [[Longchamp Racecourse|Hippodrome of Longchamp]]). He landed at the exact spot where No. 1 had crashed, this time under control.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|pp=90–92}}

{{Blockquote|From that day on, I no longer had the slightest doubt about the success of my invention.{{efn|The No. 3 was the first aircraft in aviation history to be successfully propelled by a combustion engine.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=362}}}} I recognized that I would, for life, be dedicated to aircraft construction. I needed to have my workshop, my aeronautical garage, my hydrogen-generating apparatus, and a plumbing system to connect my installation to the illuminating gas pipelines.<ref name=Dumont1986 />{{rp|p=113}}}}

Santos-Dumont had a large hangar built at the [[Saint-Cloud]] site, large enough to hold No. 3 when completely filled, as well as the equipment to make the hydrogen gas.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=92}} This hangar, completed on 15 June 1900, was 30 metres long, 7 metres wide, and 11 metres high.<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=15}}{{efn|It is considered to be the world's first hangar, as well as heralding the invention of sliding doors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.visitepetropolis.com/blog/detalhe/o-aniversario-e-invences-de-santos-dumont/|title=O Aniversário e invenções de Santos Dumont|language=pt-br|date=2017-07-19|access-date=2021-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://revistapesquisa.fapesp.br/santos-dumont-2/|title=Santos Dumont|date=2006|access-date=2021-09-13|language=pt-br}}</ref>}} It was no longer intended to house No. 3, which had been abandoned, but No. 4, completed on 1 August 1900.<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=15}} With No. 3 he broke the record of 23 hours in the air.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=93}} He tried to fly almost every day, demonstrating the reliability and usefulness of his aircraft.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=240}}

;No. 4
On 24 March 1900, the millionaire oil magnate [[Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe]] sent the President of the [[Aéro-Club de France]], which had been founded two years earlier, a letter in which he promised 100,000 francs to anyone who could invent an efficient flying machine:<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=15}}

{{blockquote|Desirous of contributing to the solution of the problem of air travel, I undertake to place at the disposal of the Air Club a sum of 100,000 francs, constituting a prize, under the title of the Air Club Prize, to the aeronaut who, leaving the park of Saint Cloud, Longchamps, or any other point situated at an equal distance from the Eiffel Tower, reaches this monument in half an hour, and, surrounding it, returns to the point of departure. (...) If one of the competitors is judged to have fulfilled the program, the prize will be awarded to him by the President of the Club himself, to whom I will immediately put the amount indicated above. If at the end of five years, beginning on April 15 of the current year, 1900, no one has won it, I consider my commitment null and void.<ref>''Aeronáutica'', ''Jornal do Commercio''. Rio de Janeiro: Propriedade de Rodrigues & Comp., n. 287, segunda-feira, 15 out. 1900, p. 2.</ref>{{efn|For the full text in Portuguese, read {{sfn|CENDOC|2021|p=24}}}}}}
[[File:Santos-Dumont_No._4_keel.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Keel from No. 4]]

The challenge became known as the Deutsch Prize. The regulations stipulated that an aircraft must be able to fly to the Eiffel Tower, round the monument, and return to the place of ascent in no more than thirty minutes, without stops, a total of 11 kilometres, under the eyes of a commission from the Aeroclub de France convened at least one day in advance. This required a minimum average speed of 22&nbsp;km/h.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=94}}

The award encouraged Alberto Santos-Dumont to try faster flights with No. 4.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=178}} The aircraft was 420 cubic metres in volume, 29 metres long, and 5.6 metres in diameter.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=388}}{{efn|For an in-depth look at the characteristics of the No. 4, read {{harvnb|CENDOC|2021|p=24}}}} Underneath was a 9.4-metre bamboo keel, in the middle of which were the saddle and pedals of an ordinary bicycle. Astride the saddle, the pilot had under his feet the starting pedals of a 7&nbsp;hp engine, which powered a front propeller with two 4-metre long silk blades. Next to the pilot were ropes with which he could control the carburettor and valve settings, the rudder, ballast, and displacement weights.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|pp=95–97}} Santos-Dumont made almost daily flights in No. 4 from Saint Cloud during August. On 19 September, before members of the International Congress of Aeronauts, he proved the effectiveness of an aerial propeller driven by an oil engine by flying repeatedly against the wind, even with a broken rudder, impressing the scientists present.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|pp=98–99}} The general impression was that he would win the Deutsch Prize, and upon going to Nice after falling ill, he began designing No. 5.<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=314}}

;No. 5 and No. 6
[[File:Explaining His Air Ship to the Hon. C.S. Rolls, Acervo do Museu Paulista da USP.webm|left|thumbtime=21|thumb|Alberto Santos-Dumont in 1901 showing [[Charles Rolls]], one of the pioneers of aviation, the [[Santos Dumont Explaining His Air Ship to the Hon. C.S. Rolls|plans for his airship]] (Collection from the USP [[Museu do Ipiranga|Paulista Museum]]. [[Santos Dumont Collection]]).]]

[[File:Santos-Dumont flight around the Eiffel Tower.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Santos-Dumont circling the Eiffel Tower with the airship No. 5, 13 July 1901]]

No. 5 was built to compete for the Henry Deutsch de la Meurthe award<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=314}}{{efn|Before No. 5 he flew in ''Le Fatum'', a balloon built by Santos-Dumont and Emmanuel Aimé to conduct experiments in aerostatic equilibrium{{sfn|''Le Matin'', 26 de junho de|1901|p=5|loc=Aérostation }} with Emmanuel Aimé's Thermosphére equipment. It was an elongated aircraft 7 metres high and 310 cubic metres.{{sfn|''La Fronde'', 28 de janeiro de|1901|p=1|loc=Au Grand Palais}}}} for a flight from the [[Aero-Club de France]] airfield in Saint-Cloud to the Eiffel Tower and back in 30 minutes. It used the extended envelope of No. 4, from which a triangular gondola{{efn|The triangular section keel, which provided greater rigidity for less weight and was used in other airships by other inventors, was his main innovation.<ref name=Dias2005>{{cite web |last=Dias |first=Adriano Batista |year=2005 |title=Inovação, Crédito e Descrédito: Santos Dumont e os primórdios da aviação |website=ResearchGate |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331321359 |pages=20–42 |language=pt-br}}</ref>{{rp|p=27}}}} made of pine was suspended. Other innovations included the use of piano wire to suspend the gondola, reducing drag, and the use of water ballast tanks. It was powered by a 12&nbsp;hp, 4-cylinder air-cooled engine driving a propeller,<ref name=Dumont1904 />{{rp|pp=148–149}}

On 13 April the Santos-Dumont Prize was created. It was similar to the Deutsch Prize, but had no time limit.<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=16}}{{efn|A prize of the same name was mentioned in the September 1906 issue of L'Aérophile, where Santos-Dumont offered 4,000 francs to the aeronaut who stayed in the air for 48 hours without stopping.<ref name=AerophileSeptember>{{Cite journal|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6551289j/f11.item.r=Dumont|title=Les Prix de La Coupe G.-B. – Un Superbe Challenge|date=September 1906|journal=L'Aérophile|publisher=Aéro-Club de France|pages=177–185|ref={{harvid|''Le A'érophile'', setembro de|1906}}|lang=fr|number=9}}</ref>{{rp|p=185}}}} On 13 July 1901,{{efn|{{harvnb|Barros|2021}} says that on this day he had an accident, falling "...over the tallest chestnut tree in Mr Edmond de Rothschild's park".<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=4}}}} After some experimental outings, [[wikisource:en:M. Santos-Dumont solves the problem of aerial navigation|Santos-Dumont competed]] with No. 5 in the Deutsch Award for the first time. It completed the required course, but exceeded the time limit for the race by ten minutes.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|pp=122–124}} At that time, he met [[Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil|Princess Imperial Isabel]], after an accident.<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=16}} On 29 July he aborted a flight when he cut his fingers on the guide-rope; around that time French aeronauts started a smear campaign against Santos-Dumont.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=131}}

On 8 May, trying for the prize again, he crashed his aircraft into the Hotel Trocadero;<ref name=Barros2006 />{{rp|p=11}} the balloon exploded and was completely destroyed, but he escaped unscathed<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|pp=134–138}} and publicly tested the engine to show its reliability.<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=315}}{{efn|After the accident Deutsch de la Meurthe considered changing the route of the award to avoid flights over the city, but was prevented by the opinion of other aeronauts.<ref name=Oliveira2022>{{Cite journal|url=https://academic.oup.com/past/article/254/1/235/6469080?login=false|title=Transforming a Brazilian Aeronaut into a French Hero: Celebrity, Spectacle, and Technological Cosmopolitanism in the Turn-of-the-Century Atlantic|first=Patrick Luiz Sullivan De|last=Oliveira|year=2022|journal=Past & Present|issue=254|pages=235–275|doi=10.1093/pastj/gtab011}}</ref>{{rp|p=250}}}} The accident was caused by one of the automatic valves having a weakened spring, which allowed the escape of gas.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=4}}

After offering his own 21 cubic metre balloon which was under construction – and being politely refused – Henri Deutsch said, "I'm afraid the experiments will not be conclusive. Mr Santos-Dumont's balloon will always be at the mercy of the wind, and is therefore not the kind of aircraft we dream of."<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=140}} Santos-Dumont crashed his No. 6 at the Longchamps racetrack on 19 September 1901.<ref name="CENDOC-2021" />{{rp|p=59}}

On 19 October 1901, with the 622-cubic-metre [[Santos-Dumont number 6|No. 6]] balloon powered by a 20&nbsp;hp engine,{{efn|For more about No. 6, see {{harvnb|CENDOC|2021|pp=56–57|loc=O Santos-Dumont VI explicado por um especialista}}}} he executed the test in 29 minutes and 30 seconds,<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=5}}{{efn|Dumont faced southeast winds that reached 21 km/h at the height of the Eiffel Tower. He reached the tower in 9 minutes travelling at a speed of 36 km/h, passing 10 metres above the top of the monument and 50 metres from the lightning rods, saying: "I have always feared, as the gravest of all dangers, going around the Eiffel tower". On going around he had to abandon the controls due to engine problems and returned with the engine failing and losing altitude.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=5}}}} but it took about a minute to land, which caused the committee to initially deny the award.{{efn|This addition to the regulations was only made later, when Santos-Dumont was preparing for his new attempt, which led him to take a stand against the decision and announce that he would donate his prize money.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=244}}}} This became a [[wikisource:M. Santos-Dumont rounds Eiffel Tower|matter of controversy]], as the public and Deutsch believed that the aviator had won. After some time and the aviator protesting this decision, it was reversed. He became internationally recognised as the world's greatest aviator and the inventor of the airship. The prize was then 100,000 francs plus interest,<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=5}} that Santos-Dumont distributed among his staff and the unemployed<ref name=ADH /><ref name=NYTET>{{cite journal|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/10/20/106920457.pdf |title=M. Santos Dumont Rounds Eiffel Tower |journal=[[The New York Times]] |date=1901-10-20}}</ref> and workers in Paris who for some reason had "pawned their tools of labor"{{sfnm|1a1=Barros|1y=2003|1p=315|2a1=Barros|2a2=Souza|2y=2011|2p=253}} with help from the [[Hôtel de Ville, Paris|City Hall of Paris]].{{sfnm|1a1=Barros|1y=2006|1p=11|2a1=Barros|2y=2006a|2p=38}}{{efn|75,000 francs were donated to the poor through the city hall and the rest was distributed among his staff.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=5}}}} A month before the event, by announcing this intention, he had obtained "unrestricted support from public opinion". The money was released on 4 November after a vote in which nine members of the Aeroclub opposed and fifteen supported.<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=316}} This delay served to put public opinion further in Santos-Dumont's favour.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=253}} The same afternoon, he sent a letter of resignation to the Aeroclub.{{sfnm|1a1=Barros|1y=2003|1p=317|2a1=Barros|2a2=Souza|2y=2011|2p=245}} Mauricio Pazini Brandão, in ''The Santos-Dumont legacy to aeronautics'', says that this event should be considered as the certification of the airship.<ref name="Brandão2018"/>{{rp|p=5}}

[[File:Santos-Dumont_dirigeable_1901.jpg|thumb|No. 6 airship]]

After winning the Deutsch Prize, Santos-Dumont received letters from several countries, congratulating him;<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=177}}{{efn|Following his success with No. 5, the European media were mistaken about his nationality.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=243}} See example (US) at {{harvnb|CENDOC|2021|p=56|loc=Dumont agora é o capitão do azul e grandioso ar}} A Spanish newspaper claimed he was a naturalised Frenchman.<ref name="CENDOC-2021" />{{rp|p=72}}}} magazines published lavish, richly illustrated editions to reproduce his image and perpetuate the achievement;<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=203}} an [[Alexander Graham Bell]] interview in the ''New York Herald'' explored the reasons for Santos-Dumont's success, envy of other inventors, and the experiments that preceded him;<ref name="CENDOC-2021" />{{rp|p=14}} tributes were paid in France, Brazil, England, where the English Aero Club offered a banquet,<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=42}} and several other countries. The president of Brazil, [[Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales|Campos Sales]] sent him prize money of 100 million réis{{efn|According to John M. Overstreet, this money would have been reinvested by Santos Dumont to recover the cost of producing the Nº6.<ref name=CENDOC2023>{{cite book|url=https://www.fab.mil.br/santosdumont150anos/img/Livros/E_o_Brasil_Falava_de_Santos_Dumont.pdf|title=E o Brasil falava de Santos-Dumont...|publisher=Centro de Documentação da Aeronáutica |year=2023|location=Rio de Janeiro|page=120|isbn=978-85-53019-53-3|ref={{harvid|''CENDOC'', Rio de Janeiro|2023}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724224324/https://www.fab.mil.br/santosdumont150anos/img/Livros/E_o_Brasil_Falava_de_Santos_Dumont.pdf|archive-date=2023-07-24 |url-status=live|language=pt-br|access-date=2023-08-06}}</ref>{{rp|p=27}}}} following the proposal of [[Augusto Severo]],<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=245}} as well as a gold medal with his effigy and an allusion to [[Luís Vaz de Camões|Camões]]: "Through skies never sailed before";<ref name=Dumont1904 />{{rp|p=202}}{{sfn|CENDOC|2021|p=15|loc=Santos–Dumont }} The Brazilian people were apathetic,<ref name="CENDOC-2021" />{{rp|p=12}} and in January 1902, [[Albert I, Prince of Monaco]] invited him to continue his experiments in the Principality. He offered him a new hangar on the beach at La Condamine, and everything else Albert thought necessary for his comfort and safety,<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=180}} which was accepted;<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=17}} his success also inspired the creation of several biographies and influenced fictional characters, such as [[Tom Swift]];<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=363}} That April, Santos-Dumont travelled to the United States, where he visited [[Thomas Edison]]'s laboratories in New York.<ref name="UOL - Educação">{{cite web |url=http://educacao.uol.com.br/biografias/alberto-santos-dumont.jhtm |title=Alberto Santos Dumont |access-date=2012-08-18|work=UOL – Educação|language=pt-br }}</ref> They discussed patents.{{efn|For Edison it would be impossible to patent the aeroplane due to the research and development already done; therefore, he did not work on it beyond a small engine powered by gunpowder.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=364}}}} The American asked Santos-Dumont to create the Aero Club of the US; when justifying not charging for demonstration flights in St Louis, Santos-Dumont said: "I am an amateur".{{efn|At another point in the trip, he showed himself willing to accept partnerships and sponsors.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=246}}}} After the meeting with Edison, Santos-Dumont told the American press that he did not intend to patent his aircraft.<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=43}} He was received at the [[White House]] in Washington, DC, by President [[Theodore Roosevelt]]<ref name="UOL - Educação"/><ref name=Oliveira2022 />{{rp|p=260}} and talked to U.S. Navy and Army officials about the possibility of using airships as a defence tool against submarines.<ref name=OCruzeiro19741002 />{{rp|p=56}} In July 1902, after the creation of the Aeroclub of the US, Santos-Dumont announced a series of flights in American territory. These did not take place, confusing the media and American public opinion.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|pp=247–248}} He left New York in late 1902, without having made any flights,<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=249}} and the American public did not consider his inventions to be practical.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=254}}

At the beginning of the 20th century, Santos-Dumont was the only person in the world capable of controlled flight.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=364}} After his time in the US, he learned of the [[Pax airship disaster|fatal accident]] of [[Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão|Augusto Severo]] and the suicide of his mother;<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=247}} he returned to England, where he had left No. 6 being prepared for an exhibition at [[the Crystal Palace]], as well as planning to fly into London.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=246}} The fabric of the airship was punctured, as confirmed by the balloonist [[Stanley Spencer (aeronaut)|Stanley Spencer]].<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=247}} The initial view was that the balloon had been cut with a knife, with Santos-Dumont stating that "...whole sections were cut and removed" and that he had previously experienced similar.{{sfn|CENDOC|2021|p=62|loc=Balão cortado em fitas}}

;Monaco
{{Main article|Santos-Dumont's experiments in Monaco}}
In Monaco,{{efn|For more about the flights in Monaco, see [[:s:en:McClure's Magazine/Volume 19/Number 3/The Over-Sea Experiments of Santos-Dumont|The Over-Sea Experiments of Santos-Dumont]].}} after accepting Prince Albert's invitation, Santos-Dumont guided the construction of a 55 metre long, 10 metre wide and 15 metre high hangar, with doors he designed which weighed 10 tons,<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=245}}{{efn|Despite their weight, they were opened by Princes Constantinesco and Marescotti Ruspoli, aged eight and ten.<ref name="CENDOC-2021" />{{rp|p=21}}}} on the Boulevard de La Condamine by the sea. On testing the guide wire over the sea, he found that it stabilised the aircraft in low-level flight.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=5}} Santos-Dumont also demonstrated that overall the aircraft behaved well over water, reaching up to 42&nbsp;km/h (26&nbsp;mph).<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=317}} Its success made clear the potential military use of the aircraft, especially for anti-submarine warfare, but its flights in the principality were interrupted by a crash in the Bay of Monaco on 14 February 1902.{{sfnm|1a1=Barros|1y=2003|1p=318|2a1=Barros|2y=2006a|2p=39}} The crash was due to the balloon being "imperfectly filled when leaving the garage."<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|pp=5–6}} After the accident he began to perform a check list before each take-off, but No. 6 was badly damaged.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=6}}{{efn|It was taken to England for an exhibition and possible flights.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|pp=246–247}}}}

;Nos. 7, 8, 9 and 10
[[File:No.10 (My Airships p293).png|thumb|Airship No. 10]]

Santos-Dumont started to dedicate himself to the construction of new airship models, two years after he left Paris,<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=250}} each one with a specific purpose: the No. 7, with 1,257 cubic metres<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=389}} and 45&nbsp;hp engine,<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=196}} designed to be a racing airship, was tested in Neuilly (France) in May 1904.{{efn|For more about No. 7, see {{harvnb|CENDOC|2021|p=76|loc=O "Santos-Dumont VII"}}}} The following month the aircraft was sabotaged in an exhibition organised in [[St. Louis]], United States,{{efn|Santos-Dumont represented France at the event.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=251}}}} when a person who was never identified made four 1-metre cuts in the balloon which, because it was folded, resulted in forty-eight cuts in the envelope,<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=264}} when it was in New York Customs.<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=29}}{{efn|Santos-Dumont had left the crate with the balloon open after applying a varnish. Carl Meyes, saying that the cuts were made by "a large cordless penknife with the sole perverse purpose of destroying the balloon", offered to fix it. The investigation report partially blamed Santos-Dumont, who would have been told to close the crate, as well as suggesting that an assistant or Santos-Dumont himself could have destroyed the balloon. He abandoned the competition and returned to France. The competition was won by Augustus Knabenshue, in the ''California Arrow'', identical to Santos-Dumont's No. 9.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=252}}}} On this trip, he also met the [[Wright brothers]].<ref name=Palhares>{{Cite web|url=https://marcospalhares.com.br/quem-inventou-o-aviao/|title=Quem inventou o avião? Guia Completo e comentado da Aviação.|author=Marcos Palhares|date=10 January 2018|access-date=2021-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131012418/https://marcospalhares.com.br/quem-inventou-o-aviao/|archive-date=2020-01-31|url-status=live|language=pt-br}}</ref> No. 8 was a copy of No. 6 ordered by Edward Boyce, vice president of the Aeroclub of America,<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=319}}{{efn|No. 8 served as the model for the first airship designed by an American.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=250}} An October 1902 article in L'Aérophile says that the airship was made for George Francis Kerr, secretary of the New York Aeroclub, and was flown by Edward Boyce.<ref name=Blanchet1902>{{Cite journal|url=https://archive.org/details/larophile10besa/page/266/mode/2up?q=Am%C3%A9rique|title=Un match de ballons automobiles em Amérique|first=Georges|last=Blanchet|journal=L'Aérophile|location=Paris|year=1902|number=10|pages=267–268|language=fr|publisher=Aéroclub de France}}</ref>{{rp|p=268}} Boyce also bought No. 9.<ref name=Blanchet1904>{{Cite journal|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6553581w/f97.item|title=Le retour et les préparatifs de Santos Dumont|first=Georges|last=Blanchet|journal=L'Aérophile|year=1904|location=París|publisher=Aéroclub de France|number=6|page=91|language=fr}}</ref>{{rp|p=91}}}} having made a single flight in New York;<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=6}} No. 9, with 261 cubic metres and 3&nbsp;hp, was a travel airship, in which Santos-Dumont made several flights throughout 1903,<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=17}}{{efn|A police report from 1903 indicated that Santos Dumont invested about 80,000 francs annually in his experiments.<ref name=Oliveira2022 />{{rp|p=248}}}} including the first night flight of an airship on 24 June, and the last of these came on 14 July,<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=304}} when it took part in a military parade<ref name=Dumont1986 />{{rp|p=225}} in commemoration of the 114th anniversary of the [[Storming of the Bastille]].<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=17}} As he passed the [[President of the Republic]], he fired 21 revolver shots into the air. The military considered the balloon to be a practical instrument for wartime.<ref name=Dumont1986 />{{rp|p=226}} Santos-Dumont placed himself and his flotilla of three aircraft at the disposal of the government in the event of war, provided it was not against the nations of the Americas and that, "in the impossible event of war between France and Brazil," he considered himself obliged to support his motherland.{{sfnm|1a1=Dumont|1y=1986|1p=227|2a1=Barros|2y=2003|2p=303}}<ref name=OCruzeiro19741002 />{{rp|pp=56–57}} The French military encouraged several industries to develop the technology proposed by Santos-Dumont.<ref name=Barros2011 />{{rp|p=251}}

[[Image:aida-1903.jpg|right|thumb|Aida de Acosta flying to a polo match in 1903]]
The first woman to fly an aircraft was [[Aida de Acosta]], on 29 June 1903, in No. 9.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/apjinternational/apj-s/2004/3trimes04/acostaeng.htm|title=Aida de Acosta—The First Woman to Fly a Powered Airship|access-date=2012-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228041446/http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/apjinternational/apj-s/2004/3trimes04/acostaeng.htm|archive-date=2018-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.anac.gov.br/certificacao/Diversos/Portug/SantosDumont-05.pdf|title=ANAC|language=pt-br}} – As Namoradas de Santos=Dumont. Página visitada em 7 de Junho de 2012.</ref> The 11 August 1905 issue of ''La Vie au Grand Air'' describes the organisation of the second Coupe des Femmes Aéronautes<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=35}} and in the second half of 1906, the magazine ''Le Sport Universel Illustré'' reported that three years after the start of the Grand Prix of the Aéro-Club de France, seven countries were already participating in the competition.<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=36}}

No. 10, a 2,010 cubic metre airship with a 60&nbsp;hp engine, was large enough to carry several people and serve as public transport. It made a few flights in October 1903, but was never completely finished; No. 11 was an unmanned monoplane.{{efn|Dumont reportedly abandoned the monoplane in favour of a biplane due to the Voisin brothers' persuasion.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=366}}}} No. 12 was a helicopter never completed due to the technological limitations of the time and finally, No. 13, a luxurious double hot air and hydrogen balloon.{{sfnm|1a1=Hoffman|1y=2010|1p=390|2a1=Brandão|2y=2018|2p=6}}

On his first return to Rio de Janeiro in 1903, a group of climbers put up a banner on [[Sugarloaf Mountain]], beside Guanabara Bay, greeting the aviator on his return by ship from Europe.<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=45}} On 7 September 1903, he returned as a hero and met the [[President of Brazil]], [[Rodrigues Alves]], at the [[Catete Palace]]. When asked why he did not fly in Brazil, Santos-Dumont justified himself that it was because he could not "...count on the help of his mechanics, and much less on a hydrogen production plant like he had in France." He returned to Paris on 12 October.{{sfnm|1a1=Studart|1y=2006|1pp=17–18|2a1=Barros|2a2=Souza|2y=2011|2p=251}}{{efn|On his visit to Brazil, read {{harvnb|''O Cruzeiro'', 9 de outubro de|1974|p=54}}}} In 1904 he was nominated as a Knight of the Legion of Honour of France, and published the work ''Dans L'Air'', whose translation into Portuguese, ''Os Meus Balões'' (My Balloons), was published in Brazil in 1938.<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=18}}