The Mallorcan pioneer of the helicopter: the story of Pere de Son Gall
We are all moved by stories of those who have a vision, a crystal-clear idea in their minds, and who pursue it against all odds: an impossible journey, a far-fetched invention or the conquest of wild lands.
Today we’ll tell you the story of a Mallorcan, Pere de Son Gall, an extraordinary man for his time and circumstances. A visionary who imagined flight by helicopter and dared to pursue this dream. We must set the scene in Llucmajor, in the 1920s. It was nothing more than a small village in rural Mallorca, devoted to agriculture and shoemaking, activities that allowed people to live with dignity but little else.
This story, little known outside the island, is one of the most surprising episodes of Mallorcan innovation and ingenuity.
Who was Pere de Son Gall?
Our protagonist, Pere Sastre, was born in 1895 and was known in the village by the nickname Pere de Son Gall. His parents looked after the Son Gall estate and had already decided Pere’s future. He was to become a farmer, to take charge of the family’s land. But what Pere really enjoyed was learning new things and studying, so the idea of being a farmer surely didn’t appeal to him.
He enrolled at the Polytechnic Institute of Seville to study for a distance-learning qualification as an agricultural expert. To keep up with his studies, he travelled to the capital, Palma, to attend classes in mathematics, drawing and other technical subjects. And he read, he read a great deal: books, newspapers, magazines, especially those related to his great passion, aviation.
His mind was buzzing with ideas on the subject, and he enrolled at an aviation school in Valencia, as well as joining the Aeronautical League of Catalonia. Everything revolved around aviation, which was in its infancy at that time.
But his real intention was not simply to fly, to be a pilot; Pere was aiming much higher. What he wanted was to develop a machine capable of flying. And he devoted dozens of hours to translating what was in his mind into drawings.
The Cometagiroavión
It was clear that the drawings weren’t going to fly, so it was time to take action, source materials and start building. He used light timber and canvas, as well as iron parts that he had to buy in Palma and then have welded. Llucmajor didn’t have everything he needed, and Pere was also missing one of the most important components: the engine. To get one, he didn’t hesitate to travel to Paris, where he bought an Anzani engine, which cost him a huge sum: 7,000 French francs. He topped it all off with a pair of counter-rotating propellers, as the specific design of the craft meant it had no lifting wings. He called his creation the Cometagiroavión.
The first test flights
Some witnesses claim to have seen the first test flights, and say that the Cometagiroavión not only made a lot of noise but also kicked up a huge cloud of dust. Even though it was a rather rudimentary machine… it managed to lift off the ground and fly!
Unfortunately, after a few moments in the air, it crashed to the ground and suffered serious damage that rendered it unusable. But this surely did not demoralise Pere.
The lack of institutional support
What finally brought him down was the lack of support from the government. He appealed to the highest authorities, including General Weyler, who was also from Mallorca. They all rejected him and refused to help. It is even said that Juan De La Cierva, son of the Minister of War, plagiarised his original idea and that this is why all doors were closed to him.
Pere de Son Gall died alone, and practically ruined, in pursuit of his dream. But, to tell the truth, pursuing his dream allowed him to live his life with genuine enthusiasm and intensity.
The legacy of Pere de Son Gall
Although his name is not as well known as that of other aviation pioneers, Pere de Son Gall embodies the entrepreneurial, creative and non-conformist spirit that is also part of our island’s history. In films, the ending is usually a happy one, and the hero finally achieves his dream, but in real life this is often not the case. His adventure shows that even from a small farm in rural Mallorca, ideas capable of being ahead of their time could emerge, even if they did not ultimately lead to success.
If you’d like to see a full-scale replica of the aircraft Pere invented, you can view it in the exhibition hall at Llucmajor Town Hall.
And if you’d like to find out more about this exceptional Mallorcan, we recommend this book:
“El precursor llucmajorer de l’helicòpter” by Joan Salvá (Muntaner Publishers)
If you’re interested in the stories and curiosities that form part of the island’s historical heritage, we invite you to discover another surprising episode: that of the first car registered in Spain, which also has links to Mallorca: First car registered in Spain