A Dream of Flight: Alberto Santos-Dumont's Race Around the Eiffel Tower

At the turn of the twentieth century, no aviation prize was more coveted in Europe than the Deutsch Prize. To win it, a pilot would have to fly a balloon from Paris’s Aero Club around the Eiffel Tower and back in thirty minutes or less. Who would be the first to succeed?

Alberto Santos-Dumont thought he could. His latest design, Airship No. 6, was perfected from the countless lessons he learned during previous crashes. On the morning of October 19, 1901, Santos was making good time in the race when disaster struck - his motor had sputtered to a stop mid-air! Would Santos make it to the finish line in time - let alone survive?