Antônio Guedes Muniz (12 June 1900 — 28 Jun 1985) was the pioneer of the Brazilian aviation industry.

Early life and career

Muniz originally wanted to become a priest, which is why he initially attended a seminary, but changed his mind and transferred to the Anglo-Brazilian college in Rio de Janeiro. After college, starting in 1918, he attended the University of Rio de Janeiro, which he graduated from in January 1921 as an engineering candidate. He joined the Brazilian Army and did his service with the Companhia de Aviação da Arma de Engenharia, whose main mission was to maintain the Army Air Force Base and later the Air Force Base Campo dos Afonsos.

Personal life

On January 13, 1923, he married Lucia da Rocha e Silva. In the same year, he organized the Military Meteorological Services and became its first director.

Projects

In August 1925, he was sent to France to study aeronautical engineering at the École Supérieure de Aéronautique. During this time he developed several aircraft, which he named the M-1, M-2, M-3, M-4 and M-5. Only the

Muniz M-5 The Muniz M-5 was the first of Antônio Guedes Muniz's aircraft designs to fly; soon afterwards he became the first Brazilian to design an aircraft which reached series production. The sole example of the M-5, built while he was a student in Fra ...

was built by

Caudron The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...

in 1929 with funds from the Federal government of Brazil and after successful test flights in France, was brought to Brazil. Upon his return to Brazil, he became director of the Técnicos da Aviação Militar and developed other aircraft, several of which were built and successful. During the 1st National Aeronautical Congress in 1934, Muniz proposed to produce airplanes domestically instead of always importing them. Eventually, the Companhia Nacional de Navegação Aérea was founded, which produced several of Muniz's designs.

Gallery

Honours

BRA_Ordem_do_Mérito_Aeronáutico_Grande_Oficial

Grand Officer of the

Order of Aeronautical Merit Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(10 December 1950)

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muniz, Antonio 1900 births 1985 deaths Aviation pioneers Brazilian inventors Brazilian scientists Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian Roman Catholics People from Maceió Brazilian chairpersons of corporations Aviation history of Brazil Aviation history of France Brazilian aviators Aviation inventors Marshals of Brazil