Aero Geral

Aero Geral Ltda was a Brazilian airline founded in 1941. It was bought and merged into Varig in 1952.

Aero Geral
Founded1941
Ceased operations1952
Key peopleE. J. McLaren
Custódio Netto Junior
Joaquim Fontes

History

Aero Geral Ltda was founded in 1941 in the Amazon region and started flying with a single Monocoupe 90A in February 1942.[1] However, due to technical difficulties, it was grounded in 1944 and became operational again only in January 1947. In 1947, Edgar James McLaren, a former pilot of Panair do Brasil planned to start regular services in the Amazon region using amphibian aircraft. McLaren hoped to replace Panair, should the airline decide to end its services on the region, which did not happen.

McLaren found new business associates Custódio Netto Junior, also former pilot of Panair do Brasil, and Joaquim Fontes former station manager of Cruzeiro do Sul in Natal, and together they re-created the airline. Aero Geral was then authorized to operate regular flights between Natal and Santos along the coast. Services started in March 1947 using four amphibian Catalinas. In the following years a Curtiss C-46 Commando and two Douglas DC-3 were added to the fleet.[2]

On February 29, 1952 Aero Geral was sold to Varig. Varig thus greatly enlarged its operations in Brazil, extending services beyond Rio de Janeiro until Natal and could better face competition with Panair do Brasil and Cruzeiro do Sul.[3]


Fleet
Aero Geral Fleet[4]
Aircraft Total Years of operation Notes
Monocoupe 90A 1 1942–1944
Consolidated PBY-5A/6A Catalina 5 1947–1952
Curtiss C-46 Commando 1 1949–1952
Douglas DC-3/C-47 2 1950–1952

Accidents and incidents

References
  1. Instituto Histórico-Cultural da Aeronáutica (1991). História Geral da Aeronáutica Brasileira: da criação do Ministério da Aeronáutica ao final da Segunda Guerra Mundial (in Portuguese). 3. Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro: Villa Rica Editoras Reunidas. p. 306.
  2. Pereira, Aldo (1987). Breve História da Aviação Comercial Brasileira (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: Europa Empresa Gráfica e Editora. p. 283.
  3. Instituto Histórico-Cultural da Aeronáutica (2005). História Geral da Aeronáutica Brasileira: de janeiro de 1946 a janeiro de 1956 após o término da Segunda Guerra Mundial até a posse do Dr. Juscelino Kubitschek como Presidente da República (in Portuguese). 4. Rio de Janeiro: GR3 Comunicação & Design. pp. 351–352.
  4. Pereira, Aldo (1987). Breve História da Aviação Comercial Brasileira (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: Europa. p. 283.
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