ANDES: the Postman always checks twice
Jean Mermoz was called the “Father of Air Mail” while flying in Africa. When stationed in Buenos Aires in the late 1920ies he established a short-cut-aeropostale-route over the Andes to Santiago de Chile.
Mermoz, glory and mysterious death of one of the aviation legends - Teller Report
Using planes that could barely reach the altitude of the Cordillera divide he survived several incredible crashes:
March 2, 1929 – Mermoz in difficulty in the Andes Mountains – Mountain pilot (pilote-de-montagne.com)
Jean Mermoz’s accident in the Andes (argentina-excepcion.com)
Maps were sketchy at best so he was checking out barely known passes on many recon flights. Here come a number of PLNs based on his feats.
ARGNT_Mermoz_1.PLN (3.7 KB)
Mendoza - Santiago (southern passage) , via Passo Piuquenes 13500ft
ARGNT_Mermoz_2.PLN (2.7 KB)
Return flight (north), via transandino railway and Passo Cumbre (12.600ft), close to Aconcagua.
Route was mastered already in 1921 by aviatrix Adrienne Bolland, ‘The Goddess of the Andes’:
ARGNT_Mermoz_3.PLN (5.2 KB)
way up north: Copiapo - San Miquel Tucuman. Attention: long stretch @ 15.700ft - so be gentle with that stick. Colorful desert - follow the dirt road.
I use the payware WACO - with its service ceiling of just 14.800ft it mimics his early Latecoeres and it has illuminated instruments - needed, because later he delivered the mail by night, tres uncroyable!
Looking for a passage:
Full Moon over Aconcagua:
