Editing Alberto Santos-Dumont (section)

===Heavier-than-air flight===

[[File:First flights in aviation history.ogg|left|thumb|thumbtime=21|Footage of Santos-Dumont in the 21st second of a 1945 newsreel about the various human flight debuts, there are factual errors in the narration]]

In October 1904, three aviation prizes were founded in France: the {{ill|Archdeacon Prize|pt|Prêmio Archdeacon}}, the {{ill|French Aeroclub Prize|pt|Prêmio do Aeroclube da França}}, and the {{ill|Deutsch-Archdeacon Prize|pt|Prêmio Deutsch-Archdeacon}}. The first, promoted by millionaire [[Ernest Archdeacon]], would award 3,500 francs to anyone who flew 25 metres; the second, instituted by the French aeroclub, would award 1,500 francs ($300) to anyone who flew 100 metres; and the third, sponsored by Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe and Ernest Archdeacon, would award 1,500 francs to anyone who flew 1,000 metres.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=281}}

With the exception of the Deutsch-Archdeacon Award, which prohibited the competing aircraft from using a balloon for launch, the other awards left the question of takeoff open. The flight could take place on flat or uneven terrain, in calm weather or wind – the French Aeroclub's Award required the flight to be into the wind – and the use of an engine was not mandatory. This allowed human-powered gliders and ornithopters to compete. It was required for all prizes that the race took place in France and under the supervision of an aeronautical commission convened no later than the evening of the previous day.<ref>''Les concours d'aviation''. ''L'Aérophile.'' Paris: Aéroclub de France, 12o ano, no 10, out. 1904, pp. 224–225.</ref>

Very little of what was required was new. Inventors in other countries had already met or exceeded some of the required goals including 2-axis (pitch and roll) control of gliders.{{efn|Henrique Lins de Barros' article says that the FAI did not consider that the claims of earlier flights (Ader, Lilienthal, Whitehead and Wrights) satisfied its criteria and that until 1905 there had been "...no actual flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft...".<ref name=Barros2006a />{{rp|pp=39–40}} The United States did not come up with its definitions until December 1907.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=374}} For other definitions, see {{harvnb|Brandão|2018|p=2}}.<ref name="Brandão2018"/>{{rp|p=2}} {{harvnb|Barros|Barros|2006}} raises the question of the definition of flight: if by flight one considers only movement through the air, then the Wrights take precedence. If the criteria of public test and unassisted takeoff are considered, then precedence lies with Santos-Dumont. They consider that the Demoiselle represented the "first modern airplane".<ref name=BarrosBarros2006 />{{rp|p=27}}}} In Germany, [[Otto Lilienthal]] had made thousands of glider flights in the early 1890s, often reaching distances far greater than the 25 metres stipulated by the Archdeacon Prize. In the United States, German immigrant [[Gustave Whitehead]] had allegedly pioneered powered glide, though claims and eye witness accounts remain controversial. The Wright brothers had simultaneously been making progress in developing surface-control gliders, at first using Lilienthal's foil concepts, then relying on their own wind tunnel data, and finally adding yaw control via a rudder, leading to the first 3-axis surface-controlled aeroplane in 1903. However, because their 12 horsepower engine could only provide two-thirds of the thrust required for takeoff on a rail of practical size, their takeoffs were aided by headwinds near Kitty Hawk and a catapult in Ohio, and without any official observers.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V3awCQAAQBAJ&q=%5B%5Birm%C3%A3os+Wright%5D%5D+faziam+desde+1903+voos+cada+vez+mais+longos+em+planadores+motorizados%2C&pg=PA159 | title=trecho do livro '''Imortais''' de ''Cláudia Barbosa''... desde 1903 voos cada vez mais longos em planadores motorizados |language=pt-br| last1=Barbosa | first1=Cláudia | date=28 May 2015 }} Site Google Books – accessado em 29 de fevereiro de 2016</ref><ref name=Palhares/><ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=376}} Lilienthal's death due to a stall led the Wright brothers to place the elevator in front, which helped prevent stalls but made stable flight difficult until the Wrights modified the design; the 3-axis surface control (pitch, yaw and roll) pioneered by the Wrights was also adopted by other inventors including Santos-Dumont and remains the standard airplane control configuration.{{sfnm|1a1=Barros|1y=2003|1p=320|2a1=Mattos|2y=2012|2p=356}}{{efn|The canard configuration has been rediscovered in modern aircraft such as Gripen, Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Sukhoi-35 because it is now possible to maintain rapid stability control.<ref name=Exacta2006 />{{rp|p=231}}}}

====Glider and helicopter====
Having already accumulated technical knowledge, mainly concerning engines,<ref name="Brandão2018"/>{{rp|p=7}} in early 1905, Santos-Dumont built a model glider, No. 11, inspired by a self-stabilising prototype made 100 years earlier by English scientist [[George Cayley]], considered to be the first aeroplane in history: the model, 1.5 metres long by 1.2 metres wide, had fixed wings, a cruciform tail and a movable weight to adjust the centre of gravity. Santos-Dumont's glider differed from Cayley's in size, wing profile, and the fact that it had no movable weight.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aer.ita.br/~bmattos/sd/aeronaves/11.html|title=Aeroplano Número 11|language=pt-br|access-date=2017-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419025431/http://www.aer.ita.br/~bmattos/sd/aeronaves/11.html|archive-date=2014-04-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dmi.unipg.it/mamone/sci-dem/contri/danhoni.htm|title=History of Santos-Dumont's Inventions|work=[[University of Perugia]]|access-date=2019-12-08|archive-date=2021-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913003740/http://www.dmi.unipg.it/mamone/sci-dem/contri/danhoni.htm}}</ref> The project was abandoned due to poor stability.<ref name="Brandão2018"/>{{rp|p=7}} An article by Georges Blanchet published in April 1904 diverges from the description of the No. 11 as a model aeroplane by presenting it as a dirigible balloon capable of carrying five people and a 34-metre-long envelope, being purchased by an American.<ref name=Blanchet1904 />{{rp|p=91}}

[[File:Helicóptero de Alberto Santos Dumont.jpg|thumb|No. 12 (helicopter) under construction]]

The first experiment, conducted on 13 May at the Aeroclub de France, was made by the Dufaux brothers with a prototype helicopter. The model, weighing 17 kilograms and with a 3&nbsp;hp engine, repeatedly soared to the roof of the air club's porch, raising clouds of dust. It had been demonstrated that heavier, larger aircraft could be lifted by their own means.<ref>''Mais pesado que o ar'', ''Jornal do Commercio''. Rio de Janeiro: Propriedade de Rodrigues & Comp., no 161, domingo, 11 jun. 105, p. 3.</ref> The second experiment was made on 8 June on the Seine: [[Gabriel Voisin]] went up in the hydroplane Archdeacon, towed by a speedboat piloted by {{ill|Alphonse Tellier|fr|Alphonse Tellier (constructeur aéronautique)}}, La Rapière. The device barely rose out of the water and the project was abandoned due to poor stability.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=277}} Watching tests like this, Santos-Dumont realised that the Antoinette engine from the tugboat could be used in an aeroplane, giving the concept of the 14-bis.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=366}}{{efn|Gabriel Voisin's test indicated that an engine of at least 50 hp would be required for takeoff.<ref name=BarrosBarros2006 />{{rp|p=24}}}}

He began to study the two solutions for heavier-than-air flight. On 3 January 1906, he entered the Deutsch-Archdeacon Prize, and before that he had begun building a helicopter, the No. 12, but gave up on it on 1 June because it was impossible to create a light, powerful engine.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=277}} Between June 12 and August 25, 1905, he tested the No. 14 airship, which flew in two versions (14-a and 14-b): the first was 41 metres long, 3.4 in diameter and 186 cubic metres, with a 14&nbsp;hp engine, and the second was 20 metres long, 6 in diameter and with a 16&nbsp;hp engine.{{sfn|Visoni|Canalle|2009|p=3|loc=5. Do mais leve ao mais pesado}}

====Olympic diploma, 1905====
On 13 June 1905, represented by the Italian Count [[Eugenio Brunetta d'Usseaux]], Baron [[Pierre de Coubertin]] awarded Santos-Dumont the [[Olympic Diploma of Merit|Olympic Diploma]] No. 3<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/definitions/138|title=Olympic Diploma of Merit |access-date=2021-04-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325175719/https://www.olympedia.org/definitions/138|archive-date=2021-03-25|url-status=live}}</ref> for "...representing the Olympic ideal..." according to Coubertin, who was also received by [[Theodore Roosevelt]], [[Fridtjof Nansen]] and [[William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough|William-Hippolyte Grenfell]].<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=15}} De Coubertin considered aviation a sport; Santos-Dumont was described as a sportsman in FAI Bulletins and the ''Paris Sport'' of 15 July 1901 described the Brazilian as "a true sportsman in every sense of the word.<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=29}}" Santos-Dumont was already famous at that time and already a hero in his country.<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=21}} Santos' diploma was passed to the Brazilian ambassador in Belgium, who then passed it on to the aviator, according to the 21 June 1905 edition of the {{ill|Correio Paulistano|pt|Correio Paulistano}}.<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=20}} Santos-Dumont was not the only one represented by others at the ceremony<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=23}} and only William Grenfell received the diploma personally.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.surtoolimpico.com.br/2020/03/surto-historia-santos-dumont-e-o.html|title= Surto História – Santos Dumont e o diploma olímpico |author=Marcos Antônio|date=March 2020|access-date=2021-04-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101033232/https://www.surtoolimpico.com.br/2020/03/surto-historia-santos-dumont-e-o.html|archive-date=2020-11-01|url-status=live|language=pt-br}}</ref> The FAI was created on 14 October 1905, along the lines of the International Olympic Committee.<ref name=Barros2006a />{{rp|p=39}}

====14-bis====
{{Main article|Santos-Dumont 14-bis}}

[[File:Santos - Nov12 1906.jpg|left|thumb|Illustration of the 14-bis flight on 12 November 1906, which earned Santos-Dumont the French Aeroclub Award]]

[[File:AS-Dumont-plane-towed.jpg|left|thumb|14-bis pulled by a donkey during tests]]

In 1906 Santos-Dumont built a hybrid machine, the 14-bis or ''Oiseau de Proie'', consolidating his studies of what had been done in aviation until then,<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=7}}{{efn|Like the canard configuration, Hargrave cells and an appropriate engine.<ref name=Exacta2006 />{{rp|pp=226–227}} Jornal do Commercio even reported in early 1906 that the helicopter and the airplane were developed simultaneously, because Santos Dumont wanted to compare the efficiency of both systems<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://memoria.bn.br/docreader/DocReader.aspx?bib=364568_09&pagfis=10927|title=França|language=pt-br|page=1|journal=Jornal do Commercio|edition=14|date=1906-01-11|location=Rio de Janeiro|quote=Annuncia Santos Dumont que simultaneamente com seu helicoptero, está construindo um aeroplano afim de verificar qual dos dous systemas é o melhor.|access-date=2022-08-08}}</ref> and the same newspaper even announced that Santos Dumont had entered the new prize with the "Santos-Helicopter," aiming to experiment with both aircraft.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://memoria.bn.br/docreader/DocReader.aspx?bib=364568_09&pagfis=11161|title=O Brasil e os Brasileiros na Europa|journal=[[Jornal do Commercio]]|page=1|date=1906-02-09|access-date=2022-08-08|edition=40|language=pt-br}}</ref>}} without having had experience with gliders.<ref name=Dias2006 />{{rp|p=70}} By mid-year, within two months of starting,<ref name=Barros2006 />{{rp|p=13}} he completed an aeroplane attached to a hydrogen balloon to assist takeoff.{{efn|{{harvnb|Mattos|2012}}, says that with this Santos-Dumont invented the [[flight test]].<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=366}} The image of the 14-bis attached to the balloon is used as a symbol for experimental flight activities by the Brazilian Air Force, who consider Santos-Dumont to be a [[test pilot]].<ref name="Brandão2018"/>{{rp|p=7}}}} On 18 July, after completing the 14-bis,<ref name=Barros2006a />{{rp|p=41}} Santos-Dumont signed up for a competition{{sfnm|1a1=Barros|1y=2006|1p=16|2a1=Barros|2y=2021|2p=8}} and presented the aircraft for the first time the next day.<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=18}}{{efn|{{harvnb|Barros|2021}} says that the first experiments of the 14-bis attached to the balloon took place on 23 July.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=8}} {{harvnb|Barros|Barros|2006}} give the period 18–23 June 1906.<ref name=BarrosBarros2006 />{{rp|p=25}}}} at Bagatelle, achieving some short hops.<ref name="Brasil Escola"/>{{efn|About his project, Santos-Dumont reported: "I slept for three years and in the month of July 1906 I presented myself on the Bagatelle field with my first apparatus... The question of the airplane had been on the agenda for some years, but I never took part in the discussions, because I have always believed that the inventor must work in silence; extraneous opinions never produce anything good".<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=7}} At first he put in a 25 hp engine, but soon switched to a 50 hp Levavaseur and also changed the landing gear from three wheels to two.<ref name=BarrosBarros2006 />{{rp|p=25}}}} Excited, he decided to apply for the Archdeacon and Aeroclub of France awards the following day, his 33rd birthday, but was discouraged by Captain [[Ferdinand Ferber]], another aviation enthusiast. Ferber had attended the demonstrations and did not like the solution presented by Santos-Dumont; he considered the hybrid an impure machine. "Aviation must be solved by aviation!" he declared.<ref>''Chez Santos Dumont'', ''Les sports'', sexta-feira, 20 jul. 1906</ref>{{sfn|Visoni|Canalle|2009|pp=3–4|loc=6. O "14-bis"}}

====''Oiseau de Proie I''====
Santos-Dumont decided not to compete for the prizes with the hybrid, but on 20 July signed up for the tests and over the next three days continued to test the plane tethered to the balloon, to practise steering. Throughout the tests he realised that, although the balloon helped take-off, it made flight difficult as the drag generated was too great.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|pp=279–280}} The airship was discarded, and the biplane received the name ''Oiseau de Proie'' ("Bird of Prey") from the press.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|pp=279–280}} The ''Oiseau de Proie'' had been inspired by the hydroplane tested by Voisin. Like the water glider, the invention also consisted of a cellular biplane based on the structure created in 1893 by Australian researcher [[Lawrence Hargrave]], which offered good support and rigidity.{{sfnm|1a1=Hoffman|1y=2010|1p=275|2a1=Barros|2y=2021|2p=8}} The plane was 4 metres high, 10 metres long, and had a span of 12 metres,<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=391}} with a wing area of 50 square metres. Its mass was 205 kilograms. The wings were attached to a beam, in front of which lay the rudder, consisting of a cell identical to those of the wings. At the rear end was the propeller, powered by a 24&nbsp;hp Levavasseur engine. The landing gear had two wheels, and the pilot stood upright.<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|pp=279–280}} The 23 September 1906 issue of ''Le Sport Universel Illustré'' published the technical details of the 14-bis.<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=36}}<ref name=Visoni2015>{{Cite journal|last=Visoni|first=Rodrigo Moura|date=2015|title=Santos Dumont no Guia politicamente incorreto da História do Brasil|language=pt-br|url=https://www.sbhc.org.br/arquivo/download?ID_ARQUIVO=2032|journal=Revista Brasileira de História da Ciência|volume=8|number=2|pages=44–56|doi=10.53727/rbhc.v8i2.197|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425201441/https://www.sbhc.org.br/arquivo/download?ID_ARQUIVO=2032|archive-date=2021-04-25|url-status=live|trans-title=Santos Dumont in the book The politically incorrect Guide to Brazilian History|doi-access=free}}</ref>{{rp|p=51}}

On 29 July, using a donkey and a system of cables, Santos-Dumont hoisted the ''Oiseau de Proie'' to the top of a tower<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|pp=279–280}} 13 metres high (2 metres were stuck in the ground), installed a few days earlier on his property in Neuilly. This frame was very similar to the one Ferber had used at Chalais-Meudon for the May 1905 experiments with the 6-bis. The plane, suspended on a movable hook connected to an inclined steel wire, glided without a propeller 60 metres from the top of the tower to a smaller one, only six metres long, on the Boulevard de la Seine. This allowed Santos-Dumont to get a feel for the aeroplane and to study its centre of gravity.<ref>DeGoul, Marius. ''L'aeroplane Santos Dumont'', ''L'Aérophile''. Paris: Aéroclub de France, 14o ano, no 7, jul. 1906, pp. 167–169.</ref><ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=8}} In August the 14-bis was unsuccessful in trying to take off because the 24-hp engine was not powerful enough. On 13 September, the 14-bis made a 7 to 13-metre test flight with a 50&nbsp;hp Antoinette engine,<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=18}}<ref name=Dias2005 />{{rp|p=29}} at 8:40 a.m,<ref name=Barros2006a />{{rp|p=41}} which ended in an accident that damaged the propeller and landing gear,<ref name=Dias2006 />{{rp|p=74}} but that was praised by [[La Nature]] magazine.<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=322}} On 30 September he interrupted the tests of the 14-bis to compete in the [[Gordon Bennett Cup (ballooning)|Gordon Bennett Cup]] with the ''Deux Amériques'' balloon. He abandoned it after an accident, having flown 134 kilometres in 6 hours and 20 minutes.<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=323}} The accident occurred while attempting a manoeuvre that caused the engine gear to fracture his arm.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://santos-dumont.net/acidente.htm|title=Acidente |type=Newspaper clipping |website=Santos-Dumont |language=pt-br|access-date=2021-09-05|archive-date=2007-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110071533/http://santos-dumont.net/acidente.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sd8DAAAAMBAJ&dq=Santos+Dumont&pg=PA1104|title=International Balloon Race |magazine=Popular Mechanics|volume=8|number=11 |page=1104 |date=November 1906|publisher=Hearst Magazines |quote=Santos Dumont was one of these, being obliged to descend for surgical treatment of his arm, which was badly torn.|access-date=2022-08-01}}</ref>

====''Oiseau de Proie II''====
[[File:Le Petit Journal Santos Dumont 25 Novembre 1906.jpg|thumb|upright|The flight of the Oiseau de Proie III shown on the cover of ''[[Le Petit Journal (newspaper)|Le Petit Journal]]'', 25 November]]

On 23 October, Santos-Dumont presented himself at Bagatelle with the ''Oiseau de Proie II'', a modification of the original model. The plane had been varnished to reduce the porosity of the fabric and increase lift. The rear wheel had been removed. In the morning he limited himself to manoeuvring the aircraft across the field, until the propeller shaft broke. It was repaired in the afternoon, and the plane was moved into position for an official attempt. An expectant crowd was present. At 4:45 pm, Santos-Dumont started the engine.{{sfnm|1a1=Hoffman|1y=2010|1p=283|2a1=Barros|2y=2006a|2p=41}} The plane lifted off and flew for 60 metres,<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=18}} without taking advantage of headwinds, ramps, catapults, slopes, or other devices. The flight had taken place solely by the aircraft's own means, and Europeans at the time believed it was the first such achievement.<ref name=AerophileOctober>{{Cite journal|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65512906/f26.item.r=Dumont|title=La Deuxième Envolée de Santos-Dumont|date=October 1906|journal=L'Aérophile|language=fr|publisher=Aéro-Club de France|pages=245–247|author=Capitain Ferber|ref={{harvid|''Le A'érophile'', outubro de|1906}}|number=10}}</ref>{{rp|p=245}}

The crowd celebrated, ran up to the pilot and carried him off in triumph. The judges had been overcome with emotion and forgot to time and track the flight, and due to this the record was not made official.<ref name="ADH">{{cite web|url=https://super.abril.com.br/historia/santos-dumont-as-asas-do-homem/|title=Santos Dumont: As Asas do Homem|access-date=2019-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221259/https://super.abril.com.br/historia/santos-dumont-as-asas-do-homem/|archive-date=2017-12-15|url-status=live|language=pt-br}}</ref><ref name=OCruzeiro19741016>{{Cite magazine|url=http://memoria.bn.br/docreader/DocReader.aspx?bib=003581&pagfis=194075|title=Vida e Morte de Santos Dumont (final)|lang=pt-br|last=Morel|first=Edmar|magazine=O Cruzeiro|date=1974-10-16|issue=42|volume=46|pages=53–57|ref={{harvid|''O Cruzeiro'', 16 de outubro de|1974}}}}</ref>{{rp|p=53}} {{harvnb|Brandão|2018}} says that because the Aeroclub Committee was partially present, a new test was scheduled for 12 November.<ref name="Brandão2018"/>{{rp|p=8}}

{{Blockquote|I struggled at first with the greatest difficulties to achieve complete obedience of the airplane. It was like shooting an arrow with the tail forward. On my first flight, after sixty meters, I lost direction and crashed... I didn't stay in the air any longer, not because of the machine's fault, but exclusively my own.|Santos-Dumont.<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|pp=18–19}}}}

====''Oiseau de Proie III''====

[[File:Voo do 14 bis.jpg|thumb|left|12 November 1906 flight]]

The aeroplane was still experimental. To compete for the French Aeroclub's prize, Santos-Dumont inserted two octagonal surfaces (rudimentary [[aileron]]s) between the wings for better steering control and created the ''Oiseau de Proie III''.{{sfnm|1a1=Hoffman|1y=2010|1p=290|2a1=Brandão|2y=2018|2p=8}} Santos-Dumont was a pioneer in implementing ailerons in his aircraft.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=367}}{{efn|In 1906 the Wright brothers were granted a patent for wing-warping, which provided control equivalent to ailerons, and they subsequently sued [[Glenn Curtiss]] and European aviators for patent infringement.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=375}} In France, Henri Farman claimed to have created this technology.<ref name="Brandão2018"/>{{rp|p=8}}}}
[[File:14-bis de Alberto Santos Dumont.jpg|thumb|left|The 14-bis in its final form in late November 1906, with octagonal interplane ailerons at the far ends of the wings.]]
[[File:Acidente14bis.jpg|thumb|left|14-bis after its crash, 1907]]

Santos-Dumont competed for the award on 12 November 1906,<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=284}} again in Bagatelle. He did five{{efn|Or four.<ref name=Barros2006 />{{rp|p=14}} Or six.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=368}}}} public flights that day: one at 10 am, of 40 metres; two others at 10:25 am, of 40 and 60 metres, when the axle of the right wheel broke. The damage was repaired during lunch and Santos-Dumont resumed at 4:09 pm. He covered 82.60 metres, surpassing the feat of 23 October and reaching 41.3&nbsp;km/h.<ref name=Barros2006 />{{rp|p=14}} At 4:45 pm, with the day ending, he took off against the wind and flew 220 metres, for 21 seconds at an average speed of 37.4&nbsp;km/h,<ref name=Barros2006 />{{rp|p=14}} winning the French Aeroclub Award.{{efn|The prize of 1,600 francs was donated to his mechanics.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=9}}}} These were the first aeroplane flights recorded by a film company, Pathé.<ref>Cléry, A. ''Nouveau triomphe de Santos Dumont'', ''L'Aérophile''. Paris: Aéroclub de France, 14 ano, n. 12, dez. 1906, p. 292.</ref> The Wright brothers, after learning of 
the 12 November experiment, sent a letter to Captain [[Ferdinand Ferber]] asking for "exact news of the Bagatelle experiments," including "a faithful report of the trials and a description of the flying machine, accompanied by a schematic."<ref name=Visoni2015 />{{rp|pp=52–53}}{{efn|Ferber had been communicating with the Wrights since 1901, made an unsuccessful motorised copy of one of their gliders two years later, and published the letters he received from them in December 1905 as a way to get the French Army to buy their equipment, but most of France's aeronautical community did not believe that the Americans had succeeded in creating the aeroplane.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=373}}}} Santos-Dumont even adopted the configuration proposed by the Wright brothers and placed the rudder at the front of the 14-bis, which he described as "the same as trying to shoot an arrow forward with the tail...". To test the idea that the rudder at the rear increased the angle of incidence of the wings, Santos-Dumont built a new aircraft, without abandoning the 14-bis,<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=324}} and tested it in March 1907, without taking off<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=325}} as the primitive landing gear did not allow it.<ref name=Barros2006a />{{rp|p=43}}

====''Oiseau de Proie IV''====
He returned to the 14-bis having made other changes to the aircraft after 12 November, and on 4 April 1907, at Saint-Cyr, the aircraft flew for 50 metres, oscillated, crashed, and was torn to pieces. The project was abandoned.{{sfnm|1a1=Barros|1y=2006a|1p=17|2a1=Barros|2y=2003|2p=325|3a1=Barros|3y=2006|3p=42|4a1=Barros|4a2=Barros|4y=2006|4p=25|5a1=Visoni|5y=2015|5p=51}}

====New aeroplanes====
[[File:"L'hydroplane Santos-Dumont." (Santos-Dumont hydroplane from the Department of Transportation at the 1904 World's Fair).jpg|thumb|Santos-Dumont No. 18]]
[[File:Santos_Dumont_Demoiselle.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Santos-Dumont Demoiselle|Demoiselle]]'' in flight]]
[[File:Photo Alberto Santos Dumont 1910 - Touring Club Italiano 11.3393.jpg|thumb|Santos-Dumont in 1910]]

He also made the No. 15, a biplane with a rear-mounted rudder, as opposed to the canard format,<ref name=Exacta2006 />{{rp|p=227}} the No. 16, a mix of airship and aeroplane,{{efn|No. 16 was designed with passenger transport in mind, something that became a reality through [[DELAG]].<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=363}}}} No. 17 and No. 18, a waterslide<ref name=Hoffman />{{rp|p=391}}{{efn|No. 15 and 16 were unsuccessful and No. 17 would not have been tested.<ref name=Barros2006a />{{rp|p=43}} {{harvnb|Barros|2021}} explicitly says that these inventions were abandoned before testing them.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=9}} {{harvnb|Barros|Barros|2006}} says that No. 17 was destroyed while trying to take off.<ref name=BarrosBarros2006 />{{rp|p=26}}}} used to test the wing shape underwater.<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=326}}

Dissatisfied with numbers 15 to 18, he made a new series, smaller in size and more refined, like the [[Santos-Dumont Demoiselle|Demoiselle]], that was capable of reaching up to 90 kilometres per hour.<ref name=NECSD /><ref name="Brandão2018"/>{{rp|p=9}}{{efn|{{harvnb|Barros|Barros|2006}} declares the Demoiselle to be the first practical aeroplane in the world which used Cayley's configuration: "...a monoplane with a cruciform tail at the end of a long tubular fuselage."<ref name=BarrosBarros2006 />{{rp|pp=26–27}} and that the No. 19 should be considered as "the first modern airplane".<ref name=BarrosBarros2006 />{{rp|p=27}}}} It was first tested in November 1907, returning on an abandoned idea from 1905, but soon realised that it "... had serious structural problems" according to [[Henrique Lins de Barros]].<ref name=Barros2006a />{{rp|p=43}} However, on November 17, 1907, he competed for the Deutsch-Archdeacon award, crossing 200 meters at a height of 6 meters, but abandoning before the required 1000 meters due to a breakdown in the aircraft.<ref name=Dias2006 />{{rp|p=82}}

In 1909 he presented the Demoiselle No. 20, improved and considered "the first ultralight in history".<ref name=Barros2006a />{{rp|p=44}}{{efn|In January 1909 he received his first brevet from the [[Aéro-Club de France]].<ref name=CDe/> The other aeroplanes built at the time used the concept of the Demoiselle in some way, whether its configuration or stability;<ref name=Exacta2006 />{{rp|p=227}} the Demoiselle itself was inspired by the configuration of the [[Aerial steam carriage|Ariel]], patented in 1842.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=366}}}} This aeroplane was designed for sports competitions and 300 were built in several European countries and in the United States.<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=98}} His schemes were published in the June–July 1910 issues of ''[[Popular Mechanics]]''.<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=10}} This plane consolidated Santos-Dumont's role in the birth of aviation in the 20th century.<ref name=DaCosta2016 />{{rp|p=82}}{{efn|{{harvnb|Barros|2006a}}: "He divulged the blueprints of the aircraft and was happy to see that successive versions of his Demoiselle, manufactured in various countries from his specifications, were incorporating improvements by the builders, which represented, to him, the best spirit of aeronautical research."<ref name=Barros2006a />{{rp|p=44}}}} The Demoiselle also featured an engine of original invention by Santos-Dumont{{efn|An opposed cylinder engine, whose cooling sulution was patented by Santos-Dumont. The Demoiselle with a two-cylinder engine became very popular.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=371}} When the Darracq company tried to claim the engine design, Santos Dumont went to court to get his project released into the public domain.<ref name=Dias2005 />{{rp|p=32}}}} and model No. 20, capable of flights of up to 2 kilometres and reaching 96&nbsp;km/h,{{efn|On 16 September 1909 Santos-Dumont achieved a speed record<ref name=Barros2021 />{{rp|p=10}} of 96 km/h (60 mph).<ref name=CDe>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cabangu.com.br/pai_da_aviacao/5-demois/pg05.htm|title=Demoiselle|language=pt-br|access-date=2021-09-07}}</ref><ref name="Brandão2018"/>{{rp|p=9}} The Demoiselle could reach over 100 km/h, with which he made the first crossing in the country, between Saint Cyr of the Buc, with stops every 8 kilometres.<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=371}}}} Because of the aircraft's low cost and high safety, it was used for pilot training during World War I.<ref name=Dias2006 />{{rp|p=83}}

The aircraft is on permanent display at the [[Musée de l'air et de l'espace]] near Paris.<ref name=Studart2006 />{{rp|p=19}} In 1908, when the Wright brothers went public, and{{snd}}according to Mattos{{snd}}used European technology<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=376}}{{efn|According to Mattos, Wilbur Wright's first flights in August 1908 did not impress the European community and only improved after using old world technology in their aircraft (Mattos may be referring to motors built for the Wrights in Europe).<ref name=Mattos2012 />{{rp|p=378}} Other historians have noted that observers instantly showered Wilbur with praise for his fully-controlled flights, and that his flights in France and Orville's in the US made the brothers world famous. Pioneer French aviator Léon Delagrange, a witness, said of Wilbur's flights, "Nous sommes battus." ("We are beaten.")<ref>{{cite web |title=The Aerial Age Begins – Demonstrations in Europe |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/wright-brothers/online/age/1908/europe.cfm |website=National Air and Space Museum |access-date=13 September 2021}}</ref>}} and his colleagues were already being rewarded, he already seemed to have moved away from the events.<ref name=Barros2003 />{{rp|p=326}}