Elia Liut 100 years of the feat and the pioneers of Ecuadorian aviation

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In this special installment we review the feat of Elia Liut in the Telegraph 1 over the Ecuadorian Andes and also, We review the history of the pioneers of ecuadorian aviation.

Performed by: Aeronautical Historian Guido Chávez with personal research and other sources.
Photographs: personal file of Guido Chavez, thanks to the authors.
With data from: Illustrated History of the FAE, author Hugo Idrovo.

Before a very important date for the current commercial aviation of Ecuador, we review the history of the pioneers of Ecuadorian aviation before the celebration of the first historical flight over the Ecuadorian Andes by Elia Liut with the famous Telegraph 1.

Let's go to the beginning:

Guayas Shooting and Aviation Club

The 16 from December to 1910, The Guayas de Tiro Club is organized with the purpose of including aviation as part of the training of its associates and encouraging it as part of national development., now called Club Guayas de Tiro y Aviación.

The Club appointed the young man from Guayaquil, Cosme Rennella Barbato, to travel to Italy to receive aerial training at the Aviation School of the Chiribiri Society in Mirafiori. in January 1913, Rennella is briefed, together with another group of professionals in aeronautical mechanics, and as a pilot. Some time later he returns to the country to start the negotiations for the purchase of an airplane., with government support (President Leonidas Plaza) and private contributions.

The Nieuport Navara e Valgoi monoplane is acquired, plane arriving in Guayaquil on 29 September aboard the steamship Ecuador, baptized as homeland 1, being this the first Ecuadorian plane that flew over Guayaquil making several evolutions in the flight process. The members of the Club saw their desire crystallized, unfortunately the First World War breaks out and Rennella travels to Italy to be part of the 78 Airplane Squadron y if acredits as an Italian As to derribar 7 enemy ships being part of the group of "40 Italian aces of the 1st World War".

The First Ecuadorian Military Pilot

This distinction falls to Pedro Traversari Infante who in 1916 He travels to Chile to the Military School of Aeronautics in Santiago to carry out his training and obtains the military aviator pilot license on 16 august 1917. in June 1919 returns to the country together with his plane named Guayaquil, it is a French-made Bleriot XI aircraft. Traversari wishes to carry out the first air raid from Guayaquil to Quito, it is so the 27 June at 3:00 p.m. take off from the racecourse for this epic flight. Unfortunately an engine failure forces the pilot to make a forced landing. Traversari suffers serious injuries, the aircraft is unusable and, due, the incipient Ecuadorian military aviation is left without its aircraft.

Both Cosme Rennella and Pedro Traversari were the pioneers of Ecuadorian military aviation., distinguished members of the Air Force.

After the First World War, many aviators were laid off from their activities and therefore countless planes that served in different roles during the conflict. In Italy the pilot Elia Liut was "available" to face any job proposal, it should be noted that in 1918 He had broken the world speed record in a Marchetti Vimy plane from 260 km/h, a real feat.

The Ecuadorian consul in Rome somehow comes into contact with Liut in order for him to come to Ecuador to teach about aviation, especially in the military field., this for 1920, but it is necessary to indicate that previous years already in the country Cossme Renella flew, in a bleriot, and in a Neauport Navara called Patria 1.

An emissary from Liut with the surname Bossio arrives to meet with President Baquerizo Moreno who did not pay much attention to the issue, despite there being interest in establishing a military aviation as such and also an airline, this lack of interest makes Bossio, trip to Guayaquil with the frank intention of going to Peru to offer the services, but advantageously he contacts an Italian citizen resident and merchant in the port who in turn is a close friend of Dr.. José Abel Castillo owner of the newspaper El Telégrafo and together they undertake the company of bringing Elia Liut to our lands. It is so the 23 June 1920 the agreements are formalized and the company El Telégrafo acquires the plane owned by Liut, bearing the expenses inherent to the project.

for july 1920 Elia Liut arrives in Guayaquil, his staff and with him the Macchi Hanriot HD-1 plane packed in crates, the same ones that were transferred to the Cristóbal Colón School for their respective assembly., for him 8 On August of the same year, the preparations for the first flight were made with the assistance of Dr.. Castillo and other authorities in the case, in this ceremony the plane was baptized as TELEGRAFO 1, In the afternoon the plane took off under the command of Liut, he made evaluations of the case and later landed, a very emotional act that caused the commotion of the case and evidently excited all those present..

The Chief of the First Military Zone, informed the presidency of such a feat and of the indisputable importance of aviation in our country, This greatly stimulated President Dr.. José Luis Tamayo to obtain from Congress the decree for the creation of the first aviation school on 27 October 1920, which would lead to the annual celebration of the Ecuadorian Air Force.

Quito 1

Before the Hanriot “Telegraph 1” arrived in Guayaquil, in Quito there was enthusiasm to carry out a similar undertaking, that is to say, propitiate a plane to start operations with a Quito-Riobamba raid. Entrepreneurs from Quito Pedro Freire, Salvador Bucheli and Rafael Tobar, acquired a Spad XX in France. The aircraft was assembled and tested in the city of Quito, but there was no trained pilot for this type of biplane.

They asked Pedro Traversari to carry out the raid, but his military superiority did not allow it. The plane manages to take off under the command of the French pilot Tnte. Marc Guitenny who was in Quito. Unfortunately, the plane crashed almost immediately and the Quito attempt to emulate the "Telegraph 1" raid was cut short..

Elia Liut and the first raid in Ecuador

First Raid Guayaquil – Cuenca

On the occasion of celebrating the centenary of independence the 3 of November, it is agreed to make the first flight between the two cities, For this purpose, some members of the team traveled by land in order to prepare the "track" and keep the pilot informed of the weather conditions for this and, let's say, as an alternate pilot, Ferrucio Guicciardi, a friend of Liut, already appears on the scene., Who would provide ground handling services?.

Liut carries out the Guayaquil – Naranjal – Molleturo – Cuenca flight plan, being the last section the most complicated due to the height that the plane had to take 3.700 meters, additionally, the plane would carry the first air postal bag, so postcards were printed with the legend of First Air Mail of Ecuador, Additionally, different types of letters were taken to Cuenca, for him 4 November at 9:30 hours took off from Guayaquil and headed for the Azuaya capital and arrived around 11:21 hours, taken land in the Jericó hacienda and naturally be the subject of a tremendous reception by the citizens.

Second Raid Cuenca – Riobamba

The overflowing enthusiasm resulting from the successful first flight to Cuenca, causes preparations for the second raid to begin, bound for Riobamba, it is so for him 19 November decola the Hanriot at 7:20 Cuenca hours, but this time under the command of Ferrucio Guicciardi who arrives at the sultana of the Andes at 8:26 hours, passing through Azoguez, In the Bible, Canar, Guamote, Chambo to finally arrive in Riobamba being received as a hero, the next day the plane performed stunts over the city. For this the flight to Quito was already prepared.

Third Raid Riobamba – Quito

Once all the activities related to the arrival of the plane to Quito have been carried out, the Telegraph 1 takes off from Riobmaba at 9:30 hours to go through Ambato and almost land in Latacunga, Realizing that there were no agreed signs, continue north until you reach the capital, make case evaluations, and land in Iñaquito, Carolina today, evidently the reception was apotheosis, but it was not the first plane to fly the skies of Quito, the first was Quito 1, that's another story we talked about above.

This would be Elia Liut's last flight at the Telegraph 1 given that he was called up by the government to start the formation of the aviation school as its director.

In turn, Guicciardi would continue with the flights through the inter-Andean alley, the next destination being Ibarra..

Fourth Raid Quito – Ibarra

Stopping this flight, the plane was inspected with good results, which allowed the flight to continue., decolonized from Iñaquito the 9 February 1921 passed through Guayllabamba, encountered bad weather over the Mojanda junction, forcing Guicciardi to climb the 5000 meters and fly without visual references, however, and with the luck of the case, he passed through Otavalo to finally take track in Ibarra, carrying a postal bag, naturally being received as an intrepid aviator deserves. Then I would make an additional flight Ibarra – Otavalo and start preparations for the next adventure to Tulcán..

Fifth Raid Ibarra – Tulcán

Guicciardi part of Ibarra the 16 from February at 10 hours bound for the Carchense capital, but bad weather forces the pilot to land for a short time in San Gabriel, which meant a great event for that time, After the weather improves, he leaves for Tulcán arriving at 13 hours, It could not be otherwise, the reception was of the same magnitude as in the other cities, A relevant fact was that many Colombians went to see the already famous Telégrafo 1 so they proposed to the Italian to continue the flight to Pasto.

Sixth Raid Tulcán – Pasto

The proposal to reach Pasto by plane was accepted by Guicciardi and so the 6 march 1921 party bound for Pasto, Narino the Hanriot, carrying postal bag, this fact marks an important milestone since Ecuador became the first South American country to transport international bags.

in grass, Ferrucio Guicciardi receives and accepts the proposal for a new challenge, be the first pilot to arrive from any point in Colombia to Cali, but in competition with a Caudron G-III called Antioquia piloted by a French.

7th Pasto Raid – Cali

The 21 april 1921 they leave the same at 07:00 hours from Pasto el Telegrafo 1 and from Medellin the Antioquia, Ferrucio Guicciardi arriving first to Cali which allowed him to obtain the award and his respective financial compensation, the Hanriot flew a good time in Cali and other nearby cities, until the 22 of July coming to an end the route of the plane, in Cali it was disarmed and shipped to Quito once Dr.. Castillo will donate the plane to the Ecuadorian Government.

Guicciardi settled in Colombia and was a pilot in SIT, for his part Elia liut, continued with the formation process of the Aviation Military School, he lived the rest of his time in Ecuador settling in the end in Ibarra.

As for the Hanriot, it flew for a while longer until it suffered a mishap in Cuenca and was withdrawn from service years later, rebuilt changing the scheme to silver with cockades, changed the landing gear to one with ice cream truck wheels as my friend Hugo says, later preserved in the temple of the heroes of the Military College in Quito, from the year 85 about, is transferred to the FAE Museum, where it remains to this day and was recently restored by the anniversary 100 of the Ecuadorian Air Force.

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