Bouckaert, Albert - Belgium-Congo by plane (1935)
Bouckaert, Albert - Belgium-Congo by plane (1935)
A 60-page report on the first air links between Brussels and Leopoldville as published in the Brussels daily "Le Soir".
The trip described in this publication is the first one made by the twin-engined Fokker "Léopold Roger" of Sabena. The route followed does not correspond to the final itinerary of the Belgium-Congo airline: a few months later, Sabena was allowed to fly over English Nigeria (Nigeria) and put into service three-engined Savoia Marchetti aircraft with a speed of 270 km/h, while the twin-engined Fokker hardly exceeds 160 km/h. The trip required 50 hours of actual flying time for the 10 passengers (five days). This time will be reduced to three, then two days when the beaconing lights installed in the Tanezrouft will allow the night flight over the desert.
An epic and fascinating story.
60 pages in French