Aeroclube de Leiria

The Aeroclub of Leiria was founded on January 3, 1938. The dream of building a runway in the Leiria area resulted from the flight baptism of Mr. Sequeira Pereira, two years earlier, in Amadora. Nothing like consulting Remembering how it was... to feel the enthusiasm of this project. The first airfield of Leiria was built in Serra do Porto de Urso, on land granted by the Leiria City Council in a meeting on May 23, 1938, with the following minutes: The Leiria City Council, in agreement with the Monte Real Parish Board, grants the land of Charneca de Porto d’Urso of this municipality for the exclusive use of the AERO CLUB OF LEIRIA, in order to install its Civil Aviation Pilot School there. The field, a hangar, and a meteorological station were built. The Pilot School was authorized the following year. A TAYLORCRAFT 55 HP airplane, registration CS-ABR, was acquired. From its first course, eleven pilots were certified, including the first Portuguese priest named Joaquim Carreira to obtain the "brevet." This priest went to Rome in 1940 to save Jews and antifascists. The 1941 cyclone caused great damage to the facilities as well as to the airplane. Aerial activities continued at the Aeroclub of Leiria Airfield until 1945, the year the facilities were ceded to the Ministry of Defense for the construction of the current Monte Real Air Base (BA No. 5). In 1972, a group of A.C.L. members decided to reactivate the Aeroclub. One of the committee members, Mr. José Ferrinho, built a private aerodrome where he allowed the Aeroclub to carry out its activities. With a loan from two members, in 1973, an aircraft was acquired, a Cessna 150F, registration CS-AOT, which was baptized "City of Leiria." Instruction classes began in October of that same year. At the beginning of 1975, the Aeroclub bought a Piper Cherokee 180, registration CS-ALR, from member José Ferrinho, an aircraft with which he crashed in August of that same year, losing his life. Despite his departure, the Ferrinho family continued to allow the use of the aerodrome by the Aeroclub. In 1992, with the support of some members, A.C.L. acquired a Cessna 172N, registration CS-AYV, a 4-seat aircraft that the Aeroclub lacked.