CURIOSITIES   |
| Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral in the Lusitânia,
the first of three Fairey III aircraft used
during their 1922 journey.
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Do you know that …
"The first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic was made by the Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral in 1922, to mark the centennial of Brazil's independence. Coutinho and Cabral flew in stages from Lisbon, Portugal, to Rio de janeiro, Brazil, using three different Fairey III biplanes, and covered a distance of 8,383 kilometres (5,209 mi) between March 30 and June 17. Although the North Atlantic had already been traversed in a non-stop flight by John Alcock and Arthur Brown in 1919, Coutinho and Cabral's flight remains notable as a milestone in transatlantic aviation, and for its use of new technologies such as the artificial horizon.
The journey started at the Bom Sucesso Naval Air Station in the Tagus, near the Belém Tower in Lisbon, at 16:30 on March 30, 1922, in the Portuguese Naval Aviation aircraft Lusitânia, a Fairey III-D MkII seaplane specifically outfitted for the journey. The Lusitânia was equipped with an artificial horizon for aeronautical use, a revolutionary invention at the time; according to the Portuguese Navy Museum, testing the horizon was one of the main reasons for the flight. (…)"
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| Coutinho and Cabral's transatlantic route. (in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_crossing_of_the_South_Atlantic) |
You can also read here a news article in Portuguese: "30 de Março de 1922: Gago Coutinho e Sacadura Cabral partem de Lisboa para a primeira travessia aérea do Atlântico Sul."
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| Monument to the flight in Lisbon. (in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_crossing_of_the_South_Atlantic) |
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