[2] He entered the Escuela Militar del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins military school in 1910, destined for a posting in the Batallón de Ferrocarrileros ("Railway Battalion") of the Army Engineers.

In December Godoy, encouraged by Huston, obtained permission of the head of air service, Pedro Dartnell, to attempt a crossing the Andes, taking advantage of the Bristol's superior performance to any aircraft they previously had.

He crashed into a fence, damaging his landing gear, propeller and starboard wing, and hitting his head on the dashboard, receiving a slight concussion.

The flight had lasted 90 minutes at a speed of 180–190 kilometres per hour (110–120 mph), at a maximum altitude of 6,300 metres (20,700 ft), and was made in an open-cockpit aircraft without heating or oxygen.

[2][4] His feat encouraged others, with Lieutenant Armando Cortinez Mújica flying another Bristol to Argentina and back on 5 April 1919, and the same year Sergeant Jose del Carmen Ojeda established the first South American altitude record of 7,188 metres (23,583 ft).