2928) Alberto Santos-Dumont (20.07.1873-23.07.1932), Brazilian Aeronaut, Sportsman, Inventor and developer of both lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air aircraft, Portugal: "150 ANOS DO NASCIMENTO" ("150th Anniversary of his Birth"): CTT – Correios de Portugal, S.A. (or 'CTT – Post of Portugal') has issued two postage stamps of €0.61, €1.15 commemorating the Polymath: Date of Stamps issue: 20.07.2023:
About Alberto Santos-Dumont:
Alberto Santos-Dumont (20.07.1873 – 23.07.1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air aircraft.
The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, he dedicated himself to aeronautical study and experimentation in Paris, where he spent most of his adult life.
Sharing Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão's convictions regarding the military use of his inventions, Santos Dumont accurately anticipated the implications of flight for the evolution of armed conflict, fore- seeing the fundamental role of air navigation for interconnecting and bringing continents and people closer together.
A true visionary, he made the "flying dream" a reality and inspired generations of enthusiasts for the Air Cause, first with airships, balloons and dirigibles, and later with aeroplanes.
Among his most historically significant air references in the field of Aerostation, the balloon Brasil and the airship Dumont no. 6, and the Dumont no. 14-bis and no. 20 Demoiselle were precursors in Aviation.
After a first ascent in a free balloon in early 1898 with Henri Lachambre, Dumont designed his own spherical balloon, small and constructed in Japanese silk, which he named Brasil.
In September of that same year, he began the first tests of a dirigible balloon equipped with a petrol engine.
He designed, built, and flew the first powered airships and won the Deutsch Prize in 1901, when he flew around the Eiffel Tower in his airship No. 6, becoming one of the most famous people in the world in the early 20th century.
On 19.10.1901, he won the Prix Deutsch de La Meurthe by completing the circuit between Saint Cloud and the Eiffel Tower in 29 minutes and 30 seconds, flying the No. 6 airship.
In July 1906, after a period of withdrawal and reflection, Dumont presented the 14-bis, a complex biplane "machine" with a 24 hp engine.
It took three months of testing and improvement, including the installation of a new 50 hp engine, to make the first official public mechanical flight on 23/10, proving that "man could fly."
Santos-Dumont then progressed to powered heavier-than-air machines and on 23.10.1906 flew about 60 metres at a height of two to three metres with the fixed-wing 14-bis (also dubbed the Oiseau de Proie—"bird of prey") at the Bagatelle Gamefield in Paris, taking off unassisted by an external launch system.
On 12.11.1906 in front of a crowd, he flew 220 metres at a height of six metres. These were the first heavier-than-air flights certified by the Aeroclub of France, the first such flights officially witnessed by an aeronautics recordkeeping body, and the first of their kind recognised by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Dumont came to prefer small aircraft, creating the No. 19 and No. 20, equipped with 35 hp engines he invented with two opposed cylinders.
His flights in 1909 and the offer of construction plans for the dissemination and practice of aviation earned him redoubled attention. As he stated: "...it was a tiny and transparent aeroplane, they named it Libellule or Demoiselle. Of all my aircraft, this was the most popular."
Santos Dumont's participation in the Conquest of the Air took place over a period of a decade, with sequentially defined objectives and amazing results that made an undeniable contribution to the evolution of aeronautical technology.
Immortalised, by “Dever de Memória”, Santos Dumont was an autodidact with a visionary, insightful, bold yet prudent spirit based on knowledge and experience.
Competently innovative and tenacious, he was able to combine study, research and practice in the development of the basics of flight and flying, becoming the first crew member to obtain pilot certifications in free balloons, dirigibles and airplanes.
He was a well-known and peculiar figure, taking on the cultural transformations of the “Belle Époque” in a style that gave him a singular identity both on formal and informal occasions.
In a pioneering period of strong competition and euphoria for the Air Cause, he earned a place in history for the transversality of the technical solutions he found for various modes of flight, first including the lighter than air and, later, for those heavier than air.
He was an expert in flying "through skies never before sailed", indelibly marking the Future of Aeronautics and Mankind.
A National Hero in Brazil:
Santos-Dumont is a national hero in Brazil, where it is popularly held that he preceded the Wright brothers in demonstrating a practical aeroplane.
Numerous roads, plazas, schools, monuments, and airports there are dedicated to him, and his name is inscribed on the Tancredo Neves Pantheon of the Fatherland and Freedom.
He was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1931 until his suicide in 1932.
The Commemorative postage stamp:
This commemorative issue marks the birth of the aeronautics pioneer who, at the dawn of the 20th century, to widespread curiosity and amazement, took the first steps in air locomotion in public events registered and approved by specialised entities in Paris.
Technical details:
Issue Date: 20.07.2023
Designer: Folk Design
Printer: Cartor Security Printers
Process: Paulo Alegria e Pedro Martins
Size: 80.00 mm x 30.60 mm
Values: €0.61, €1.15
Santosh Khanna has commented:
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DeleteRajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very informative and interesting post 👍"
Thank you so much Trikha sahab.
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