Félix Rigau Carrera (August 30, 1894 – October 13, 1954), known as (The Eagle from Sabana Grande), was the first Puerto Rican

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and the first Puerto Rican pilot to fly on air mail carrying duties in Puerto Rico.

Early years

Rigau Carrera was one of nine siblings born to Felip Rigau Balbàs, a

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

sailor from

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, and Carmen Carrera de Rigau, a Puerto Rican homemaker, in the town of

Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico Sabana Grande () is a Sabana Grande barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located north of Lajas, Puerto Rico, Lajas and Guánica, Puerto Rico, Guánica; south of Maricao, Puerto Rico, Maricao; east of ...

.'' The Puerto Ricans: A Documentary History''; by Kal Wagenheim (Editor), Olga Jimenez de Wagenheim (Editor); page 355- 56; Publisher: Markus Wiener Publishers; Revised edition; ; There he received his primary and secondary education. As a child he showed an interest in mechanics and would often

model aircraft A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typically for display, research, or amusement. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed s ...

, using the local cathedral as a launching pad for his small fixed-wing aircraft replicas. After he graduated from high school, he enrolled at the Colegio de Agricultura y Artes Mecanicas (CAAM) (now the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

) at Mayagüez and studied electronics and mechanical engineering. During his years at college, he continued with his hobby of building and designing airplane models. After he earned his college degree in mechanical engineering, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

'' Historia militar de Puerto Rico''; by Hector Andres Negroni (Author); Pages: 387; Publisher: Sociedad Estatal Quinto Centenario (1992); Language: Spanish; ; After serving in the Army, he traveled to

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

where he finished his flying training "El Mundo"; "Fallece El Aguila - Fue Primer Boricua Manejo Avion en la Isla" (Spanish); by: Malen Rojas Daporte; October 20, 1954; Number 13,448

World War I

After he earned his college degree in mechanical engineering, he joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps (the military aviation service of the U.S. Army from 1914 to 1918 and a direct ancestor of the U.S. Air Force). While in the Army, he traveled extensively around the world and became acquainted with many of the world's famous pilots of the era. He became the first Puerto Rican parachutist as a member of the Aviation Section of the US Signal Corps, whose members were among the Army's first parachutists. His stint in the Aviation Section, US Signal Corps inspired him to go and attend various aviation schools upon his release from the military. Enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

upon the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After receiving additional aviation training, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the First Marine Air Squadron which deployed to France as the newly renamed 1st Marine Aviation Force in July 1918. There Rigau Carrera and his unit provided bomber and fighter support to the Navy's Day Wing, Northern Bombing Group. While serving in the First Marine Air Squadron, Rigau Carrera became the first Puerto Rican to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft and the first Hispanic fighter pilot in the Marines.

Historical flights

In July 1919, Rigau Carrera went to Texas, where he met Bertha Dunston (1900–1989). They married in 1919 and had three children, Félix (1921–1995), Carmen (1923–2016), and Jaime (1925–1970) "The Family Tree Searcher"; Volume 13 - Number 2; December 2009; By L. Roane Hunt Rigau Carrera then returned to Puerto Rico and set about owning and flying his own aircraft. His four brothers helped him buy a

Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" is a series of biplanes built by the Glenn Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft ...

, $2,250 in 1919. The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" was one of a series of "JN" biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, and later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. FelixRigau4

Rigau Carrera piloted his first flight in Puerto Rico out of Camp Las Casas, where Residencial Las Casas is now, becoming the first Puerto Rican aviator. At the time, the area was used by the military and as Puerto Rico's only commercial airport. Rigau Carrera used the air base frequently, for exhibitions and sightseeing flights with passengers. He became a national hero in Puerto Rico during the 1920s, traveling to many Puerto Rican cities by air. The local town people celebrated his landings with live music and fireworks and he became known as "The Eagle of Sabana Grande". In 1931, Rigau Carrera was given the first license by

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

authorities to deliver air mail throughout the island. He then established a system like that used by

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

s today, flying passengers from town to town. Rigau Carrera almost lost his life during flights twice, once in San German and another time in Guanica.

Later years

Rigau Carrera settled in Gloucester, Virginia, in the early 1920s. He lived with his family in an old Abingdon Glebe School House and constructed a building to house a flour mill and other enterprises. Rigau Carrera founded the Rigau Concrete Works which manufactured a wide variety of items to meet the industrial needs of the developing county. Besides concrete blocks, he cast septic tanks, culverts, burial vaults, and yard furniture. Rigau Carrera and his wife Bertha, who were certified undertakers, established a funeral home. He amassed a fortune as the owner of the funeral home and

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

factory. While living in Virginia he joined the Virginia Commonwealth USNRF (US Naval Reserve Force) When the United States entered World War II, Rigau Carrera joined the

United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...

where he served throughout the war years. During these years, Félix and Bertha divorced. He met and married Estella Martins from the Azores of Portugal with whom he had three more children, Félix, Philip, and Maria. Rigau Carrera died at the age of 60 and was buried with full military honors at Abingdon Episcopal Church Cemetery. His native hometown, Sabana Grande, named a street ''Calle Félix Rigau Carrera'' in his honor. On September 14, 2011, he was honored posthumously during the Hispanic Heritage Awards at Cleveland International Airport in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. The

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Post 36 in

, was named in honor of LTJG Félix Rigau Carrera. In 2020 Félix Rigau Carrera was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.

Military awards

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigau Carrera, Felix 1894 births 1954 deaths People from Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Army personnel Puerto Rican aviators 20th-century Puerto Rican businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople Puerto Rican United States Marines Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) United States Merchant Mariners United States Army soldiers United States Marines United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I United States Marine Corps officers United States Naval Aviators People from Gloucester Courthouse, Virginia