The Royal Aero Club de Baleares
The Club
was founded in 1934 with two aircraft, an Avro Avian with an 85 hp ADC Cirrus engine, and a DH60 Gypsy Moth
with a 100 hp engine, acquired in Madrid by the pilot Federico Perez Esteve, who was the first instructor at
the Club. At the inauguration of the Club, it was announced that an aircraft had been stolen by convicts
escaping from the prison and intent on fleeing the Island. However, they “lacked the requisite number of
flying hours” to enable them to do so!
The Club had its headquarters at Son Bonet where it purchased an adjacent property where the members built a
small shelter that acted as a hangar for three aircraft plus a small workshop. With the onset of the Civil
War, these aircraft formed the first aerial contingent of the Franco forces in Mallorca.
See also the history of Son Bonet Aerodrome