The history of aviation has been seduced over the years by the most advanced technology, scanners, radars, cameras, sensors and other gadgets... thousands of changes in concepts, processes, ideas and projects, carried out over the years, through generations of workers dedicated to aeronautics and changing societies that have allowed it. However, even today we can still rescue endearing stories, adventures and legends from the past that also touch us closely. This is the case of the story of the Captain Mariano Barberánthe Lieutenant Joaquín Collar and the Sergeant Modesto Madariaga. The legend of the aircraft christened "Cuatro Vientos".
Far from the idiosyncrasies of commerce and business competitiveness that surround us today, and focusing solely on overcoming challenges that were previously unthinkable, we come across this story, for example, which I will briefly rescue and summarise, just when everything was beginning to develop and the goals proposals were "fly where no one has gone before":
"The year was 1933 and Captain Mariano Barberán, pilot and navigator, Director of the Cuatro Vientos School of Observers, began a meticulous study of the meteorology of the Atlantic in order to find a route to follow to fly non-stop from the Iberian Peninsula to the Antilles, crossing the ocean through its central part.
It organises the flight in two stages: the first of 8095 km from Seville to Havana (Cuba), via Madeira Island and San Juan de Puerto Rico, with some 6,000 km over the sea; the second stage of 1920 km, from Havana to Mexico City.
Barberán chose Lieutenant Joaquín Collar, considered one of the most experienced and skilful pilots of the time, as his companion for the trip. The plane's mechanic was Sergeant Modesto Madariaga, who had experience in wartime actions.
The aircraft, christened "Cuatro Vientos", was a Breguet XIX TR Súper Bidón, manufactured in the Getafe (Madrid) factory of Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. with a Hispano Suiza engine, model 12 Nb, 12 cylinders V with a maximum power of 720 HP. Its fuel tank was 5325 litres, the service ceiling was 6700 metres and its cruising speed was 190 km/hour.
On 10 June 1933, at 02:00 local time (HL) the aircraft was removed from the hangar and refuelled with 5300 litres of petrol and 220 litres of oil. It left the coast at Sanlucar de Barrameda, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, following the Columbus route and at 15:39 HL on 11 June, they landed at Camagüey airfield (Cuba), after 39 hours and 55 minutes of flight, with only 100 litres of fuel in their tank.At 05:52 HL on 20 June, he took off from Columbia airfield to cover the 1920 km of the second leg that would take him to the Mexican capital. The planned route had only been defined as far as Villa Hermosa, with the rest of the journey to be decided in view of weather conditions.
At 13:40 HL the escort, composed of 21 Mexican planes, took off to meet the "Cuatro Vientos". Four hours later, amidst a heavy storm, they returned without having sighted it. At 20:30 HL the order to search for the plane was given. Since its disappearance, false news, hypotheses and hoaxes have flooded the pages of the newspapers. The only sure thing is that Mariano Barberán, Joaquín Collar and the "Cuatro Vientos" on their last flight went straight into the legend. The International League of Aviators awarded them the Harmon Trophy in 1933.."
The legend of The Four Winds is further evidence that many processes, which we continue to carry out on a daily basis, can lead us to historical triumphalism, to break with what has been normal until now. They are just as important as overcoming the Atlantic Ocean, the personal challenge to grow at every step, always looking to the future..
Sources: Web of the Spanish Air Force. Text (fragment) extracted from Air & Space Power Journal 75th Anniversary of the Spain-Cuba-Mexico Flight of the "Cuatro Vientos" aircraft written by Colonel Antonio Rodríguez Villena, Spanish Air Force.
