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SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA WAITING FOR
AERIAL TRANSPORTATION
By ALBERTO SANTOS-DUMONT
Chairman Pan-American Aeronautic Committee Aero Club of America Honorary President Pan-American Aeronautic Federation
While travelling through South and Central America
I was reminded daily that South and Central America
are waiting for aerial transportation.
In these countries we have many difficult problems of transportation which can easily be solved by aircraft. Upon the solution of these problems depends the economic welfare and commercial development of these countries, where mountains, forests and waterways make the cost of building railroads prohibitive.
The stupendous flights of the R-34 and of the NC-4 and Vickers "Viny" have aroused hopes that aerial transportation lines will be established in the near future.
In every one of the Latin American countries are people with imagination and capital who would like to take steps to establish air lines, but they do not quite know how to go about it. Soon, we hope, enterprising experts in the United States will come to our assistance and establish these lines.
While the Pan-American aeronautic movement is youthful, having been conceived by Mr. Henry Woodhouse in 1911, and evolved by him and the other energetic and farseeing men, who are responsible for so many important aeronautic movements—Messrs. Alan R. Hawley, John Barrett, Henry A. Wise Wood, and Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary—it is advancing in gigantic strides.
The Pan-American Aeronautic movement is based upon the work of pioneers, some of whom are contemporaries of the earliest European experimenters in aeronautics. Brazil, for instance, rightly claims among its pioneers Bartolomeo-Laurenco Gusmao, who takes us back to 1709, and Augusto Severo.
Latin American aviators have been doing marvellous things during the past six months.
Lieut. Cortinez, of the 1st Aviation Company of the Chilean Army, who successfully flew across the Andes and back, recently established a height record for South America. For many years the height of 6,250 metres recorded by the late Mr. Jorge Newbery, who lost his life in an essay to fly across the Andes, had been unchallenged. This year, however, Lieut. Parodi, of the Argentine Army, attained to 6,480 metres on a Nieuport plane, which was eclipsed by Lieut. Cortinez within a few days on crossing the Andes on a "Bristol" monoplane at an altitude of 6.500 metres.
Lieut. Dagoborto Godoy, of the Chilean Army, enjoys the
distinction of being the first flier to cross the Andes in one
direction. Many aviators have lost their lives in this dan-
gerous mission. The first successful balloon flight was made
by Eduardo Bradley and Lieut. Luis C. Candelaria, of the
Argentine Army.
Because of the broad expanses of territory, the lack of roads into all sections of the country, the excellent waterways, all kinds of aircraft will be of tremendous value to the country, so that this will mean an unlimted opportunity for American aeroplanes, seaplanes and flying boats.
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