Sunday, January 11, 2009

First air crossing of the South Atlantic

Portuguese aviation pioneer Sacadura Cabral and expert in astronomical science Gago Coutinho were the first to cross the South Atlantic Ocean by air in 1922, from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro in Brasil.
The plane, a Fairey III-D, is on display at the Portuguese Maritime Museum and this replica stands by the Tagus river, between the Discoveries Monument and Belém Tower, western Lisbon.

27 comments:

Tanya Breese said...

Very courageous! I'm not a fan of flying anyway so I bow down to those flying pioneers!

Walker said...

Detailed model is amazing.

magiceye said...

wow! very impressive picture!

Judy said...

Neat to see something like this.

Sharon said...

Aren't you impressed by the bravery of pioneers in the aviation field? Can you imagine flying that distance in a plane like this? Amazing.

nobu said...

It's cool!!

Debbie Courson Smith said...

That is amazing. Something I would never had done!

Sterl the Pearl's Daily Pics of Boulder said...

Fun!!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness. It doesn't look like it could cross the road, never mind the Atlantic! Great shot!

Greg Dimitriadis said...

Makes me wander where what today's brave aerospace pioneers are doing. I am afraid that the answer is 'not much'...

Julie said...

What is it made from: looks like some sort of bronze tinted sheet metal. The way you have caught the light makes it look on fire.

Nancy said...

Love pilots - I married one!

abc said...

True pioneers. Even with a few stops I wouldn't have expected that to be possible in 1922. Interesting.

studioJudith said...

Love your angle on this shot ... . with the simple lines of the plane , it could easily be a toy model.

Destitute Rebel said...

A great shot, amazing how these things flew in those days, and the feats that were accomplished.

Unknown said...

Julie, I have no idea what metal is the plane made of, but I took the photo at sunset, that's why it looks golden.

Marc, they have made three stops in the Atlantic: Cape Vert Archipelago, Saint Peter & Saint Paul Islets and Fernando Noronha Archipelago before hitting brasilian coast.

Unknown said...

Sorry, I meant Cape Verde Archipelago and not Cape Vert which is in Senegal...

stromsjo said...

I bet the replica is rather silent but I wonder what the real thing sounded like. ("...boarding now at gate number seven...")

Tess Kincaid said...

She's a beauty!

Virginia said...

What a nice shot of this historic plane. Thanks for the info JM!

Tash said...

Fantastic shot - they did it in a float plane? You don't hear much about their feat up in the US.

Babzy.B said...

How brave the pilot was !!! The plane is amazing !

Jane Hards Photography said...

Reminds me that the Viking set on my island in their longboats. Real Pioneers.

Anonymous said...

This is a plane??? It looks great but I wonder if such a thing can fly ;-))

PeterParis said...

Somehow I'm happy I didn't have to fly those days! On the other hand...

humanobserver said...

And you shared with us....thanks a lot....

CeciliaGallerani said...

Beautiful, poetic shot of that airplane. Brings to mind the romance we associate with early flight.