Emilio Herrera Linares, artífice de la ingeniería aeronáutica española

Abstract

The beginnings of Spanish aeronautics are linked to the biography of Emilio Herrera, a leading figure among the pioneers of aviation in Spain. Despite the research that has been done on him, his role in the genesis of aeronautical engineering as an area of knowledge with its own identity remained to be explored. Herrera’s work in this field took place at the same time as the birth and growth of this speciality and was oriented —as the subsequent evolution of the decisions he had taken showed— in the right direction. His management work in the Aerodynamic Laboratory, in the commission for the homologation of aeronautical engineering degrees, in the creation of the School of Engineers and in the Association of Aeronautical Engineers were key to the birth and consolidation of Spanish aeronautical engineering. This article highlights the initiatives and decisions taken, and to what extent they contributed to institutionalizing Spanish aeronautical engineering.