Plus Ultra Flight

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Memory spaces · Year: 1926

The Plus Ultra was the seaplane of the Spanish Military Aeronautics that made the first flight between Spain and South America. It took off shortly before eight in the morning on 22 January 1926 from the Muelle de la Calzadilla, in Palos de la Frontera, province of Huelva, bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina, where it arrived on 10 February of the same year, after a first stopover in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Seven hours after leaving the Peninsula, the four crew members of the Plus Ultra (Commander Ramón Franco, Captain Julio Ruiz de Alda, Navy Lieutenant Juan Manuel Durán and Sergeant Mechanic Pablo Rada) sighted the island of Fuerteventura, locating Gran Canaria thanks to the Las Palmas radio station, as an immense sea of clouds hid the rest of the Archipelago. The seaplane appeared over the city of Las Palmas at a quarter past four that day, 22 January 1926, landing in the port of La Luz. The mooring of the aircraft was established in front of the Real Club Náutico.

The crew were received by local authorities and a large crowd that burst into applause at the moment of disembarkation, and although they intended to continue their journey the next day, the impossibility of finishing loading the aircraft that afternoon, as well as a small fault in the plane's control wiring, together with the rough sea conditions and unfavourable weather reports, forced the crew to remain in Gran Canaria for a few days. 

The day after their arrival, the expedition members, together with a delegation of authorities, went to the hermitage of San Antonio Abad, recalling the journey made by Christopher Columbus. Along the way, numerous people filled all the streets they passed through, with balconies decorated. At the Town Hall the mayor welcomed them and the bishop gave a speech.

The following day, due to the strength of the wind and the rough sea, Commander Franco ruled out taking off from La Luz, especially with the plane overloaded as it was prepared for the next stage. Faced with this situation, it was decided to unload the aircraft and fly it the following morning, on a journey of barely 20 minutes, from the port of La Luz to the sheltered bay of Gando. From there, at seven in the morning on Tuesday 26 January 1926, the Plus Ultra , after a first failed attempt, took off heading for Cape Verde, from where it crossed the ocean to Brazil, then stopped in Montevideo and finally arrived on 10 February in Buenos Aires.

The feat of the Plus Ultra became one of the most famous events in the world of aviation. A distance of 10,270 kilometres was covered in 59 hours and 39 minutes of flight, distributed over seven stages. In the first of these, Gran Canaria and Las Palmas were protagonists of this great adventure.

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