Pinto Martins and Walter Hinton attempted the first flight from New York to Rio de Janeiro. Andrew Smith Jr. agreed to fund the project, and The Curtiss airplane factory built a hydroplane, Sampaio Corrêa, for a Brazilian Senator and the President of the Flying club of Rio de Janeiro.

     They made their first attempt on August 17, 1922. It ended with a crash and the loss of the plane. The New York Word provided another plane, the Sampaio Corrêa II, and continued the flight on October 7. On December 1 the landed in the Cunani River, the State of Pará, Brazil. They arrived in the Bay of the Guanabara on February 8, 1923.

     The design includes an outline map of North and South America with Brazil outline. There is no indication of the route, only the locations of New York and Rio de Janeiro. A picture of Pinto Martins, the description, 1A Viagem Aérea New York-Rio de Janeiro, "1st Aerial Trip New York-Rio de Janeiro,” and the date 16-8-1922. It was issued on August 16, 1951, the 29th anniversary of the flight. Pinto Martins committed suicide on April 12, 1924.