Sacadura Cabral was a Portuguese Navy officer and aviation pioneer. With fellow aviator Gago Coutinho, he carried out the first flight across the South Atlantic Ocean in 1922, flying from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro using only astronomical navigation. He vanished on 15 November 1924 while piloting a seaplane over the English Channel with co-pilot Jose Correia, after fog and his declining eyesight are thought to have contributed to the loss; wreckage was later found but the bodies were never recovered. He was born in Celorico da Beira in 1881, and statues honor him there and in Lisbon.
Facts
FAQs
How did Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho find their way across the open South Atlantic in 1922?
They relied on a sextant with an artificial horizon that Coutinho invented.
They navigated by the sky rather than by landmarks. Gago Coutinho planned to rely mainly on a specially modified sextant fitted with an artificial horizon of his own invention, which he could use when the actual horizon was not visible.
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Sources
1. Sacadura Cabral (Wikipedia)
Opening sentence, birth date
Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral, GCTE (23 May 1881
Opening sentence, death date
Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral, GCTE (23 May 1881-15 November 1924), known simply as Sacadura Cabral
Opening sentence, full name
Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral, GCTE
In Group: Early Aeroplane Pioneers, Lead sentence
Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral, GCTE (23 May 1881-15 November 1924), known simply as Sacadura Cabral (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐkɐˈðuɾɐ kɐˈβɾal]), was a Portuguese aviation pioneer.
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