First Flight from Europe to the South Atlantic –

The history of the transatlantic flights goes back to 1919, and began with a flight between Newfoundland and Lisbon, and another between Newfoundland and Ireland. Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral crossed the South Atlantic Ocean by air in 1922. This last flight was the first that used only internal means of navigation, and a new instrument that consisted in a type of sextant incorporating two spirit levels to provide an artificial horizon was invented. The flight began with a Fairey hydroplane that did not have enough fuel capacity to make the entire trip so some stops were made along the way. Several problems had to be solved and near the Brazilian coast he aviators were forced to stay some time in the ocean water, having been rescued by a Bristish ship called “Paris City”. Finally, the 8,300 km trip was concluded, only with internal means of navigation, after 62 hours of flight using another plane, with a most enthusiastic reception at Rio de Janeiro, and the new artificial horizon sextant had proven itself. I. Background URING the World War I (1914-1918) considerable development of aeronautics occurred, although most of th