History of Aeronautics

Throughout history, many Aeronautics pioneers have given their contribution to the achievement and advancement of flight. From lighter-than-air flying machines to powered, controlled flight of airplanes, the History of Aeronautics is made of dreams, ideas, hard work, failure and retrying, which just sometimes have been crowned with success.

Father Bartholomeu Lourenço de Gusmão:

The first practical pioneer in lighter-than-air aeronautics. In Lisbon, circa 1709, he proposed the infamous airship "Passarola" and performed public exhibitions aimed at illustrating its underlying principles.

João da Mata Camacho Pina de Gouveia:

Co-founder of the "Aero Club de Portugal" in 1909 and notable contributor to the advancement and dissemination of the field of aviation in Portugal. However, Gouveia's innovative airplane would never leave the ground.

Cypriano Pereira Jardim:

Portuguese military officer. In 1885, he presented a project of an airship to the Royal Academy of Sciences (Lisbon) proposing the use of an electric-powered swiveling propeller, in order to suppress the need of venting lifting gas and carrying ballast, so that the range of an airship could be significantly increased.

Dissertations:

• Bartholomeu Lourenço de Gusmão's Passarola: Historical Background and Feasibility Analysis, MSc. Thesis in Aerospace Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, 2014.