The Longest Flight - Part 1 of 2
Today in Aviation :: March 30, 2013
When the pair of Portuguese flyers left Lisbon, they were confident of the voyage ahead. Their aircraft, a single engine, open cockpit, Fairey IIID biplane on floats, was one of the Portuguese Navy's finest. The date was March 30, 1922 — 91 years ago today in aviation history. As the plane lifted off, the clock registered precisely 7:00 am GMT. Ahead was the most daunting and difficult challenge yet flown in aviation history. Their mission, supported by the Portuguese government and navy, was to fly across the equator and over the vast South Atlantic, stopping along the way at several island groups, to link Lisbon with faraway Brazil. The flight involved over 5,200 miles of flying, much of it over water in an airplane that at best had a 1,500 mile maximum range. There would be many stops along the way.
The challenges of the flight would push the men and equipment to the limit and beyond. Two aircraft would be lost and the men would take the third and last plane on its final flight into history — one way or another, the story of the Longest Flight would write the name of Gago Coutinho, the navigator, and his pilot, Sacadura Cabral, forever into history.
Photo of the Day
Curtiss NC-4 in Lisbon Harbor in 1919, the US Navy seaplane that made the first North Atlantic crossing.
Photo Credit: US Navy
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