After the Second World War, a British aeronautics expert recognized Santos-Dumont's enormous legacy to aviation.

• Typed text on Santos-Dumont's legacy to aviation, written by an unknown British expert, perhaps for a specialist magazine.
• 4 pages.
• In English.
• +/- 21 cm x 28 cm.
• The references to World War II suggest that the document was written at least after the end of that conflict.
• Good condition.
• On one of the pages, there are two photographs with the text (translated): Santos-Dumont's Dragon Fly or Demoiselle monoplanes in Belmont Park, New York (below) and Havana, Cuba (above) in 1910-1911.

Some excerpts translated into Portuguese

Most aircraft used in World War II incorporated the following engineering features, which evolved and were first demonstrated by Alberto Santos-Dumont in 1909: the single high wing, engines and propellers in front of and in line with the wing, the body below the wing, which tapers into a tail where the airfoils used as controls are located.

Few people appreciated the importance of these mechanical principles in 1909, when Santos-Dumont first demonstrated their efficiency in a small monoplane called the Dragonfly or Demoiselle. Experts acknowledged the plane's efficiency when it was flown at St. Cyr—the French military academy—and from St. Cyr across the country to nearby towns. It was faster than anything else, stable, and so simple and practical that it could be transported on a small trailer.

The price of this airplane was only 7,500 francs, so people could have one complete with all the extras for $1,000.00. Distinguished aviators such as Roland Garros and A. Audemars brought Demoiselles to America and flew them at the Belmont aviation meet in October 1910, and at Baltimore and other southern cities, as well as Havana, Cuba, in early 1911. About a hundred Demoiselles were in use when monoplanes were condemned as unsafe due to a series of tragedies caused by the wings folding in midair. Although the Demoiselle was a monoplane, its principles eliminated the dangers of the Bleriot and Antoinette monoplane types. Although this was already well established, the world smiled and passed over the very airplane that time has proven to be the greatest fundamental contribution to the science of mechanics in airplane design!

This 4-page study, likely written after World War II, explores Santos-Dumont’s legacy to aviation. It highlights how Santos-Dumont’s Dragon Fly and Demoiselle monoplanes demonstrated fundamental engineering principles that would later be used in large aircraft such as clippers, air transports, and stratoliners during World War II. The document mentions features such as the high wing, the forward-facing engine and propeller, and the aerodynamic design of the body that tapers to the tail with airfoils, highlighting Santos-Dumont’s lasting influence on modern aviation.

This document is interesting coming from a British person because it acknowledges and values ​​the pioneering impact of Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian, on world aviation, highlighting his influence on technologies used in the Second World War, which demonstrates an international appreciation for his legacy.