Rudolf Fizir

Rudolf Fizir (1891-1960) was an airplane constructor. Born in small town Ludbreg on river Drava, north of Croatia. He has built 18 original planes, some redesigns of planes to allow them land on water surface - and a parachute.Already as a senior student, he is offered his first job in Schwerin, where he works in the construction of one, two and three-wing fighter planes for the German war aviation in the new aircraft construction plant "Fokker-Flugzeugbau". From there he is sent to Budapest, in order to found and organize a Fokker subsidiary.

With two-wing aircraft Fizir built 1925 he won the first prize in Petite Entente contest 1927. Later on he made the brand of his name in serial aircraft production cooperating with companies world known companies: the Fizir-Mercedes, the Fizir-Wright, the Fizir-Titan, the Fizir-Kastor, the Fizir-Gypsi, and the half-metallic Fizir-Jupiter.

His excellent smart designs, almost all wooden, were very economic to produce, low budget, counting on low economic power of (pre-WW II) Kingdom of Yugoslavia, wartime Croatia (Independent State of Croatia) and post-WW II Yugoslavia. Due that time his constructions were acknowledged and praised specially in Germany and France. He had a strong affiliation for school machines and hydroplanes, having the idea of connecting Adriatic islands (see the List of islands in the Adriatic) with regular hydroplane lines.He also constructed a tourist aircraft as early as 1935.His great success was Fizir FN, two-wing, two-seat aircraft with double commands (more than hundred planes produced) was used as instruction plane even 30 years after the end of the WW2.

Rudolf Fizir was awarded with Paul Tissandier diploma from F. A. I. (Fédération Aeronautique Internationale) for achievements in aviation.

External links

* http://library.thinkquest.org/C0127004/TQnovo/izumi/izumiostali_sesnaesti.htmComprehensive biography in Croatian

* http://library.thinkquest.org/C0127004/TQnovo/engilsh/other_inventors/other_sixteen.htmComprehensive biography in English

* http://www.yumodel.co.yu/history_of_yugoslav_aviation/fizir.htmSome of airplanes