''Plus Ultra'' - Spain-America first flight

[Menydh]

I would definitely use other resources. But right, he was rather short in stature.

Here is a picture of his brother, major Ramón Franco. Together with captain Julio Ruiz de Alda (also a co-founder of Falange; tried to fly around the world in 1928 and then 1929 without success; he was imprisoned and killed by the reds), leutenant de vasseau (or whatever the English word for a Navy captain) Juan Manuel Durán, and the mechanic Pablo Rada, crossed the Atlantic in the hydroplane Plus Ultra from Spain to the Canary Islands, Cabo Verde and then Brazil and Argentina.

This deed took place in 1926, one year before Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic (in solitaire and in the opposite direction) with the Spirit of St. Louis.

They covered a total of 10,270 km. employing for it 59 hours and 39 minutes. They took off from Palos (Andalusia, actually the same port from where Columbus set sails for the Discovery of the New World) and stopped at Puerto de la Luz (Las Palmas, Canary Islands), Porto Praia (Cabo Verde Islands), San Fernando de Noronha and Pernambuco (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and finally landed (well.. sea-landed?) in Buenos Aires (Argentina).

The only incidence was a failure of the stern propeller which stopped working and had to be repaired while on flight, making them lose about one hour.

[Menydh]

The route


The hydroplane Plus Ultra


Departure from Puerto de Palos, Spain


Taking off from Puerto de la Luz, Canary Islands



Taking off from Porto Praia, Cabo Verde



Arriving to Buenos Aires, Argentina

[Menydh]

The same year another flight, from Madrid to Manila, was realized by Captain Eduardo González Gallarza heading it, covering 17,000 km in 159 hours and 30 minutes. They had to make a few emergency landings, and were taken prisoners by some ruthless pirates in China, and rescued by a Portuguese sea patrol.