Aldasoro brothers Juan Pablo Aldasoro Suárez ( 1893 – 1962 ) and Eduardo Aldasoro Suárez ( 1894 - 1968 ) were aviation pioneers . Biography . Juan was born on September 14 , 1893 in the " Casa Grande " of Real of Monte , state of Hidalgo , Mexico . Eduardo was born on October 27 , 1894 . Their father was Andrés Aldasoro , Minister of Promotion under Porfirio Díaz and was general manager of the " Las Dos Estrellas " mine in the state of Michoacán . The inseparable brothers alternated their studies of preparatory with their vocation being mechanics and a passion for flying , and through publications and magazines of those days time they inquired researched about everything related to aviation . Aircraft builders . By 1908 they began to design and construct their first gliders , which were tested on fields near the Piedad Cemetery ( Panteón de la Piedad , now Avenida Cuauhtémoc in Mexico City ) . They achieved brilliant results as they managed to fly about one hundred meters in their own designed gliders . They used diverse methods for the propulsion : the glider was towed by a steam automobile that reached a terminal velocity of 50 km / hour . The structure of the plane was made of wood , the wings were covered by a blanket hardened with " engrudo " and the landing gear was adapted from steel tubes and bicycle wheels . The gliders were cautiously hidden , to avoid someone else stealing their design by covering them with linen cloths . The tests were performed at different hours , mainly at dawn . For his first flights he used leader mandiles for protection , since the gliders were severely damaged after each flight . First flights . March 9 , 1909 was a very important day for the Aldasoro brothers ; that day they took the glider towards the outskirts of Mexico City , nowadays Calle de Querétaro in Colonia Roma . This was the first street to be opened in the neighbourhood and for them it represented a nice track without obstacles . They tied the glider to a steam car called " White " , which was the fastest automobile of those days . Juan Pablo would be the pilot and his brother Eduardo would be in charge of driving the car that would tow the glider . As they started moving , a huge cloud of dust arose , the glider slowly elevated the tail and finally emerged from the cloud . The car continued moving for about 300 meters and then slowly decreased the speed to allow the glider to loosen the cable and then continue flying . Suddenly something unexpected happened . The device to release the cable did not worked properly and Juan Pablo went flying above the car without being able to free himself . As the plane continued , the cable pulled it back and immediately turned in a somersault and crashed . The glider was destroyed and , miraculously , Juan Pablo was alive with only a fractured leg . The experience drawn from this flight was extraordinary , the pilot had managed to have absolute control of the glider for more than 480 meters as well as a very stable flight at a height of 10 meters . This accident and others undergone by Eduardo , did not discouraged them at all . On the contrary , having seen that their planes were able to fly , they decided to construct an engine that could be adapted into an aeroplane . With this intention in mind , they travelled to the mine of " Las Dos Estrellas " , in Tlalpujahua , Michoacán , where his father was the manager . They took with them drafts and designs and used the mine ' s welding and smelting facilities to construct an internal combustion engine with two opposite cylinders . At that time , the existing engines were very heavy and voluminous , they had enormous radiators for cooling , and many of accessories that did not satisfy the required characteristics to propel an aeroplane . Finally , on January 1911 they finished the construction and testing of the motor , cooled by air , it could develop 60 h . p . , and up to 900 RPM . The prime feature was its weight / power ratio : 3 kilos per hp . In addition , the Aldasoro brothers constructed a very rudimentary wind tunnel to help them study the process of flying . They experimented with different shapes and angles for the wings as well as their centre of gravity . Years before other European designers , they designed the " thick wing " , which was highly efficient . They had improved aerodynamics of the airplane . Once assembled all the components , the aeroplane complete with engine was ready to be tested . Higher calling . When the aeroplane was finished , President Francisco I . Madero ' s War Minister General Angel García Peña , inspected the plane very carefully . He decided that before testing it , Juan Pablo and Eduardo Aldasoro should be granted a scholarship by the Government of Mexico to attend the Moisant aviation school in New York . The President of Mexico , Don Francisco I . Madero , was a progressive and visionary man , he thought that aviation offered great possibilities to create a modern army , about which the vocation , the professional formation and a pure patriotic spirit of youth , served as incentive to renew people , styles and customs of the past . Then , the Aldasoro brothers , accompanied by Alberto Salinas Carranza , Gustavo Salinas Camiña and Horacio Ruiz , travelled to the USA and were the first Mexicans to graduate as pilots on March 12 , 1913 . The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale granted the licenses nbr . 217 to Juan Pablo Aldasoro and nbr . 218 to Eduardo Aldasoro . On the graduation day , the authorities authorised one of the recent pilots to fly over the Statue of Liberty . Juan Pablo won the draw and took off the training fields at Long Island NY , he completed the flight , above the waters with total control and security , he reached the Statue , and returned to the fields as the first man to fly over this famous New York symbol . Newspapers and magazines recorded the event with great detail . The New York Council granted a diploma to Juan Pablo Aldasoro in memory of the event and the airplane ' s propeller is now kept in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington , D . C , where it pays tribute to these pilots who contributed with courage and sacrifice to the history of aviation . Early Birds . As Juan Pablo and Eduardo Aldasoro flew " solo " before 1916 , they are recognized as part of the Early Birds of Aviation . President Madero did not have the opportunity to see his dream fulfilled , but those five pioneers , Juan Pablo and Eduardo Aldasoro , Alberto and Gustavo Salinas and Horacio Ruiz , would become the pillars of the Mexican Air Force , not only as founders , but also teachers for the next generation of pilots . The Department of Military Aeronautics , the School , the National Factories of Aeronautical Constructions and the Mexican Air Force , regarded them as pillars and guides . In these institutions they committed their lives and work . Deaths . Juan Pablo Aldasoro Suárez died on October 4 , 1962 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel Flying Pilot . Eduardo Aldasoro Suárez died on November 10 , 1968 , with the rank of General Brigadier Flying Pilot . Legacy . Two bases of the Mexican Air Force were named after the Aldasoro Brothers : Presence in Literary Works . Carlos Noriega Hope wrote a short story " El Tesoro de Cabeza de Vaca " which was inspired during a visit to Juan Pablo Aldasoro ' s Hacienda in the State of Jalisco in the 1920s . The Story appeared in the book " La inutil Curiosidad " later re - printed under the title of " Las experiencias de Miss Patsy " . Juan Pablo appears as himself in a fictional story of treasure hunts . Streets and schools . There is a street in Mexico City in the " Aviación Civil " neighbourhood south of the International Airport of Mexico City . Other famous Mexican ( Juan Guillermo Villasana , Horacio Ruiz , Alberto Salinas and Roberto Fierro ) and international pilots ( Santos Dumont , Roland Garros , Louis Bleriot , Charles Lindebergh , Alberto Braniff , Enrique Farman , Simon Audenaro ) have streets in the same neighbourhood . A primary school near Toluca ( Clave 15EJN0622N , Turno MATUTINO ) was named " Hermanos Aldasoro " .