In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

AIRPLANES 7
(Franco, 286). Since Franco shuns all kinds of commercial publicity-he
goes so far as to exclude the famous photographer Alonso from the crew
after the first legs of his flight (108ff.)-he appears to be honestly surprised
by his new celebrity status. [see Stars] In asking for an autograph,
his admirers wish to acquire a trace of that body which has braved lethal
danger: "There exists in this country [Brazil] a mania which we did not
know about or foresee when we left. This mania certainly comes from
England or the United States, because we Latins do not have it. It consists
in the fact that everyone wants to collect and keep the autograph of any
person who has distinguished himself in some way. We were the victims
of this mania" (202).
Two different but complementary forms of economic exploitation
accompany such pioneering enterprises. On a pragmatic level, the most
recent technical insights find immediate application in the schedules of
the fledgling commercial airlines. Germany's Lufthansa is founded on
January 6; by December, it is scheduling flights to fifty-seven European
cities, has inaugurated a regular night service between Berlin and
Konigsberg, and is selling tickets for as low as 20 marks. Such marketing
makes airplane travel accessible for well-to-do professionals. The Berliner
Zeitung am Mittag is partly distributed by air, and, during Whitsun
week, Lufthansa for the first time offers round-trip packages on its
Berlin-Dresden and Berlin-Copenhagen routes, including hotel and sightseeing
fees, for 260 and 435 marks respectively (Berliner Volks-Zeitung,
May 14). At the same time, sensational technical advances in aviation
and their quick institutionalization generate more collective pride and
enthusiasm than any other type of event. Flying thus becomes an arena
of national competition. On May 9, U.S. naval officer Richard Evelyn
Byrd, in a Fokker, makes the first flight over the North Pole, beating by
three days a dirigible flown by an Italian-Norwegian team under the
direction of Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile and sponsored by the
Italian government (Annees-memoire, 116-117; Chronik, 95). [see Polarities]
Ramon Franco seems determined to organize his flight as a
purely Spanish enterprise. He carefully avoids entering into negotiations
with an Italian team planning a transatlantic flight. The successful completion
of his own independent Spanish raid triggers simultaneous national
celebrations in Buenos Aires and Madrid, as well as a wave of
fresh enthusiasm for the brotherly ties that supposedly link the world's
Hispanic societies-despite the intense rivalry between Argentina, the