They did not give up! – The South Atlantic Air Crossing– part one (continuation).

Before I continue with this work I must remember that all this idea came from Captain Sacadura's mind. He also realised that to proceed a flight over the South Atlantic he would need to resolve the problem of navigation. For this he spent some time with Gago Coutinho, his comrade and former colleague during surveys realised in Africa, during many dinners and very late evenings. One consequence of their discussions was the use of a modified Mariner's Sextant with the employment of a "Heading Computer" for the determination of the characteristics of the wind and to find the correct heading for the intended track.

In the beginning Sacadura envisaged sharing his flight with another pilot so that he could share the long and monotonous legs of flying, on the other hand he needed a very skillful navigator. However, considering that Captain Coutinho wanted to take part in this enterprise, Sacadura decided in favour of Coutinho.

They did not give up! – The 1922 South Atlantic Air Crossing - part one.

This is the continuation of the description of this great adventure by Portuguese Naval Aviators Captains Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral. The idea was triggered by the arrival in Lisbon on May 27, 1919 of a Curtiss hydroplane (nicknamed "Nancy") commanded by Albert C. "Putty" Read completing the first Transatlantic flight. This was a major enterprise that started with the flight of three "Nancies" but ended up with the arrival of a single craft. On May 29, Read took off again and landed in Plymouth, England, on May 31. Another event was also a booster for the Portuguese aviators. Two British pioneers Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown on June 14, 1919 took-off in a modified Vickers Vimy IV and made the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic from Lester's Field in Newfoundland to a swamp by the town of Clifden (misjudged as a landing ground) in Ireland the next day on June 15.

The idea presented by Captain Sacadura Cabral was accepted enthusiastically by the Portuguese Government. Sacadura was appointed to study the flight and enough money was raised to make it possible. It seems relevant to point out that aviation was in its infancy. Flying over large extensions of water created many technical issues that had to be equated, these were related to the type of aircraft to be employed, its range and aerial navigation. The latter problem in particular was linked to navigation and if something would go wrong then support would be barely available. During those times many things were fallible and unreliable. We now live in a time where everything is automatic, it is possible to perform a variety of tasks, all at the same time because certain apparatus with just a small set of computations can perform all those tasks and spare us a great deal of work.

Dead reckoning (estimating one's current position based upon a previously determined position), was only possible if someone could check its fix (position) once in a while. This could be obtained during the flight with celestial observation and for this Captain Gago Coutinho, two years earlier in 1919, invented a Mariner's sextant fitted with an artificial horizon. This system was widely employed for Air Navigation until the generalization of Radio Direction Finding and Inertial Guidance.

They did not give up! – The 1922 South Atlantic Air Crossing - introduction

One very interesting chapter in the History of Aviation is most likely to be unknown to many. People have certainly heard of Louis Blériot when in 1909 flying an aeroplane he completed the first flight across the English Channel. And other prowesses such as those achieved in June 1919 by British aviators Alcock and Brown with the first non-stop Transatlantic flight.
I can also recall personalities like Alberto Santos Dumont, the ill fated Charles Nungesser and François Coli, Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Lindbergh, Amy Johnson, Beryl Markham, Amelia Earhart all displaying their courage.
This particular historical event was the product of two Portuguese Naval Officers, their names: Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral. It was the result of stubborness, persistency and endurance. This is how one can describe the enterprise of these two aviation pionneers.

Portugal was a 12 years old Republic that had suffered from a very bitter experience during the Great War (1914-1918).
Under the presidency of António José the Almeida, Portugal and Brazil witnessed an important event related to the History of Aviation: The South Atlantic Air Crossing from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro in 1922.
For this journey a factory modified British Fairey III D floatplane F.15 baptized "LUZITÂNIA", serial number F.400 was specially comissioned for the Portuguese Navy.
On March 30, 1922 they took off from Lisbon and on June 17, 1922 they landed at the Bay of Guanabara in Rio de Janeiro completing a total of 4.527 nautical miles where they were welcomed as heroes by the people of Brazil.