And the best part is, he was Brazilian!!! :) :) :) It's a gorgeous build! :) deb :)
On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 7:33 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > I built this recently for a Fiddlers Green modeling contest on the > Papermodellers group. This is the Lad 'n Dad version sold at Fiddler's. > > The tires are rubber O-rings, axle is a toothpick, the rigging is thread. > The rest is paper. All the fine parts were hardened with CA glue for > strength. It's a beautiful kit and well worth the time to build it. > > JoeG > > A little history: > Santos-Dumont, who had taken up residence in Paris in 1898, was famous as > a pioneering balloonist and airship pilot. He became interested in powered > aircraft in 1904 when he visited the United States to see the St. Louis > Exposition. He met Octave Chanute, an American engineer who had designed > several successful gliders, and he learned about the Wright brothers' > powered flights. This encouraged him to conduct his own experiments with > powered aircraft and he started work on a biplane he called the *14-bis. > *Although > difficult to control, this aircraft completed the first Officially recorded > powered flights in Europe. > Santos-Dumont's crowning achievement was the *Demoiselle. *He conceived it > as a plane that anyone could use for personal transportation and willingly > let others make use of his design. The fuselage consisted of a specially > reinforced bamboo boom, and the pilot sat beneath the wing within the > tricycle landing gear. The* demoiselle *was controlled in flight partially > by a tail unit that functioned both as an elevator and a rudder. In > addition, another elevator was installed in front of the aircraft, and the > pilot could help control the plane's lateral movement by shifting his weight > from one side to another. > Santos-Dumont's first *Demoiselle *made two short flights before damaging > its propeller in a crash landing. The aviator then designed improved models, > one of which had a strengthened tail section and a more powerful > 35-horsepower tail engine, and was turned by wing warping. This successful > model generated increased interest in Santos-Dumont's work, and he was able > to sell several similar aircraft to other fliers. > As the plane designed to popularize flying, the *Demoiselle *was ahead of > its time. Nevertheless the remarkable little aircraft heralded the future > and remains a tribute to the genius of its designer. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Papermodels II" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<papermodels%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/papermodels?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Papermodels II" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/papermodels?hl=en.
