000169 Visit since
Until 1931, transportation to the
port was only by ships visiting the port periodically
or hard-to-travel horseback roads. It took four days
on horseback from the town of Ameca to Puerto Vallarta.
 |
One of the first air-planes
that served Vallarta. In the background is the
waiting area
|
The first flight took place on December
3, 1931. The pilot’s name was Charles Bogham who
was later nicknamed “Pancho Pistolas” for
always carrying guns. He was the pioneer of aviation
in Vallarta.
On the morning of December 3, people
saw a strange object in the sky making a loud noise.
The object was a small plane circling the port, causing
great excitement among local people who had never seen
an airplane.
This is how the first airplane crossed
Vallarta’s blue sky on its first inspection flight.
The passengers on the inspection flight included the
Sanchez Noriega family from the mineral area of St.
Sebastian near Vallarta, and a young doctor, Luis Gonzalez,
from Talpa de Allende. The plane did not land, but left
people talking about it for days.
Two weeks later the plane piloted
by Señor Bogham returned to Vallarta. As the
plane approached the landing area, people heard the
noise and came out of theirs houses yelling “Here
comes the plane !!”. Many eyes watched the final
descending and landing by los “Camaroncitos”
( Little Shrimps ) beach near a big mango orchard, the
property of Don Manuel Robles.
The plane caught the attention of
everyone. People from all social levels moved curiously
and eagerly to see the strange machine on the beach.
The small plane was a run-down old, model and the fuselage
was secured with bailing wire.
 |
A picture of the old airport. |
Señor Bogham, or “Pancho
Pistolas”, was surrounded by all the curious on-lookers
who were asking questions and wanted to get closer to
touch the airplane.
It was a brief visit. The plane took
off from the beach after one hour. Bogham started regular
flights to Vallarta from Guadalajara and Mascota. The
first passenger from Guadalajara was Carmelita Rojo
de Romero. She traveled with Heliodora Fregoso Santana
and Veva de Baumgarten.
The first passengers to arrive by
plane from Mascota, Jalisco, were Alfredo Renteria,
nickname “El Brillante” (The Brillant),
Don Ponciano Guzman y Guzman, Mariano Llauger, and Alfredo
Guitron.
My husband and our son, little Roberto,
traveled on the third flight. Señor Antonio Guereña,
who did not want to fly alone, invited them. Although
the plane was a small five-passenger, it provided sufficient
service for those few people how were courageous enough
to fly.
 |
A group of friends gathered
at the airport to welcome María Elena
Carranza 1937.
|
Bogham bought another plane and started
flying regularly to Vallarta. On occasion, he would
offer sightseeing plane rides around the bay for one
peso per minute. He traveled often from Vallarta to
Mascota.
Bogahm’s commissioner was Edmundo
Guerra, a local telegrapher. Although “Pancho
Pistolas” flights were irregular, they established
a new route of transportation for Puerto Vallarta.
In 1934 the Fierro brothers, Arturo
and Raul, started operating flights to Puerto Vallarta.
The Fierro brothers built a runway on site were kids
used to play baseball by hotel Posada de la Selva (Jungle
Inn). The strip extended approximately to Los Muertos
beach.
The small planes of Fierro´s
company flew very close to the main Church upon descending.
It looked as though they would crash into the dome before
landing by the river.
 |
A group of local people welcomes
politicians from Guadalajara 1938.
|
A short time after the Fierro brothers
inaugurated their new route, one of their airplanes
crashed into the ocean shortly after taking off. One
person was killed. Luckily, the crew, which included
pilot, Arturo Fierro, and the rest of the passengers,
swan back to safety. The accident occurred close to
the Los Muertos beach . The plane was later pulled out
the ocean with special cables.
In 1934, the Fierro Brothers brought
us a new air route and the commencement of a new postal
era. The post offices were remodeled and new personnel
were hired. Prior to this development in 1924, there
were only two postal employees, Don Edmundo Guerra,
head of the Post Office, and his assistant Genarito
(nickname for Genaro). During that period of time, the
mail was transported by land, and two employees were
sufficient to handle it. At this writing, Genarito has
worked at the post office for 56 years. He is a loyal
employee, and a king person who always smile.
The Telegraph and Post Office merged
in 1940. The aviation business contributed to the progress
of Vallarta, opening new lines of communication.
 |
Airport located on Vein of
Santa María area 1952.
|
In 1941 a dramatic plane occurred
crash from Fierro airlines took the life of popular
pilot Arturo Fierro. The accident occurred between El
Pulpito cliff (The Pulpit is a well known local attraction
located on the south side of Los Muertos Beach) and
Las Amapas beach on July 7, 1941. After the accident
the authorities spotted a few survivors floating in
the ocean. They were desperately holding onto any floating
objects from the crash. All survivors were brought in
to safety.
As it often happens, a man who bought
an airline ticket to fly that day could not get on the
flight because it was oversold.. He was very upset at
first, but relieved after hearing about the accident.
Amongst the victims of the fatal
crash were a young doctor, some schoolteachers and the
young daughters of Señor Benavides, from Mascota,
who was the Secretary of the City Hall.
After the fatal crash, the Fierro
brothers stopped flight services altogether for a full
year. People who had emergencies had to hire a private
airplane.
 |
Señor, Doctor, José
María Guillén (center) Señor,
Rodolfo Gómez (left), and Señor.
Florencio Torres or Lencho (rigth), welcomed
Congressman Audifas Mendoza at the airport 1942.
|
Raul Fierro restarted operation flights
on September 2, 1942. Among a few pilots who worked
for Fierro were Oscar Ordoñez, Roberto Fierro,
who was the youngest of the Fierro brothers, and Manuel
McCormick. The airplane were mostly small, single-engine
machines with a capacity of up to 6 passengers. The
airline was not well managed, which caused many irregularities
in the flight schedules.
Around 1942, Raul Fierro contributed
to the construction of a new thousand-meter runway on
a land extension at Vena de Santa Maria (St. Mary’s
vein). The military from Ameca donated the labor. The
lobby was a hut made of palm stalks with chairs made
of splintered palm core. See picture on page 114. Shown
in picture, Dr. Guillen, Rodolfo Gomez and Lencho Torres
welcomed congressman Audifas Mendoza. The rustic lobby
is in the background.
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Note: The segments
from the book "Puerto Vallarta en mis Recuerdos"
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Note: Distinguished
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