The Influence of Demoiselle Aircraft on Light and General Aviation Design

Abstract

In 1907, aviation pioneer Santos-Dumont had the idea of building a very light airplane. He designed and built the SD19, the Demoiselle, an aircraft with a 6 meter wing span and a 24 HP engine of his own design. The Demoiselle was very successful in flying and, became very popular and its development continued as SD20, SD21 and SD22 (his last airplane). The influence of the Demoiselle on design principles of light aircraft and general aviation were studied in this work, using statistical entropy. The designs number 20 and 22 may be considered dominant and influenced the design principles of light aircraft and general aviation.