In 1922, a Portuguese naval aviator Gago Coutinho flew 8,383 km from Lisbon, Portugal to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in a Fairey III-D MkII seaplane. Gago Coutinho departed Lisbon at 16:30 on the March 30th, 1922 in sight to the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic and arrived at Rio de Janeiro on the 17th June 1922.

Gago Coutinho used a specialised sextant, invented by him, with an artificial horizon which allowed him to navigate without visual reference to the real horizon.

This historical moment of 62 hours of flight not only revolutionized air navigation at the time by its invention, but it also brought inspiration for subsequent transatlantic efforts.

Gago Coutinho made several stops in islands and along the Brazilian coast for several reasons, one of which was an engine failure in mid Atlantic due to a heavy rain fall.

If you feel courageous enough and interested in this historical fact, we therefore invite you to fly a small group of legs in good memory of this great navigator. As such, you will have to navigate/fly legs simulating the real stops during his flight from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. Gago Coutinho was an official at the Portuguese Navy and hence the nature of this tour (Special Ops Tour).

Our recommendation is to fly with a C130 and do your own flight planning so that you can safely reach your final destination, which you will of course …

with Gago Coutinho!

Enjoy your flight to Rio de Janeiro