He was known to set a number of aviation records. In 1927 he made the first non-stop flight from Mexico City to Juarez (1200 miles). While in Sonora, he crashed and his face had to be reassembled with platinum screws. At age 22, on May 24–25, 1928, he set the record for the third longest non-stop solo flight by flying 1,575 miles (3000 km) from San Diego, California to Mexico City in 18.5 h. His safe arrival completed the longest non-stop flight by a Mexican. He was greeted by Plutarco Calles, then President of Mexico.