Was Alberto Santos-Dumont the Real Inventor of the Airplane?

This video is #sponsored by Vessi.

Love content? Check out our other YouTube Channels:

→Subscribe for new videos every day!

[chprto]

In Brazil, we have an popular expression abount the Wright brothers, "With a slingshot, even a rock can fly"

[IntergalaticPigeon-vlpk]

Don't forget that the Wright brothers exchanged letters with S Dumont about his engine. Santos Dumond was an open source believer and shared all his technology.

[festol]

Dumont is in another league, first in: wristwatch, airplane, airports concept, fashion, ballons, aerodynamic controls. Dude was awesome. I visit his office at his home country: he even invented home officing before internet was a thing!

[pachecodecastro]

This is common knowledge in virtually all European countries and, most definitely, in Brazil.

[juliomac]

Santos Dummont’s first flight was seen by hundreds of people while alleged Brothers flight was witnessed only by a 13 year old nice and no pictures or film were ever made. The story of Brothers earlier flight came out only AFTER Santos successful flight.

[milk-it]

Even today, Brazil is a significant player in aviation. Embraer is the third largest producer of civilian aircraft after Boeing and Airbus (according to Wikipedia at least), and having flown on several of their passenger jets, as a private pilot I can attest to their consistency and quality design work. Brazil is definitely overlooked when it comes to high end manufacturing in aviation.

[leonardospinola]

Nas palavras do próprio Santos-Dumont (do manuscrito "O Homem Mecânico", de 1929): “Não posso deixar de ficar profundamente estupefato por essa reivindicação ridícula. É inexplicável que os irmãos Wright pudessem ter realizado inúmeros voos durante três anos e meio sem terem sido observados por um único jornalista da perspicaz imprensa norte-americana que tivesse se dado o trabalho de assisti-los e de produzir a melhor reportagem da época”.

In the words of Santos-Dumont himself (from the manuscript "The Mechanical Man", 1929): "I cannot help but be profoundly astonished by this ridiculous claim. It is inexplicable that the Wright brothers could have made countless flights over three and a half years without having been observed by a single journalist from the perceptive American press who had taken the trouble to watch them and produce the best report of the time."

[lucasalcavalcante]

There is a problem of criteria:
Americans count the first flight of the Wright brothers prototype as the first flight.
Brazilians count the first public presentation and the proof of the concept as the first flight.

But, in both cases, Santos Dummont invented the plane.

[karadpal]

He actually flew an airplane... Not some Angrybirds experiment.

[jptrrs]

Worth noting: as far as roll control goes, the Wright's warping wing was a technological dead end. All planes after that used ailerons just like the ones Dumont used on his 14 bis.

[samaBR]

0:30 - nope, he's not largely forgotten today. only by north americans.

[sombraarthur]

Funny enough, the Wright Brothers Flyer was remade by a few people, they even managed to use the same catapults made by them, and the thing never flown.
The Flyer had no proof of flight as well, as the Wright Brothers "did not allow" journalists to take pictures of the thing, both in the sky or out of it. The first pictures of their machines were taken in 1908, two years after Santos Dumont took off, flown and landed 14 Bis under its own power.
The replica of the 14 Bis made by a FAB pilot flew flawlesly.
Santos Dumont IS the father of aviation, period.
Those who come with the "patent" of the Wrong Brothers, conveniently never talk about how the US patent Office STOPPED asking for a fully functional specimen of the invention before the patent was granted. And yet to this very day, not even a SINGLE ONE replica of the "patents" of the Wright brothers fly.

[Rob.DB.]

I am ecstatic to learn about this gigga-chad legend of a man! A true hero that Brazilian people should be extremely proud of! The whole planet should celebrate a man of such awesome character!!

[Tea.]

During the celebrations of the centenary of fligth of 14 Bis, 2006, an officer from the FAB (Brazilian Air Force) built and flew a replica. The flight was completely autonomous, without the use of catapults. The event reproduced the historic flight that took place at Campo de Bagatelle, in France, in 1906. The 14-bis weighed 290 kilograms and had a 50 horsepower motor. The Flyer weighed 300 kilograms and had a 12 horsepower motor. The relation weight/power in the Flyer was not enough to take off.

[beds]

Santos Dumont is recognized in Brazil as the first inventor of the airplane not only because he created an aircraft that could take off on its own, but also because his flight was the first to be publicly verified. He demonstrated it before hundreds of people, including journalists from across Europe. In contrast, the Wright brothers conducted a public flight only years later, using an airplane that required a catapult to launch. Before that, their claimed flights were allegedly conducted in secret, with only a handful of friends as witnesses. In other words, the “scientific evidence” for their achievements boils down to a classic “trust me.”

And let’s be fair: if catapult-launched planes count, Otto Lilienthal had already done that in the 19th century. But his invention was simply called a glider.

[erickbrags]

Yeah, the Wrong Brothers just launched their glider with a slingshot lmao

[Imbel.]

Léon Levavasseur invented the V8 engine, direct fuel injection and radiator cooling. He was an engineer, designer and inventor, but above all, a genius, a personal friend of Santos Dumont. He was the one who made the 14-Bis engine at the request of the Santos Dumont himself… further proof that Santos Dumont was the true pioneer of aviation.

[fiilisboa]

"to many Brazilians", many, like, all???
"He's largely forgotten", to you, Americans, every city and town in Brazil has a street named after him. In France there are streets and squares named after him. He's the father of aviation!
And the sky in São Paulo is larger than anywhere else.

[urso-da-noite]

The flight of the Wright brothers is just an anecdote. An American legend. Santos Dumont's self-propelled flight was documented and filmed. But, assuming it is true, they conceived airworthiness (which is not easy either) and Alberto conceived airworthy propulsion. The Wright brothers invented manned gliders, Santos Dumont, the aviation.

[mariliaribas]

I had an excellent physics teacher in high school. In our 1st year, he started a project with all the classes with the objective of building a replica (a smaller one) of the 14-bis and finishing it with us until our last year. On our graduation, he made the thing fly. It was amazing!