Working in the Annex of the Wellington Hangar. Strut number 1 is taking shape as Julian could then assemble the front section of the fuselage and measure properly.
existence of the Science Museum Library. It was at the library that I started to read books from the period and where my interest in that particular period of aviation strengthened. In 1985, I bought a copy of the two A1 sheets of drawings for the Demoiselle and read articles about the plane.
Research I
was 13-years old when, on Argentinean television, I saw the film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines made in the UK in 1965. One of the planes featured in
the film was a replica of the Demoiselle of Santos Dumont (flown by a Joan Hughes). I was so thrilled by the film that I said to my elder brothers that one day I will build a Demoiselle. Nobody believed me, as one would expect, it was a kid’s dream after all. The film awoke an interest in the
Edwardian aviation period and my passion for aviation in general. When I was 17, we emigrated to the UK and during a visit to the Science Museum saw a model of the Demoiselle. With a rather poor command of English, I made enquiries about the plane. Kindly the curator talked to me about the plane, its history and mentioned the
It is worth mentioning that before the Wright brothers made their first flight in 1903, there was a strong belief that heavier than air machines could not fly. The debate dominated a number of scientific forums of the period. Creativity was at the forefront with all sorts of designs, layouts and configurations being tried and tested. One of the most interesting aspects of the period is perhaps that one person would design, build and attempt to fly his machine, without any knowledge as to how it would behave. Unthinkable in today’s world.
Years went by and life presented other priorities. Before getting married, I told my wife about my dream of building a Demoiselle and my intention to fulfil it. She agreed to it for her sins! According to the research, there was the original Demoiselle that Santos built at the Musee de l’Air et de l’Espace in Paris. I thought it was really important to see it and find out exactly how the ‘original Demoiselle’ looked. We didn’t have a lot of money and, at the time, our only means of transport was an old small motorcycle and with it we went from London to Paris. When I saw the Demoiselle, a big disappointment. I was convinced that it was not the original Demoiselle. The plane exhibited could not have been built by Santos Dumont. There were a number of refined details in Santos’ Demoiselle that were not present in the one exhibited. For example, it had pedals to control the rudder instead of a small wheel on the left-hand side, round tubes instead of oval
Taking the Demoiselle to Brooklands for Mike to inspect and lots of other parts in the boot and rear seats. MARCH - APRIL 2020 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
