Silvio Pettirossi

Silvio Pettirossi (June 16, 1887 – October 17, 1916) was a Paraguayan airplane pilot and aviation pioneer.

Background

Born in Asunción on June 16, 1887 to Italian emigrants, as a young man he moved to Buenos Aires. There he contacted the aviator Jorge Newbery, who taught him to fly.

Aviation achievements

Pettirossi received a scholarship given by the Paraguayan government, and in 1912 moved to France where he obtained the title of aviator pilot from the international aeronautic federation. Once he had received the title, he made many important flights, setting a record eight-hour flight.

He bought a Deperdussin model "T" monoplane with a 60 HP rotary Gnome engine. He made many famous and extraordinary acrobatic flights in Europe, South America and the United States.

In December 1914 he founded the Aeroclub del Paraguay and was named its president.

Death, and legacy

On October 17, 1916, while doing an inverted loop, the left wing of his plane broke, and the aircraft crashed to the ground in a ranch owned by the Castell family, in Buenos Aires Province. Pettirossi died instantly.

Asunción's Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, three soccer clubs, the Airborne Brigade of the Paraguayan Air Force, a Paraguayan Air Force Base in Luque, an avenue in Asunción, the Paraguayan Institute of Aviation History, a school, and some other things are named after him.