History of aviation in Ushuaia

In Tierra del Fuego, aviation began in 1928 with the flight of a hydroplane, the "Silver Condor", which left Punta Arenas landed in the bay of Ushuaia to the surprise of the residents who had never seen a plane.

It was the German pilot Gunther Plüschow who was in charge of filming his flight and writing a book about this new adventure.

The return to Punta Arenas was somewhat bumpy as a storm forced it to land near Dawson Island. His support ship, the "Feuerland", found him on the route and after dismantling the machine took him to Punta Arenas. His plane, the D -1313 Tsingtau, was a Heinkel HD 24 developing a speed of 160 km / h; unfortunately it fell in 1931 in Patagonia (Argentine Lake) causing the death of this adventurous pilot. To locate ourselves a little, let us bear in mind that a year before Charles Lindberg made the first transatlantic flight linking New York with Paris (1927). The same year (1928) the English Sir Hubert Wilkins arrived in Antarctica. The next trip was not until 1931. The pioneer Rufino Hugo Cambaceres arrived on a commercial flight with a Waco 22 Hp, touching the cities of Río Grande and Ushuaia.

In 1932 an airline was authorized to fly to Río Gallegos, on the mainland. As landing in Ushuaia was always quite difficult, it was decided to join Rio Grande and Ushuaia with a road crossing the mountain range. In this way, you could combine the trip by plane to Rio Grande and then continue by car; the crossing of the mountain range was made on horseback and a few hours later the traveler arrived at his destination. The landing strips that were used at first consisted of a natural field of the Salesian mission in Rio Grande and then, in 1934, a precarious landing strip was used in the city's refrigerator. In Ushuaia the first track was an embankment made in 1933 by the convicts. But still the flights were not regular.

In 1934 Cambaceres carried out an experimental raid from Buenos Aires-Tierra del Fuego-Buenos Aires; around 6,500 kilometers, trying to demonstrate the efficiency of the medium. The following year, a Late 25 from the Aeroposta Argentina company with 4 passengers arrived on a regular flight. The flights left from Bahía Blanca and arrived at Río Grande; its duration was 2 to 3 days. In 1940 the Bridges family and Harold Reynolds bought a plane (a GA Cygnet 2) becoming the first plane based in Tierra del Fuego. Both in the Harberton ranches, on the Beagle, and Viamonte, on the Atlantic, they set up landing strips for emergencies but that can be used by light aircraft without major problem.

This was a very special moment because the Second World War was unfolding and, according to versions, the interest of the plane was to monitor the coast helping the Allies in sightings of submarines or ships belonging to the "Axis". But it was not until 1948 that Ushuaia was united with Buenos Aires. Aeroposta Argentina planes make regular flights also touching Río Gallegos and Río Grande. Until that year they came to Rio Grande and sporadically they did it to Ushuaia. There were several somewhat dispersed and discontinuous attempts, such as the Rio Gallegos - Ushuaia - Río Gallegos air link with the Cruz del Sur machine. But in reality they were more similar to the roots than to regular flights. So we also have the arrival of the first large plane to Rio Grande: a Navy DC 4. That same year, 1949, a three-seater plane piloted by Alberto Vico arrived and promoted the founding of the Aero Club. It was not until 1954 that the Aeroclubs of Ushuaia and Río Grande were founded. From then on, the activity of both aeroclubs is propelled by the first Fuegian pilots such as Martín Lawrence, Vladimir Bronzovich and Vicente Padín.

Hangars, new runways were built and courses were held. The estancias understood the importance of this fast means of communication and several tracks were built. They even made a flight to Isla de los Estados with two planes piloted by M.Lawrence and V. Bronzovich. Aerolineas Argentinas made flights with DC-3 machines (1951) being later replaced by the Avro 748, DC-4 and the Boeing 737. In 1966, Lineas Aereas del Estado, of the Argentine Air Force, made its appearance with 5 weekly flights operated with Douglas DC 3 aircraft connecting Río Gallegos and Ushuaia with a stopover in Río Grande. LADE, with the firm intention of opening unprofitable commercial routes for other companies, thus linking isolated points of the vast geography of the southern zone, inaugurated in 1972 its regular flights with Puerto Argentino, in the Malvinas Islands, from Comodoro Rivadavia. First with Albatros seaplanes until the runway was built. The frequencies were suspended in 1982 with the Malvinas War.

Cargo flights to Tierra del Fuego were carried out with Douglas C-47s and later incorporated the Twin Otter aircraft. Some flights were made with Hercules C-130 but only for cargo. Passenger service continued with Fokker F-27 and F-28. The frequencies were modified according to the needs and different political moments that Patagonia and Argentina in general lived through. Given the precarious conditions to land in Ushuaia and the lack of interest in maintaining the route, Aerolineas Argentinas stopped providing service in 1971, resuming it in 1984.

During those years only LADE and the Transportes Aeronavales, of the Argentine Navy, covered the service. In the case of the Aeronavales they had two weekly frequencies that were increased in case of transfers. Taking advantage of the space left by Aerolineas Argentinas, the AUSTRAL cabotage company reaches Tierra del Fuego, but is only authorized to Rio Grande. Medical aircraft were of great importance to the island. It happens that, until now, there are many health referrals to Buenos Aires since the island's hospitals are not highly complex. So the government's first medical plane was a 6-seater Piper Azteca. This was followed by a Beechcraft BE 80, a Lear Jet 24 D, an Arava, an Electra and a Lear Jet 35 A; plus a helicopter.

In 1973 an important event occurred for world aviation, which was the first transpolar flight from Buenos Aires to Australia and New Zealand. An Argentine Air Force machine, commanded by H.L. Fautario inaugurates a new commercial air route between Asia, Oceania and America. This same year a Boeing 707 lands in Ushuaia to study the possibility of future flights, reaching the conclusion that a new runway must be built. In the rest of the Fuegian archipelago, the only regular flights are from Punta Arenas to Puerto Williams, on Navarino Island, by LADECO; in addition to military flights. Frequencies vary from one to three times a week depending on the time of year. As an anecdotal fact we have that in 1976 a plane piloted by Juan Lawrence and Paul Weston landed on Cape Horn Island. There were several attempts to unite Punta Arenas with Ushuaia. At the moment and due to government regulations, it can only be done with Río Gallegos.

Flights from Ushuaia to Puerto Williams can be made by private plane as well as from Rio Grande. With regard to ANTARCTICA the flights are not regular and are not made from Tierra del Fuego. In general, the Argentines leave from Río Gallegos and the Chileans from Punta Arenas. They are flights subject to weather conditions and until now you never know for sure when you leave and when you return. The final decision rests with the Commander of the ship.