GEORGE PUFLEA AKA George Pufflea

George Puflea Collection of Pablo Larumbe, 9-23-08

 

Balbuena Airport - 1916 Puflea as flight instructor in Balbuena airport      El día domingo 30 de noviembre de 1911 se presentó en el campo de Balbuena el Presidente de la República, Francisco I. Madero para presenciar los vuelos. Como el piloto Dyot se acercara a saludarlo y lo invitara a volar, el señor Madero aceptó gustoso. En medio de la expectación general, el Presidente subió al avión y se colocó en el asiento delantero del Deperdussin de Dyot, este en el posterior con los controles. Después de un despegue cuidadoso, el avión sobrevoló varias veces por el campo y sus alrededores para aterrizar tras diez minutos de vuelo.      On Sunday, November 30, 1911 was made in the field of Balbuena President of the Republic, Francisco I. Madero to witness the flights. As the pilot Dyot closer to greet him and to invite it to fly, Mr Madero gladly accepted. Amid the general expectation, the president boarded the plane and was placed in the front seat of the Deperdussin Dyot, in this post with the controls. After a careful takeoff, the plane overflew several times through the countryside and its environs to land after ten minutes of flight. Text from La Aviación Durante la Revolución Mexicana. Photo Collection of Pablo Larumbe, 9-23-08

 

ONLINE RESOURCES - 1      If you search for "Jorge Pufflea" +aviation, using the Google search engine, (9-24-08), you will find about links. Perhaps the most helpful are the following.

 

Tampico, birthplace of the Commercial Airline in Mexico      This article on the ASÍ ES TAMPICO website offers a fascinating story of the development of aviation and devotes a whole paragagraph to the role of "Jorge" Puflea. The lead paragraph reads as follows: "In August 2001, the commercial airline in Mexico commemorated 80 years of life, being this an excuse to celebrate it in Tampico that was the birthplace of this important event."      In the body of the article you will find the names of several pioneer aviators including Elmer C. Hammond, C.V. Pickup, and Jorge Puflea. The little picture of the airplane which you see above comes from that article.      You can access the site by clicking on the title.

 

La Aviación Durante la Revolución Mexicana.      This is a wonderful resource, especially if you read Spanish. There is only a brief mention of Puflea, but many more details of the rise of aviation in Mexico. You will find many familiar names in the article, including: Alberto Braniff, Roland Garrós, , Edmond Audemars, Rene Barrier, Joe Seymour, Charles K. Hamilton and John Frisbie. In addition, you will find mention of Andrés Houpert, Charles A. Willard, Donald P. Hamilton, George Dyot, Matilde Moisant and Harriet Quimby.      You will also find the story of Juan Guillermo Villasana, was the first to construct an aeroplane of the Deperdussin type, the first to be constructed in Latin America, and who flew it, successfully, May 28, 1912.      You will find many other names, both familiar and unknown, and will be impressed with the amount of information which has been made available. You can access the site by clicking on the title. A machine-translated version is available.

 

Unknown                                Puflea                                Gral Pablo Gonzâlez           Alberto Salinas Carranza Collection of Pablo Larumbe, 9-23-08

 

ONLINE RESOURCES - 2      If you search for "Pufflea" +aviation, using the Google search engine, (9-23-08), you will find about links. Perhaps the most helpful are the following.

Aviation in the Mexican Revolution      This article on the War and Game website, posted by Mitch Williamson, offers a very complete and interesting revue of the beginnings of military aviation. The role of George Pufflea is mentioned just once. Included are two photographs of the TNCA Series H two-seat parasol monoplane light bomber. The reference of Pufflea is found in the following extract: "Encouraged by these pioneering efforts, Obregon and Villa set about organizing and using aerial corps for purposes of reconnaissance and bombardment. Foreigners who flew with Obregon's nascent air force included the above-mentioned Didier Masson Charles F. Niles, W. Leonard Bonney, and Lawrence Brown, all of whom were Americans. A Romanian aviator, George Pufflea, completed the foreign contingent. Niles did much valuable observation work for the carranzista army in the aerial campaigns over Campeche and Yucatan. Bonney, who replaced Niles as chief of the air division, served well in the battle of El Ebano in 1915, on one occasion blowing up a troop train with a dynamite bomb."      You can access the site by clicking on the title.

 

Puflea (barely visible) gets ready to take Gral Gonzâlez for a artillery spotting mission in El Ebano. Collection of Pablo Larumbe, 9-23-08

 

EL CUERPO DE AVIADORES DE PANCHO VILLA Los Aviadores Extranjeros de la División Del Norte 1914-1915 DOCTOR LAWRENCE D. TAYLOR      This article by Dr. Taylor offers a full and comprehensive revue of the activities of the aviators in the service of Pancho Villa. George Puflea is only mentioned once, but it does serve to place him in the revolution. If you read Spanish, you can read the whole article by clicking on the title.      For those of us who don't read Spanish, I have extracted the relevant portion and machine-translated it.        " - First Flotilla Constitutionalist gradually took shape. Along with the rest of the constitutional force, this unit was soon transferred to the port of Veracruz, selected by Carranza as a base of operations. On Feb. 5, 1915 he officially changed the name to Military Aircraft and Weapon was placed under the command of Major Alberto Salinas Carranza, and was assigned to the Romanian George Pufflea and the U.S. Charles F. Niles as pilotos.14"

 

The dates of his birth and his death is unknown to me at this time.   Editor's Note: If you have any information on this Early Flier, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back