Julio Ruiz de Alda

Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz (born in Estella, Navarre, October 7, 1897 – Madrid, August 23, 1936) was a Spanish aviator and politician. He joined the Army at the age of 15 and developed an interest in planes. He was the co-pilot (with Ramón Franco) of the Plus Ultra as it completed a transatlantic flight in 1926. The Plus Ultra departed from Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, Spain on January 22 and arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 26. It stopped over at Gran Canaria, Cape Verde, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo. The 10,270 km journey was completed in 59 hours and 39 minutes. In 1931 along with José Antonio Primo de Rivera (Marquess of his birthplace) he was a founding member of the Falange movement. He was shot without a trial by anarchist militia in Madrid's Cárcel Modelo prison on August 23, 1936, after the beginning of the civil war.