Santos-Dumont No. 6, 1901

The Santos-Dumont No. 6 was an airship designed and built by the Brazilian pioneer aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. In 1901 it was used by him to win the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize for a return from Parc Saint Cloud to the Eiffel Tower and back. Santos-Dumont took off from Saint-Cloud on October 19th at 2:42 pm. With the wind behind him, he reached the Eiffel Tower in nine minutes, but on the return journey but then suffered an engine failure. To restart the engine, he had to climb back over the gondola rail without a safety harness. The attempt was successful, and he reached the finish line after 29 minutes 30 seconds. There was a short delay before his mooring line was secured, and at first the adjudicating committee refused him the prize. This caused a public outcry from the crowds watching the flight, as well as comment in the press. A face-saving compromise was reached, and Santos-Dumont was awarded the prize. In a charitable gesture, he gave half the prize to his technicians and donated the other half to the poor of Paris. Winning the de la Meurthe prize made him an international celebrity. No photographer credited, dated 1901

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13344725

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