Subject: | Plane flown by King Alfin in Pale Fire |
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Date: | Mon, 20 Mar 2006 22:57:57 -0800 |
From: | D. Barton Johnson <chtodel@cox.net> |
To: |
See Kinbote's Commentary to Line 71 re his father Alfin the Vague.
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After the Wright brothers' flights in 1903, Santos-Dumont began to experiment with heavier-than-air machines. In November 1906, he flew 725 feet (220 meters) in 21 seconds. In 1909, he produced his "Demoiselle" or "Grasshopper" monoplane, the precursor to the modern light plane.
He returned to Brazil in 1928. He became depressed over the use of aircraft in war and committed suicide in 1932.
Santos-Dumont's best known plane, 'La Demoiselle.'