[4] In June 1905, French aviator Gabriel Voisin had flown a glider towed by a fast boat on the river Seine, making a flight of over 150 metres (500 feet).

The glider's wing and tail were made up of Hargrave cells, a box kite-like structure that provided a degree of inherent stability.

[5] Santos-Dumont was living in Paris at the time, and was one of the most active "aeronauts" in Europe, having developed a series of non-rigid airships that displayed unparalleled agility, speed, endurance, and ease of control.

[citation needed] The danger of these tests caused Santos-Dumont and his team to quickly abandon them, although some useful information was obtained that led to adjustments in the balance and weight distribution of the aircraft.

[citation needed] The first free-flight trials of the 14-bis took place at the Polo Ground in the Bois de Boulogne on 21 August, but were halted by damage to the newly fitted aluminium-bladed propeller, which replaced one with silk-covered wooden blades.

[11] After repairs another trial took place the following day; although the nosewheel left the ground, the aircraft had insufficient power to take off, and Santos-Dumont decided to replace the engine with a 37 kW (50 hp) Antoinette.

[citation needed] This landing damaged the aircraft slightly, but Santos-Dumont announced that he should be ready to attempt the 100-metre (330 ft) prize on 12 November 1906.

On the morning of 12 November 1906 the aviation community of France assembled at the Château de Bagatelle's grounds to witness Santos-Dumont's next attempt.

As Santos-Dumont allowed the 14-bis to run down the field, a car drove alongside, from which Henry Farman dropped a plate each time he observed the wheels of the aircraft leave the ground or touch down again.

A hurried landing due to the proximity of some trees after this second attempt damaged the wheel axles, and these were fixed during a lunch break.

The Santos-Dumont 14-bis did not use a catapult and ran on wheels located at the back of the aircraft – said to have been adopted by Santos-Dumont for his 14-bis after personally witnessing Traian Vuia's contemporary, four-wheeled aircraft's flight attempts earlier in 1906[19] in the western suburbs of Paris, not far from the Château de Bagatelle's grounds – with a "nose-skid" under the front of the 14-bis' fuselage.