Santos-Dumont 14bis (1906)

Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian aristocrat living in Paris, designed several airships and aircraft. His first succesful heavier-than-air machine is depicted here, the aircraft that made the first official flight in Europe, at Bagatelle/Paris on September 13, 1906. Its best results, in separate flights during September and October of 1906, included a maximum altitude of 6 m and a maximum distance of 220 m.

(picture kindly supplied by Jean-Pierre Lauwers)

Santos-Dumont 14bis (1906)

This picture proves that the 14bis was actually capable of controlled flight, however improbable this seems... The boxed elevator is shown in the 'up' position, Alberto Santos-Dumont trying to stretch his airborne time as long as possible.

(picture kindly supplied by Jean-Pierre Lauwers)