Mexico Had No Air Force in 1912 — The Aldasoro Brothers Built the First National Aircraft Engine-ZZ

January 1911, Tala Pujahua, Mitua Khan.

In the foundry workshops of the Lastos Estraas mine, two teenage brothers turn on for the first time an engine they built completely by hand.

Six cylinders, no, two opposed cylinders, air cooled, 60 horsepower at 900 revolutions per minute.

Their names, Juan Pablo Aldosauro, 17 years old.

Eduardo Aldasurro, 16 years old.

The engine roars, it works perfectly.

They have just built the first aeronautical engine manufactured entirely in Latin America.

While Europe already had established aeronautical industries, and the United States was buying engines from France, Mexico didn’t have a single aviation engine.

No aeronautical engineer, no specialized factory, no air force.

So two inseparable brothers without university training and engineering without technical blueprints without initial funding decided to build something no Latin American had achieved a functional aviation engine made from scratch.

This is the documented story of how the Aldosauro brothers not only built the first aeronautical engine in Latin America but also founded the Mexican Air Force in the process and why almost no one outside of Mexico knows their names.

To understand the magnitude of what the Aldosaurro brothers did, you need to understand Mexico in 1910.

On November 20th, 1910, Francisco Bis Madero proclaimed the plan of San Luis, starting the Mexican Revolution against the dictatorship of Perfiio Diaz, who had ruled Mexico for 31 consecutive years.

What began as a political rebellion turned into a devastating civil war that would last a full decade.

The numbers are brutal.

More than a million Mexicans died during the revolution, about 8% of the total population.

For context, that would be equivalent to the United States losing 27 million people today.

But while Mexico was bleeding in civil war, something revolutionary was happening in the rest of the world.

The birth of aviation.

December 17th, 1903.

The Wright brothers flew for 12 seconds in Kittyhawk, North Carolina.

July 25th, 1909, the Frenchman Louis Blio crossed the English Channel in 37 minutes.

October 1911, Italy became the first nation to use military aviation in combat during the Italo Turkish War in Libya.

1912, the European powers already had established military aeronautical programs.

France operated more than 200 military aircraft.

Germany had 80.

Great Britain maintained 113.

Military strategists around the world reached the same conclusion.

Whoever controlled the skies would control the battlefields of the future.

But Mexico had none of this.

Zero military aircraft, zero trained pilots, zero aeronautical engines, zero industrial infrastructure capable of manufacturing them except for two brothers from real delgo who were about to change all that.

Juan Pablo Aldasurro Suarez was born on September 14th, 1893 in the Kasa Grande of Real del Monte, Hidalgo State.

Eduardo Aldasurro Suarez was born on October 27th, 1894 in the same place.

Their father, Andreas Aldasurro, was the minister of development during the Porfiri and general manager of the Lastos Estraas mine in Mituakan.

The family was well off, not aristocrats, but they had enough resources.

What set the two brothers apart wasn’t the money.

It was a shared obsession with machines.

Inseparable brothers since childhood.

From a young age, they took apart clocks to see how they worked.

They repaired neighborhood bicycles.

As teenagers, they devoured any scientific magazine that reached Mexico, French, German, American publications about automobiles, internal combustion engines, and the new wonder, airplanes.

In Pfurian, Mexico at the beginning of the 20th century, this was rare.

Technical education was limited.

There were no universities with aeronautical engineering programs because airplanes had barely existed for 7 years.

But the Aldosauro brothers wanted to build things.

1908 the first gliders.

By 1908 the brothers began designing and building their first gliders.

They tested them in the planes near the Ponteon de la Pierad today Avanita Quao in Mexico City.

They achieved brilliant successes.

They flew in their own devices gliding several hundred meters.

The tests were carried out at different times mainly at dawn.

They used leather aprons as protection during landing because the gliders ended up semi-destroyed.

March 9th, 1909.

The decisive flight.

This date was very important for the Aldosauro brothers.

They took their glider to the outskirts of Mexico City in what is now Curetaro Street in the Roman neighborhood.

This was the first street laid out in that subdivision and represented a track without obstacles.

They tied the glider to a white steam car, the fastest automobile of that time.

Juan Pablo would be the crew member.

Eduardo would drive the car that would tow the glider.

They started the race on land.

In the middle of a cloud of dust, the glider lifted its tail and rose from the ground, surpassing the dust cloud.

The car continued for about 300 m and then slowed down so the glider could release the cable and continue flying.

But something unexpected happened.

The device to release the cable didn’t work properly.

Juan Pablo flew over the car without being able to free himself.

The glider continued forward.

The cable pulled it back.

It flipped over and crashed.

The glider was completely destroyed.

Juan Pablo survived with a fractured leg, but the experience was invaluable.

The pilot had demonstrated exceptional control of the glider, staying stable for more than 480 m and flying at 10 m high.

This accident and others that Eduardo suffered did not discourage the brothers in the least.

On the contrary, they had seen that their designs could fly.

Now they decided to build something that would allow them more effective flights.

An engine with the firm purpose of building an aeronautical engine.

The brothers moved to the Losto Estrellas mine in Tlal Pujahua Mituakan where their father was the manager.

They brought their drawings and plans.

Taking advantage of the mine’s foundry workshops, they began building hundreds of parts.

The goal to design and build an engine that without departing from the principles of internal combustion would serve expressly to power an airplane.

The problem at that time only very heavy bulky machines existed with enormous cooling radiators and endless accessories that didn’t meet the required characteristics to power an airplane.

The Aldosauro brothers decided to build a two opposed cylinder engine cooled by air.

They didn’t have technical blueprints for aeronautical engines, access to specialized engineers, aerospace aluminum alloys, specialized precision tools, or previous experience building engines.

What they did have access to the mines’s foundry workshops, basic knowledge of mechanics from technical aviation magazines, and absolute determination.

The technical challenge was brutal.

An aeronautical engine required an optimal powertoweight ratio.

Automobile engines were too heavy.

Cooling without a radiator.

Liquid radiators added weight.

Dimensional precision.

The pistons had to fit perfectly in the cylinders.

Perfect balancing.

Any excessive vibration would destroy the engine in the air.

The brothers worked for months casting pieces in the mine’s workshops, machining cylinders, forging valves, adapting components.

There were no days off, just constant work.

January 1911, the engine is finished.

Finally, an air cooled engine was completed and tested with complete success, developing 60 horsepower at 900 revolutions per minute.

Its main characteristic, it only weighed 3 kg per horsepower.

This was extraordinary.

European engines of the time weighed between 5 and 7 kg per horsepower.

The Aldosauro brothers connected the engine to a test bench, turned it on.

It worked perfectly without excessive vibration, without overheating, with constant power.

They had just built the first aeronautical engine manufactured entirely in Latin America.

No Latin American had achieved this before, but building an engine was one thing.

Making it fly was something completely different.

As a compliment, the Aldosauro brothers solved the problems of stability in flight.

They built a rudimentary wind tunnel, one of the first in Mexico.

They studied and experimented with different types of wing profiles.

They established techniques to determine center of gravity positions.

They achieved a list of high performance angles of attack and arrived at the design of the thick wing with high high efficiency.

This was revolutionary long before European designers adopted this concept.

With the engine finished and the aerodynamic design resolved, the brothers built the complete airplane.

materials, fuselage, structural wood, wings, wooden ribs covered with canvas, control cables, piano wire, engine, their two-cylinder 60HP engine.

Once all the components were assembled, the airplane with the engine was ready to be tested.

When the airplane was finished, something extraordinary happened.

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General Alanel Garcia Pena, Minister of War for President Francisco Bruce Mado, inspected the airplane meticulously.

Madero was a progressive and visionary president.

He thought aviation offered great possibilities for creating a modern army.

Garcia Pena made a smart decision.

Before testing the airplane, the Aldosauro brothers should be granted scholarships by the Mexican government to attend an aviation school in the United States.

Once they were certified aviator pilots, they would return to Mexico to test the device they themselves had built.

July 1912, the brothers Juan Pablo and Eduardo Aldasorro headed to Long Island, New York.

They were accompanied by three more companions.

Alberto Selenas Karansa, nephew of Venustiano Karansa.

Gustavo Selenas Kamya, another nephew of Karansa.

Horasio Ruiz Gavinho.

The five joined the Moisant International Aviation School in Miniola, New York.

They were the first Mexicans to join a professional aviation studies center and graduate as aviator pilots.

March 12th, 1913, they graduated as pilots.

Juan Pablo Aldauro obtained title number 21 and 17 from the International Aeronautical Federation.

Eduardo Aldauro obtained title number 21 and 18.

On the day of their graduation, to celebrate their achievements, the New York authorities offered one of the Mexican pilots the opportunity to fly over the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

Only one could go.

They decided by lottery.

Juan Pablo won.

Taking off from Long Island and flying low over the water, Juan Pablo Aldosaurro became the first person to fly over the Statue of Liberty.

The fact delighted the press.

Juan Pablo became an instant celebrity.

Since Juan Pablo and Eduardo Aldauro flew solo before 1916, they are recognized as members of the early birds of aviation, the exclusive group of pioneers who flew before 1916.

The brothers returned to Mexico in 1913.

The country was plunged into chaos.

February 1913, General Victoria Huerta overthrew President Madero in a violent coup known as the tragic 10 days.

Madero was arrested and assassinated on February 22nd, 1913.

Venustiano Kuransza, governor of Kahule, rose up in arms against Huerta, forming the constitutionalist army.

Kuransza understood the importance of aviation.

Influenced by several officers, including his two nephews, Alberto and Gustavo Selenus, he decided to use airplanes as a means of combat, the Aldauro brothers, now certified pilots, joined the constitutionalist army as military aviator pilots.

They were commissioned with the ranks of lieutenant and sublutenant.

April 14th, 1914, the first aeronaval bombing in history in Topo Lompo Sinaloa occurred.

A world historical milestone.

Captain, first aviator pilot Gustavo Adulo Selenus Kaminia, accompanied by naval mechanic Teodoro Madreaga, carried out the first aeronaval bombing in the world.

They flew the Sonora biplane over enemy positions and dropped explosives.

This was the first bombing launched from an airplane on a naval target in world history.

The outstanding performance of the Sonora in this combat demonstrated the value of military aviation.

January 5th, 1915, Battle of Pueba.

The airflot of the constitutionalist army participated in combat against Zapatista forces in the city of Puebla.

They bombed Fort Lorettto and caused several casualties.

After this battle, the flotilla was transferred to Veraracruz.

February 5th, 1915.

Veraracruz, Mexico.

Given the excellent results obtained by those first men of the air, President Venustiano Kuransa signed the official decree.

Issue the necessary orders so that from this date, the military aviation arm is created within the constitutionalist army.

Major aviator pilot Alberto Selenus Kuransza was designated as chief of the military aviation arm.

This was the genesis of the Mexican Air Force.

The Aldosaurro brothers were formally integrated into this new military branch.

Juan Pablo Aldasaurro, Lieutenant Combat Pilot.

Eduardo Aldosauro, Sublutie Lieutenant Reconnaissance Pilot.

November 15th, 1915, Coransza officially inaugurated two critical institutions.

National Aeronautical Construction Workshops, TNCA, for the production of airplanes, engines, and propellers in Mexico.

National Aviation School for the training of aviator pilots in Mexico.

Both events had a marked impact on the evolution of the Mexican Air Force.

The poor performance obtained with imported engines and propellers during their use in the Mexican highlands had created the need for proprietary technology.

Mexico began to manufacture its own airplanes and engines, constituting a source of pride for using exclusively Mexican technology.

Between 1915 and 1920, the Mexican Air Force assisted the Kuransza government with combat and observation missions.

The Aldosauro brothers flew dozens of missions.

Aerial reconnaissance over enemy lines, artillery fire guidance, aerial photography of fortifications, light bombing.

Why did they survive? The mortality rate for military pilots at that time was about 30% per year, not from combat, but from mechanical failures.

Airplanes simply fell from the sky constantly.

But the Aldasurro brothers survived because they themselves had built and maintained their engines.

They knew every component, every valve, every screw, every critical tolerance.

Before each flight, they inspected the engine completely, replacing any part that showed minimal wear.

That obsessive attention to maintenance kept them alive.

1920 foreign instructors.

In August 1920, interim president Adulfo de la Huerta hired three famous foreign pilots, veterans of the First World War, to train Mexican pilots in modern tactics.

Ralph O’Neal, American, chief instructor.

Fritz Beer, German.

Joe Benjamin Levu, French.

The Mexican instructors who worked with them were Alberto Selenus Coranza, Horasio Ruiz Gavinho, Juan Pablo Aldasauro Suarez, Eduardo Aldasauro Suarez, Alonso Virgen Mesa.

The Aldosauro brothers became the main instructors for the new generation of Mexican pilots.

The Mexican Revolution officially ended in 1920.

The country was devastated, but the Aldosauro brothers continued serving.

Juan Pablo Aldosurto continued as a military pilot and instructor.

In the 1920s, he helped establish the country’s first postal air routes.

He flew mail between Mexico City and Veraracruz, 300 km over extremely dangerous mountainous terrain.

In 1924, he piloted one of the first commercial passenger flights in Mexico.

He continued serving in the Mexican Air Force as an instructor and technical consultant until his retirement.

He died on October 4th, 1962 at 69 years old with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, aviator pilot.

He was decorated as a national hero.

Eduardo Aldasurro specialized in civil aviation and air mail.

In 1921, he co-ounded Compania Mexicana de Aia, one of Mexico’s first airlines.

He flew commercial routes throughout the 1920s.

He worked as a consultant for the Mexican government on the expansion of regional airports.

He died on November 10th, 1968 with the rank of brigadier general aviator pilot.

The impact of the Aldosauro brothers goes far beyond their individual achievements.

They proved that Mexico could manufacture advanced aeronautical technology without depending on imports.

This was revolutionary in a continent where practically all sophisticated technology came from Europe or the United States.

In the following decades, 1920s, the Mexico workshops in Baluena began manufacturing training airplanes with increasingly Mexican components.

1940s during World War II, Mexico manufactured spare parts for American airplanes under Lendley’s programs.

194 The military aviation arm was elevated to the rank of Air Force.

On February 10th, 194, Squadron 2011 was constituted as the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force.

and acted in combat during the battle of Luzon in World War II.

1950s, the Mexican Air Force began to fully maintain its F80 shooting star jet aircraft with Mexican technicians and tools.

224 Mexico is the sixth largest aerospace exporter in the world with more than 10,000 million in annual exports.

The sector employs more than 60,000 people in over 330 companies.

Components manufactured in Mexico.

Fly in Boeing 737,77, 787 Dreamlininer, Airbus A320, A350, A380, Bombardier Global and Challenger, Gulfream G650, Bell and Sakorski helicopters.

None of this would have happened without the Aldosauro brothers proving in 1911 that it was possible.

Military air base number four in Kosamel, Quintana Row.

It is named General Eduardo Aldosauro Suarez.

Military Air Base number 11 in Mexico City.

It is named Lieutenant Colonel Juan Pablo Aldasurro Suarez.

There is a street in Mexico City in the Aviasion Sevil neighborhood south of the international airport.

Other famous Mexican and international pilots have streets in the same neighborhood.

A primary school near Tuca was named Hermanos Aldasurro.

Juan Pablo Aldauro died on October 4th, 1962.

He was buried with military honors.

The Mexican Air Force sent a formation of jets that flew low over his funeral in salute.

Eduardo Aldauro died on November 10th, 1968.

Both brothers dedicated their lives to Mexican aviation, but outside of Mexico, their names remain almost unknown.

It’s one of those incredible stories that get buried because they happened in the wrong country.

Not in France, not in Germany, not in the United States, but in Mexico during a bloody revolution.

But the story deserves to be told because the Aldosauro brothers did something that many engineers with infinitely greater resources couldn’t.

Build a functional aeronautical engine from absolute scratch.

And with that engine, they built Mexico’s sky.

Every February 10th, Mexico celebrates Mexican Air Force Day, commemorating the day it was elevated to the rank of armed force in 1940.

But it all began on February 5th, 1915 when Venustiano Kuransza created the military aviation arm.

And that was only possible because two brothers refused to accept that advanced technology was impossible for them.

The Aldosauro brothers built the first aviation engine in Latin America.