Santos-Dumont Demoiselle

The Santos-Dumont Demoiselle is a series of aircraft built in France by the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont. They were light-weight monoplanes with a wire-braced wing mounted above an open-framework fuselage built from bamboo. The pilot's seat was below the wing and between the main wheels of the undercarriage. The rear end of the boom carried a tailwheel and a cruciform tail. The name is a contraction of mademoiselle and is a synonym for "jeune fille"—young girl or woman—but also the common name in French for a Damselfly.