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118
SAINT-EXUPÉRY Antoine de (1900-1944).
The item was sold for 6 000 €
Fees include commission and taxes.
SAINT-EXUPÉRY Antoine de (1900-1944).
L.A. (minute), Casablanca [fi n 1931], to Didier DAURAT| 6 pages small in-4 (fold mark).
Very nice letter from the pilot to his boss at l'Aéropostale.
[Saint-Exupéry was then flying the Casablanca-Port-Étienne route of the South American line, before being assigned to the seaplane line
Marseille-Alger in 1932. We can feel in this letter all the respect of
Saint-Ex for Didier DAURAT (1891-1969), the mythical director of
Lignes Latécoère (1919-1927) then Aéropostale (1927-1933), who will inspire the character of Rivière in Vol de nuit (1931)].
Saint-Ex hopes that Daurat will "bring him up soon. [...] You know that you will give me great pleasure if you get me to fly back on the Marseille-Alger line. I think that you will consider this training as useful given the role that seaplanes will take one day. I will also be very happy if you give me your trust for the Agadir Saint-Louis non-stop tests. Experience has just shown me once again the necessity, because my last trip was not easy". And he gives a detailed account of the flight incidents and the difficulties of the stopovers: "When we left Port Etienne, Cisneros announced zero visibility due to thick fog on the ground.
The Port Etienne peninsula was half-covered with fog right up to the middle of the field: it was a bad deal. But I was so annoyed that I had already slept in Agadir on the way down that I decided to go and see anyway. [...] Benefiting from strong counter-trade winds and strong trade winds too, I thought I had time to push a point to Cisneros and return to Port Etienne without the situation getting much worse. In fact, when I got to the Cisneros fog bank, which started halfway, a very thick fog, Port Etienne was clear and I continued peacefully towards Cisneros, above it, and moreover without a bearing, as the night was too wet. I happened to be right on Cisneros, otherwise, without bearings, I would have had to turn back. The last message I received on my arrival was that I still had zero visibility.
But I noticed that the fog on the peninsula was much thinner than elsewhere and that the lights were vaguely visible. I landed without difficulty. I didn't risk anything because I had decided to make one or two passes in the fog with the instruments and close to the ground by approaching, with the compass, the halo of the lighthouse at the right angle to avoid hitting anything. If I couldn't see the ground, I would climb back up above the fog and return. If I could see it, I would put my wheels on it and drive straight ahead of the pawn. But I saw the ground very well"... Saint-Exupéry wanted to show that on board a Laté 28, he could do much better than with a Laté 26 and do without a stopover: "this trip, which was apparently difficult, did not really present any serious diffi culties simply because, given the wind, I had enough fuel to continue even on
Casa - and so I was not worried for a minute. With three more hours of fuel I wouldn't have even insisted on landing in Cisneros. This just goes to show what you could do with 28 fifteen hour Lat's!"
PROVENANCE Artcurial sale 9 May 2011, no. 248
L.A. (minute), Casablanca [fi n 1931], to Didier DAURAT| 6 pages small in-4 (fold mark).
Very nice letter from the pilot to his boss at l'Aéropostale.
[Saint-Exupéry was then flying the Casablanca-Port-Étienne route of the South American line, before being assigned to the seaplane line
Marseille-Alger in 1932. We can feel in this letter all the respect of
Saint-Ex for Didier DAURAT (1891-1969), the mythical director of
Lignes Latécoère (1919-1927) then Aéropostale (1927-1933), who will inspire the character of Rivière in Vol de nuit (1931)].
Saint-Ex hopes that Daurat will "bring him up soon. [...] You know that you will give me great pleasure if you get me to fly back on the Marseille-Alger line. I think that you will consider this training as useful given the role that seaplanes will take one day. I will also be very happy if you give me your trust for the Agadir Saint-Louis non-stop tests. Experience has just shown me once again the necessity, because my last trip was not easy". And he gives a detailed account of the flight incidents and the difficulties of the stopovers: "When we left Port Etienne, Cisneros announced zero visibility due to thick fog on the ground.
The Port Etienne peninsula was half-covered with fog right up to the middle of the field: it was a bad deal. But I was so annoyed that I had already slept in Agadir on the way down that I decided to go and see anyway. [...] Benefiting from strong counter-trade winds and strong trade winds too, I thought I had time to push a point to Cisneros and return to Port Etienne without the situation getting much worse. In fact, when I got to the Cisneros fog bank, which started halfway, a very thick fog, Port Etienne was clear and I continued peacefully towards Cisneros, above it, and moreover without a bearing, as the night was too wet. I happened to be right on Cisneros, otherwise, without bearings, I would have had to turn back. The last message I received on my arrival was that I still had zero visibility.
But I noticed that the fog on the peninsula was much thinner than elsewhere and that the lights were vaguely visible. I landed without difficulty. I didn't risk anything because I had decided to make one or two passes in the fog with the instruments and close to the ground by approaching, with the compass, the halo of the lighthouse at the right angle to avoid hitting anything. If I couldn't see the ground, I would climb back up above the fog and return. If I could see it, I would put my wheels on it and drive straight ahead of the pawn. But I saw the ground very well"... Saint-Exupéry wanted to show that on board a Laté 28, he could do much better than with a Laté 26 and do without a stopover: "this trip, which was apparently difficult, did not really present any serious diffi culties simply because, given the wind, I had enough fuel to continue even on
Casa - and so I was not worried for a minute. With three more hours of fuel I wouldn't have even insisted on landing in Cisneros. This just goes to show what you could do with 28 fifteen hour Lat's!"
PROVENANCE Artcurial sale 9 May 2011, no. 248