This propeller belonged to the Avro 504K, a single-engine biplane and the first aeroplane to take off and land on Terceira Island on 4 October 1930. It is part of the Nautical and Aeronautical Collection at the Museum of Angra do Heroísmo and is currently displayed in the commemorative exhibition “The Flight of the Açor | 90 Years of Aviation on Terceira Island”, open until 31 January 2021 in the Sala do Capítulo.
Piloted by the Terceira aviator Frederico Coelho de Melo, the Açor took off from the Achada airfield, constructed by the Junta Geral and at the time regarded as a project of national interest, as it was widely believed that the progress of Terceira depended on aviation.
The Açor was part of a fleet of 30 aircraft purchased by Portugal from the United Kingdom in 1923, which were used for pilot training at the Military Aviation School in Sintra. It arrived on Terceira aboard the ship Lima in September 1930, and a stylised depiction of the bird for which it was named, designed by Mestre Maduro Dias, was painted on its fuselage.
