Eduardo Bradley (9 April 1887 – 3 June 1951) was an Argentine pilot and balloonist who in 1916 made the first balloon crossing of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. He was a leading figure in the founding of

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, which can be both private and commercial. Most countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and ...

in South America. Born in the city of

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on April 9, 1887, Bradley was the son of Tomás Bradley Sutton, veteran of the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

, and Mary Hayes O’Callaghan. He began his pilot's career alongside Jorge Newbery. His brevet was the first issued following the newly created regulations of the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

. Shortly after Newbery's death in 1914, he set out to honor his late friend by attempting to cross the Andes in an

aerostat An aerostat (, via French) or lighter-than-air aircraft is an aircraft that relies on buoyancy to maintain flight. Aerostats include unpowered balloons (free-flying or tethered) and powered airships. The relative density of an aerostat as a ...

. Already an experienced balloonist, Bradley had made over one hundred ascensions and set records for altitude (6,900 meters), flight duration (28 hours, 10 minutes), and distance covered in-flight (900 km, to

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Crossing of the Andes

Preliminary studies had determined the crossing should be eastbound, which was the direction the winds carried at the altitude required. This later required moving to

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

to make the necessary arrangements. Eduardo Bradley presented his plans to Aero Club Argentino, which eventually provided two balloons and the necessary gear to produce high volumes of

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

. Although the balloons turned out to be usable, the hydrogen-producing gear was absolutely worthless. The largest of the two balloons named ''Eduardo Newbery'' (after an Argentine aviation pioneer), was chosen by Bradley for the flight. The second balloon, named ''Teniente Origone'', was used for testing prior to the actual crossing of the Andes. Bradley's first choice for co-pilot was Julio Crespo Vivot, a seasoned aviator with whom he had flown while setting the record for altitude, but Vivot refused to come along on the adventure. In his stead, Bradley selected Angel María Zuloaga, a young army lieutenant. Once in Chile, the crew had serious difficulties with the generation of

, due to the accidental loss of most of the

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

imported from Argentina. Bradley decided to resort to

coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

, produced in Chile and readily available, with a high percentage of hydrogen. The odyssey would have been impossible without the cooperation of Chilean authorities, who responded more favorably to Bradley's request for support than did officials in his native Argentina. The crossing of the Andes on an

filled with

was finally accomplished on June 24, 1916. At an altitude of 8,100m, the temperature dropped to -30 °C. The adventure lasted three and a half hours from the moment of liftoff in Santiago to the landing in Cerro de la Cepa, Uspallata, Mendoza,

. Bradley and Zuloaga were welcomed in Argentina as national heroes.

Later life

The years following the crossing of the Andes were dedicated by Bradley to developing the local civil aviation industry to which he devoted the rest of his life. He pioneered NYRBA, a company founded by Ralph O’Neil, in Argentina, and was the manager for Pan American Grace Airways and, later, president of Pan-American Argentina. On September 4, 1929, Bradley, then serving as secretary of the Argentine Department of Aviation, became the first passenger on a direct flight from

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, flying Pan American. The journey lasted 56 hours. The purpose of his visit to the US was to compete for the second time in the Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning. Eduardo Bradley departed at 4:05 pm in 4th place after pilot Ward T. Van OrmanTerre Haute Tribune, "Ballons Race for Bennett Cup" Terre Haute, September 29, 1929. Eduardo Bradley died in Buenos Aires on June 3, 1951, and is buried in the Cementerio de la Recoleta.

Bibliography

* “La Plata, un belo Horizonte” Revista de Historia. Author Rogério Pereyra Arruda. January 2, 201

* ''Más liviano que el aire. Eduardo Bradley'' (Lighter Than Air) Historias con globos, by Nelson Montes-Bradley. Xlibris, Philadelphia, USA, 2007 * ''Una vida en las alturas.'' . by Washington Bradley. Editorial Dunken, Buenos Aires, 2004 * ''Jorge Newbery, el conquistador del espacio.'' by Raúl Larra. Editorial Futuro, Buenos Aires, 1960 * ''La aerostación Argentina y sus precursores.'' by Julio Víctor Lirón. Buenos Aires, 1958. * ''La victoria de las alas. Historia de la aviación Argentina.'' by Ángel MaríaZuloaga. El Ateneo. Buenos Aires, 1948 * ''La Travesía de los Andes en Globo.'' by Eduardo Bradley. Imprenta Argentina Jacobo Peuser, Buenos Aires, 1916

References

External links

Gordon Bennet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Eduardo 1887 births History of aviation 1951 deaths Argentine aviators Argentine people of English descent Ambassadors of Argentina to China Air racers Balloonists Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Balloon flight record holders Patrician families of Buenos Aires