Jorge Wilstermann (; 23 April 1910 – 17 January 1936) was the first Bolivian

commercial pilot A commercial pilot licence (CPL) is a type of pilot licence that permits the holder to act as a pilot of an aircraft and be paid for their work. Different licenses are issued for the major aircraft categories: airplanes, airships, balloons, glid ...

. The son of a mechanic who worked for

Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano S.A.M. (abbreviated LAB and internationally known as LAB Airlines), was the flag carrier and principal airline of Bolivia from 1925 until it ceased operations in 2010. Before its demise it was headquartered in Cochabamba ...

, Wilstermann took an interest in aviation, and became Bolivia's first civilian aviator. Jorge Wilstermann died in 1936, after an aeroplane accident when flying the

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 63 ...

–

Oruro Oruro (Hispanicized spelling) or Uru Uru is a city in Bolivia with a population of 264,683 (2012 calculation), about halfway between La Paz and Sucre in the Altiplano, approximately above sea level. It is Bolivia's fifth-largest city by pop ...

route on his

Junkers Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Germ ...

airplane. Wilstermann's pioneerism inspired homages in Bolivia. His friend and the then boss of Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano, Wálter Lemm, requested that the name of the local airport in

and the local football team's name (which was started by people involved in aviation, workers for Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano) be changed to Jorge Wilstermann in his honour.

References

1910 births 1936 deaths Bolivian aviators Bolivian people of German descent People from Punata Province Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Bolivia Commercial aviators {{Bolivia-bio-stub

See also

References