Abstract

VISONI, Rodrigo Moura  and  CANALLE, João Batista Garcia. How Santos Dumont invented the airplane. Rev. Bras. Ensino Fís. [online]. 2009, vol.31, n.3, pp. 3605.1-3605.6. ISSN 1806-1117.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1806-11172009000300015.

The fundamental aerodynamics forces in the heavier-than-air flight are four: thrust, drag, weight and lift. This article shows how Alberto Santos Dumont, the great Brazilian aviation pioneer, managed to create, starting from a lighter-than-air craft-the dirigible balloon - the first successful airplane in history, working only with those forces.

Keywords : Alberto Santos Dumont; aerodynamics forces; dirigible balloon; airplane.