2024-07-14 09:35:00
The pioneers of Aerolineas Argentinas had nothing but will and a thirst for adventure. They must battle the forces of nature, identify routes, draw diagrams, invent airports, and even repair planes that are so shaky that they look like paper. Does anyone know what to say “If you want to bring all the crazy people in town together, start an aviation club; “If you want to bring all the crazy people in a country together, start an airline. “
Antoine de Saint Exupéry, author of The Little Prince and one of the most famous German airline pilots, wrote: “Our machines resist, we trust in the wings of the joints. Visibility was good overall and didn’t cause any problems. We thought these trips would be a tough one, not a drama.
Loulo recounted the exploration of the southern route in his books “Rumbo 180°” and “Huellas en el cielo”. He was driving the 160-horsepower Curtiss-Lark, and Vachet was driving the Breguet Torpedo: “We left Porto Blanca behind. We seemed to be flying over the Sahara Desert. This is the great and mysterious Patagonia. The beginning of. At San Antonio West, aircraft were occasionally used to transfer from the small landing field to the preparation of the “Las Maquinas” lagoon, the only surface adapted to the requirements of the Laté 25 brought by Mermoz.
“The dry, salty lagoon at that time was perfect for the landing and takeoff of any heavy aircraft.”
“I will never forget the first landing of the Laté 25 on Patagonian soil. The salt flats welcomed the mechanical bird, without any transition between flight and taxi. Just the dust raised by the wheels indicated its Hold on. Then, losing all speed, I dropped the tail and the plane hit the ground.
An impressive story in the history of San Antonio West, a true ace of the skies who contributed to the development and exchange of the entire Patagonia.
The historian Héctor Izco reflected on the feats of these adventurers and wrote his best chapter: “You have to imagine that in our Patagonia, especially in winter, the pilots The sacrifices made were to fly his machines in the open air, with a small windshield and nothing except a compass and an altimeter, and they were equipped with a few other semi-primitive elements. There was no radio communication and the flight was at a relative altitude, visual.
Temporary stops like the one shown at “Las Maquinas” lagoon are common. “Broadcasting conveys news to all stations on the line,” wrote Saint-Exupéry. “From the Strait of Magellan to Buenos Aires, the stations are one following another, like links in a chain, stretching 2,500 kilometers “
And it also has some lines that highlight the intensity of Patagonia: “These winds can reach speeds of one hundred and sixty kilometers per hour on land. We know this very well. As my companions and I approached the area they were cleaning, we recognized their presence. I don’t know what kind of gray-blue color , we adjusted our belts and suspenders slightly and waited for the maelstrom to arrive. We began a painful flight, sinking into invisible potholes at every step. This is manual work. For an hour, these brutal changes overwhelmed us, and we did the work of dock workers. After an hour we calmed down.
In tribute, Julio A. Luqui recalled these men: “Many have left and some have stayed. Unfortunately, living artifacts are not commemorated or rewarded as they should be. The title of pioneer or creator of commercial aviation does not yet exist. But they don’t have to be official, they actually have it and have all the rights, even if they don’t get a diploma or badge.
Well we can say that San Antonio West has a rich history that looks not just to the sea or the railroads but to the skies as well, but it does know how to honor those hardworking pilots who have become near-legendary since the airport was rightly named Anthony De Saint-Exupéry.
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