Jan Kašpar

January Kaspar ( born May 20, 1883 in Pardubice, † March 2, 1927 ibid ) was first Czech engineer and aircraft designer and pilot on the territory of today's Czech Republic.

Life

Kaspar studied mechanical engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague. The avid bicycle and car driver who was employed in the automotive Laurin & Klement factory together with other engineers, developed the first Czech airplane engine. He later left the company and designed in collaboration with his cousin Eugene Čihák some simple aircraft. However, these planes had a low efficiency and fell mostly from. Later, the ways of cousins ​​and Kaspar parted own designed aircraft.

In 1911 he bought a plane of type Blériot Aéronautique and took to the meadows at Pardubice his first attempts at flight. On 13 May 1911 he realized his first historic first flight from Pardubice to Prague - Chuchle and opened the era of aviation in Bohemia. The aircraft later he gave the Technical Museum in Prague.

There were other attempts to fly, even with passengers. After the outbreak of World War impoverished Kaspar. The fact that his services were not recognized for the aerospace, loaded him mentally; he committed suicide in 1927.