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 directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

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 or officially, the Armada, is the 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 (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, 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 small unmanned aircraft. Many are replicas of real aircraft. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed static, display, or shelf models. Aircraft manufactur ...

, 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 ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

) 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 land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

''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 island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

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 US Army and was assigned to the Aviation Section,

U.S. Signal Corps ) , colors = Orange and white , colors_label = Corps colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = ...

(the military aviation service of the US Army from 1914 to 1918 and a direct ancestor of the US 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 parachutist. 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, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

upon the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. 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 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, he went to Texas. Rigau Carrera met Bertha Dunston (1900–1989), who became his wife in 1919 and with whom he was to have 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 returned to Puerto Rico and made it clear to everyone that knew him that his main objective was to be able to someday own his own and fly his own aircraft. Consequently, his four brothers helped him financially to buy his first aircraft, a

Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series of biplanes built by the 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 for th ...

, $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, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. FelixRigau4

Rigau Carrera piloted his first flight in Puerto Rico, flying out of

Camp Las Casas Camp Las Casas was a United States military installation established in Santurce, Puerto Rico in 1904. The camp was the main training base of the "Porto Rico Regiment of Infantry," On January 15, 1899, the military government changed the name of ...

, the exact area where

Residencial Las Casas Residencial Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, more commonly known as Residencial Las Casas, Caserio Las Casas or Las Casas, is a public housing complex located in San Juan, Puerto Rico consisting of 417 housing units. It is under the management of the ...

is currently located, becoming the first Puerto Rican pilot to do so. At the time, the area was used by the military as an air base and it was also Puerto Rico's first commercial airport, and Rigau Carrera was allowed to perform his historic flight from the air field. Rigau Carrera then started using the air base frequently, for exhibition flights and to carry paying passengers on sightseeing trips. 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 a license by

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

's mail system authority to deliver mail via air mail throughout the island, becoming the first pilot to fly on air mail carrying duties in Puerto Rico. Rigau Carrera then established a system similar to the one used by the

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

s today, where he would fly people from one point of the island to another, with paying customers on board. Not all of his career went without problems, as 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 Gloucester Courthouse is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Gloucester County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census. History The Gloucester County Courthouse Square Historic District, Glouce ...

, 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 fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

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 United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...

and 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 A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

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 ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. The

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

Post 36 in

, was named in honor of LTJG Félix Rigau Carrera.

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 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