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No. 6 was Santos-Dumont's most successful and with which he won the coveted 50,000 francs Deutsch Prize on October 19, 1901.
Seen here in the shed at Saint Cloud, the 33m x 5m balloon contained a volume of 550 cubic meters. |
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Due to mechanical problems, the first flight of the No. 6 on September 6, 1901, stranded Santos-Dumont at Bois de Boulogne and
eventually ended in the trees of M. Rothchild's garden. |
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Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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Santos-Dumont airship No. 6 eventually ended up in the trees of M. Rotchild's garden during its first flight on September 6, 1901. A month
later, Santos-Dumont won the Deutsch Prize for the first controlled flight from the Parisian suburb of Saint-Cloud, around the Eiffel Tower,
and return, in a time of no more than thirty minutes. |
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In 1900, petroleum magnate Henri Deutsch de La Meurthe offered a prize of 50,000 francs to the first man who could fly around the Eiffel
Tower, taking off and landing at Park Saint-Cloud. This had to be done by the aircraft under its own power and without landing during
the flight, all to be completed in no more than 30 minutes. The competition, open between 1 May 1900 and 1 Oct 1903, became known
as the Deutsch Prize. On 19 Oct 1901, with the winds across the skies. At 2:30 pm, he ordered: "Let go all!" and airship No. 6 rose in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. Only nine minutes later it circumnavigates the tower but the motor misses and the airship slows down. To restart the failed motor Santos-Dumont must leave his nacelle and walk along the gondola without the safety of a harness. The motor is again started, but by now he has lost much precious time. However, the field at Saint-Cloud is reached at 29 minutes and 30 seconds later it passes the finish line. One minute later No. 6 settles onto the ground. Deutsch de La Meurthe proudly |
| crossed the crowded field to congratulate Santos-Dumont on his achievement, but the timekeeper announced he had failed by 40 seconds. The disappointed crowd roared. "Give him the prize! Vive le petit Santos!" - Opinions were, he had won, but no prize was awarded. Two weeks later, finally declared victorious, Santos-Dumont rewarded his workers with half the prize and gave the remaining 25,000 francs to the poor of Paris. |
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On February 13, 1902, Santos-Dumont made a flight at Monaco which dur to a problem, ended up with the airship in the bay. |
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Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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Collection of Dan Usher, 11-22-08 |
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