AirmailEd
Member 
Posts: 174 
What I collect: Worldwide airmail stamps through 1940, unused
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Post by AirmailEd on Jun 28, 2014 1:07:22 GMT
This just in from an auction at AB Philea in Sweden:  This stamp was issued for flights from Cochabamba to Oruru, both in Bolivia. Aug. 11, 1925. The flights were made with an F.13 Junkers. |
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rod222
Member
Posts: 9,873
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps, Ephemera and Catalogues
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Post by rod222 on Jun 28, 2014 2:19:07 GMT
With such romantic names, I just had to see the trip. 214 Kilometers (length of a day trip in the Tour de France) Not sure of the topography, looks like it's going over mountains, that would have been hairy in Junkers.  |
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rod222
Member
Posts: 9,873
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps, Ephemera and Catalogues
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Post by rod222 on Jun 28, 2014 2:26:48 GMT
In Bolivia, LAB's first airplane was a Junkers F-13; first flight took off from Cochabamba on September 23, 1925. Bolivia Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano received the first F.13 as a gift from the German community on the occasion of the centennial of Bolivian independence. F13 4 passengers, 2 crew. Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts, and extinguish all cigarettes..... Relax on the lounge, the flight is 214 Km, and we trust you shall enjoy your flight. www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blogs/sam2-the-ubiquitous-junkers |
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Jerry B
Departed
Rest in Peace
Marietta, Georgia USA
Posts: 1,485
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Post by Jerry B on Jun 28, 2014 6:59:48 GMT
Hi Rodney
The Andes mountains get higher the further South one goes and peaks in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
Altitude of some major cities
Bogota, Colombia: 8,612 feet 2,625 meters
Tunja, Colombia: 9,219 feet 2,810 meters (wife's home town )
Zipaquira, Colombia 8,701 feet 2,652 meters ( family ranch in a valley near Tunja)
Quito, Ecuador: 9,350 feet 2,850 meters
Cochabamba, Bolivia: 8,300 feet 2,558 meters
La Paz, Bolivia: 13,325 feet 4,061 meters ( airport )
Santiago, Chile: 1,706 feet 520 meters
Most early flights in the South America West were in the Andes mountains. A lot of the planes used were Junkers. Some cities are located in valleys so their altitude is a little lower than the mountains around them. However, the pilots still had to fly over 8,000+ foot mountains to get to the valley cities.
We have a friend who was a Air Force test pilot for the C130 aircraft and he was sent to Quito, Ecuador to train pilots to fly the C130. He said the first few flights in the Andes were scary but it did not phase the Ecuadorian pilots.
I guess living at these altitudes is a little mind boggling for you people Down Under. The hardest part I found was playing football (soccer) at almost 9,000 feet.
Jerry B
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rod222
Member
Posts: 9,873
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps, Ephemera and Catalogues
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Post by rod222 on Jun 28, 2014 7:59:52 GMT
Nice yarn, Jerry.
that is astonishing, no wonder the Colombians climb so well on their bikes.
Western Aust highest tops out at 1250 metres.
I hike every year to my local mountain at 1032 metres, takes me a few days to recover.
Coming down is the worst.
I think I recall, the recent winner of the Giro d'Italia, comes from your wife's town? or near to it.
"The hardest part I found was playing football (soccer) at almost 9,000 feet"
...I suppose the Scuba gear weighs you down a lot then ?
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Jerry B
Departed
Rest in Peace
Marietta, Georgia USA
Posts: 1,485
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Post by Jerry B on Jun 28, 2014 14:56:31 GMT
Hi Rodney It is really hard to kick a ball with flippers  I have to check but I believe that most of the early Air Mail services were provided by German Companies. For Colombia I am positive. Therefore a lot of German aircraft was used. Jerry B |
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Jerry B
Departed
Rest in Peace
Marietta, Georgia USA
Posts: 1,485
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Post by Jerry B on Jun 28, 2014 15:07:21 GMT
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rod222
Member
Posts: 9,873
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps, Ephemera and Catalogues
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Post by rod222 on Jun 28, 2014 20:04:49 GMT
Yes, I thought so Jerry, An exceptional bicycle rider, and a thorough gentleman, from what I can understand via the media. A great ambassador for Colombia, and for cycling. |
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