Aldasoro brothers
| Juan Pablo Aldasoro | |
|---|---|
Juan Pablo Aldasoro on his own Aeroplane, 1909.
|
|
| Born |
September 14, 1893 Real del Monte, Hidalgo Mexico. |
| Died | October 4, 1962 (aged 69) Mexico City. |
| Allegiance |
 Mexico |
| Service/branch |
 Mexican Air Force
|
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel (Mexican Air Force) |
| Awards |
Francisco Sarabia Club Aéreo de México American Airlines Admiral of the Fleet Mérito Aeronáutico de Primera Clase Mexican Air force for 30 years as a pilot EMILIO CARRANZA Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Obras Públicas Member of Legión de Honor Mexicana |
| Other work | First Solo flight in 1909 First Solo flight above the Statue of Liberty in 1913 Member of the Early Birds of Aviation |
| Eduardo Aldasoro | |
|---|---|
Juan Pablo (seated) and Eduardo Aldasoro (standing) pioneers of world aviation, 1915.
|
|
| Born |
October 27, 1894 Real del Monte, Hidalgo Mexico. |
| Died | November 10, 1968 (aged 74) Mexico City. |
| Allegiance |
Mexico |
| Service/branch |
Mexican Air Force
|
| Rank | Division General of the Mexican Air Force. |
| Awards |
Francisco Sarabia Club Aéreo de México American Airlines Admiral of the Fleet Mérito Aeronáutico de Primera Clase Mexican Air force for 30 years as a pilot EMILIO CARRANZA Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Obras Públicas Member of Legión de Honor Mexicana Legion of Merit (USA) Comendador de la Orden de Boyaca (Colombia) Condecoración de la Junta Interamericana de Defensas Conjunta en Washington, D.C (USA) |
| Other work | Member of the Early Birds of Aviation |
Juan Pablo Aldasoro Suárez (1893–1962) and Eduardo Aldasoro Suárez (1894-1968) were aviation pioneers.
Juan was born on September 14, 1893 in the "Casa Grande" of Real of Monte, state of Hidalgo, Mexico. Eduardo was born on October 27, 1894. Their father was Andrés Aldasoro, Minister of Promotion under Porfirio Díaz and was general manager of the "Las Dos Estrellas" mine in the state of Michoacán.
The inseparable brothers alternated their studies of preparatory with their vocation being mechanics and a passion for flying, and through publications and magazines of those days time they inquired researched about everything related to aviation.
By 1908 they began to design and construct their first gliders, which were tested on fields near the Piedad Cemetery (Panteón de la Piedad, now Avenida Cuauhtémoc in Mexico City). They achieved brilliant results as they managed to fly about one hundred meters in their own designed gliders.
They used diverse methods for the propulsion: the glider was towed by a steam automobile that reached a terminal velocity of 50 km/hour. The structure of the plane was made of wood, the wings were covered by a blanket hardened with engrudo and the landing gear was adapted from steel tubes and bicycle wheels. The gliders were cautiously hidden, to avoid someone else stealing their design by covering them with linen cloths.
The tests were performed at different hours, mainly at dawn. For his first flights he used leader mandiles for protection, since the gliders were severely damaged after each flight.
March 9, 1909 was a very important day for the Aldasoro brothers; that day they took the glider towards the outskirts of Mexico City, nowadays Calle de Querétaro in Colonia Roma. This was the first street to be opened in the neighbourhood and for them it represented a nice track without obstacles. They tied the glider to a steam car called "White", which was the fastest automobile of those days. Juan Pablo would be the pilot and his brother Eduardo would be in charge of driving the car that would tow the glider.
As they started moving, a huge cloud of dust arose, the glider slowly elevated the tail and finally emerged from the cloud. The car continued moving for about 300 meters and then slowly decreased the speed to allow the glider to loosen the cable and then continue flying. Suddenly something unexpected happened. The device to release the cable did not work properly and Juan Pablo went flying above the car without being able to free himself. As the plane continued, the cable pulled it back and immediately turned in a somersault and crashed. The glider was destroyed and, miraculously, Juan Pablo was alive with only a fractured leg. The experience drawn from this flight was extraordinary, the pilot had managed to have absolute control of the glider for more than 480 meters as well as a very stable flight at a height of 10 meters.
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Wikipedia