Benito Loygorri

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benito Loygorri (1912)

Benito Loygorri Pimentel (born September 4, 1885 in Biarritz , † February 1, 1976 in Madrid ) was an engineer, pilot and pioneer in Spanish aviation history.

Life and history

At the age of 18, Benito Loygorri met the Wright brothers , who were conducting sightseeing flights in France. From that moment on he was taken with aviation and began his aviation career with Gabriel Voisin (Societé des Aéroplanes Voisin) in France. After completing his engineering studies, he received on August 30, 1910 the first international flight license issued by the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale). His license was also the first to be confirmed by the Real Aero Club de España in Spain. The second license in Spain was issued on October 23, 1910 for the Infante Alfonso de Orleáns y Borbón .

Benito Loygorri Pimentel became the Spanish representative of the Farman brothers at the end of 1910. Maurice Farman and Henri Farman had been building automobiles since 1902 and airplanes from 1908 before they founded the Farman Frères company in 1913 . Benito Loygorri carried out numerous sightseeing flights for Farman, imported the first Farman aircraft for the Spanish army and also trained the Spanish pilots.

On March 12, 1911, Benito Loygorri opened flight operations at the Aeródromo de Cuatro Vientos with a Henry Farman biplane . Loygorri took off from the airfield, crossed downtown Madrid and landed back in Cuatro Vientos after 26 minutes. It was also the beginning of the Spanish Air Force . The AME (Aeronáutica Militar Española) was equipped with four Farman MF7s that Loygorri had imported.

As a result of his work for Farman, he also flew in Mexico and the United States of America. In 1914 he trained pilots in the Mexican Air Force. In the years leading up to his return to Spain, he also worked as an engineer for General Motors in the USA . From 1932 to 1949 Benito Loygorri was managing director (gerente) of General Motors Peninsular SA , which was responsible for the distribution of the GM product range for all of Spain and Portugal.

Posthumously

In 1980 a postage stamp was issued in Spain to commemorate Benito Loygorri.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Loygorri, Benito
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Loygorri Pimentel, Benito
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish engineer, pilot and pioneer in Spanish aviation history
DATE OF BIRTH September 4, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Biarritz , Basses-Pyrenees department , France
DATE OF DEATH February 1, 1976
Place of death Madrid , Spain