The Line, from mail routes to the Andes
This flight plan follows the French Aéropostale adventure from Toulouse-Montaudran to Ushuaia. It is less a race than a long mail route: modest aircraft, careful planning and a steady sense of purpose.
The journey crosses the Mediterranean, the African Atlantic coast, the South Atlantic, Brazil, the Río de la Plata, the Andes and Patagonia. It is best flown as a campaign, in short sessions, with a logbook and weather chosen to keep the route readable.
The classic era of the French mail routes between Europe, Africa and South America.
A line of connection rather than a simple airport checklist.
Use a landplane for most legs and an amphibian or seaplane for the South Atlantic option.
The Andes and water points require serious map preparation.
Understanding the flight
The value of the route lies in its changing worlds. European references slowly give way to African mail posts, then to Brazil and finally to the heroic challenge of the Andes.
Two sections deserve special care: the South Atlantic, with historical water points and radio stations, and Mendoza to Santiago via Adrienne Bolland's Puente del Inca and Las Cuevas route.
Before departure
- Choose an aircraft with enough endurance to make the route immersive without turning each leg into a fuel emergency.
- For the South Atlantic, prepare either a long-range seaplane or an amphibian route via Cape Verde and Fernando de Noronha.
- Before the Andes, study Puente del Inca, Las Cuevas and the Laguna Diamante alternative on an external map.
- Keep the weather flyable on technical legs; the experience should be about navigation and history, not only survival.
Suggested route
Toulouse, Spain and Morocco
The opening leg sets the rhythm of the Line: Montaudran, Perpignan, Catalonia, the Spanish coast, then Tangier, Rabat and Casablanca before the southern Moroccan posts.
LFIO → LFMP → LEBL → LEVC → LEAL → LEMG → GMTT → GMME → GMMC
Cap Juby, Sahara and Senegal
This is where the route becomes unmistakably Aéropostale: Essaouira, Agadir, Cap Juby, Laayoune, Dakhla, Nouadhibou and Nouakchott lead toward Saint-Louis and Dakar.
GMMC → GMMI → GMAD → CAPJ → GMML → GMMH → GQPP → GQNN → GOSS → GOOY
South Atlantic and Brazil
From the Senegal River, fly either a direct seaplane crossing or a more progressive route via Cape Verde and Fernando de Noronha before Rio Potengi and Natal.
GOSS → GVAC → SBFN → VERT → SBNT
Brazilian coast and Río de la Plata
The Brazilian coast gives a long coastal progression through Recife, Maceió, Salvador, Vitória, Rio, Santos and southern Brazil before Montevideo and Buenos Aires.
SBNT → SBRF → SBMO → SBSV → SBCV → SBVT → SBAF → SBST → SSPG → SBFL → SBPA → SBPK → SUMU → SADF
Andes, Chile, Patagonia and Ushuaia
Mendoza to Santiago is the technical heart of the journey. After that, the line stretches south through Concepción, Patagonia, Punta Arenas and Ushuaia.
SADF → SAME → SCTI → SCIE → SAZB → SAVN → SAVC → SAWD → SAWJ → SAWU → SAWG → SCCI → SAWH
Experience tips
Fly this as a historical campaign. Record dates, aircraft, winds and incidents so every leg becomes part of the story.
Break the long sections into several sessions. The Aéropostale route works best when it is allowed to breathe.
Copyright Michel Lagneau 2008