145 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean L.A.S. “Jean,” “Buenos Aires” [December 10, 1927], to his grandparents, the GILLETs; 4 pages, small in-4. After his first flight from Buenos Aires to Rio; expansion of the Aéropostale in South America. He regrets not having been able to go and kiss them goodbye before boarding in La Rochelle: “Stopovers in La Coruña, Porto, and Dakar. Calm seas from Porto onward. The trip was a bit long, especially when there weren’t many passengers. Most had disembarked at Dakar, and the fear of yellow fever—which is still rampant in Senegal—had left them neurasthenic from the moment we set sail. I went through the Equator crossing ritual, which involves being flipped upside down into a pool and dunked three times while being thoroughly smeared with paste. In particular, it’s actually cooler at the Equator than in Dakar, for example. Apparently, it’s even often cold there. Our arrival in Rio at night was splendid. It’s quite simply a marvelous scene straight out of a tale from *One Thousand and One Nights*. A dreamlike setting, extraordinary vegetation, a superb city—in short, a true paradise, if only it weren’t so stiflingly hot!! I stayed there for five days and flew down here. I’ve been assigned here as chief pilot of the airfield, earning 1,360 piastres or pesos a month—which comes to almost 14,000 francs. At first I refused—partly because of my age, and partly because my love of aviation precludes any desire for a sedentary or nearly sedentary job, especially for someone like me who’s used to flying a lot. But I had to give in, as the General Manager of Operations made it clear to me that it was my duty to make myself useful in both the technical and professional spheres, that I had a great deal of aviation experience, that I was counted on to organize the Rio–Buenos Aires route from an operational standpoint—in short, that I would be tasked with surveying and establishing domestic routes to Chile, Paraguay, and Patagonia. As a result, I’ll be doing some interesting flying. I also asked to fly the special courier flights from here to Rio de Janeiro myself, and since there are about two per month, I’ll get to fly just as much as the other pilots. I’ll probably also make a few commercial flights from Natal to Buenos Aires and to Chile. In short, I have a lot of work ahead of me. Thankfully! I’ll also be responsible for the administrative and technical management of the airfield, as well as hiring pilots and mechanics on site. It’s quite a substantial position, as you can see, but I prioritize flying above all else—it’s essential to me. My superiors are Mr. de Siéyès, the Commercial Director, and an Argentine Operations Director—both charming men—with whom I often go out. In short, I am happy once again, as I will continue to be actively engaged in my work. […] It’s spring here, and it’s already warm. Buenos Aires is a beautiful, large city with nearly two million inhabitants. It boasts twenty-story American-style buildings, French-style boulevards, superb German hotels, English cottages, and Spanish churches—all of which make it a very Argentine capital, since the Argentines themselves are cosmopolitan by nature, possessing a blend of ancestral traits that give them a unique character—of which they’re quite proud, by the way!! We’re officially launching the international route in early January. You’ll therefore be able to receive news more frequently, since we plan to make the trip in 7½ days. I’ll write regularly whenever mail departs. At the moment, letters are sent out whenever a ship is available and arrive whenever they can”…. Correspondence, No. 130. Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family