Embraer had a big tent at OSH this year with a replica
of 14 biz. Fortunately they were smart enough to not claim
that Santos Dumont invented the airplane :) However I found it
rather ironic that this replica was being modified to turn
it into a real airplane. In other words ailerons were being
added to allow it to turn. Glen Curtis did the same thing
more or less to Langley's Aerodrome years after it first "flew"
in an attempt to prove the Wright brothers patents were invalid.

It was well known, even in 1898, that dihedral made an
airplane laterally stable. Dihedral was used by Langley as well
as Dumont. Dumont knew about Langley's well publicized efforts
in 1898.

I will say one thing. Dumont had a relatively sophisticated
V8 engine at his disposal.

On the other hand his "propeller" was in no way comparable
to the Wright brothers propellers. No twist. Unlike the Wright brothers
Dumont did not have a clue on how propellers worked. The V8 engine
was so powerful it probably could over come the low efficiency
of these untwisted paddles.

If you look at this last picture closely you can see the original
14 biz is suspended from a cable and pulled by several men and
a mule. From a distance it would look like it was flying :)

If it did "fly" I suspect it never got out of ground effect.

Paul Lamar ...No rotor no motor.

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