Vecihi Hürkuş

Infobox Person
name = Vecihi Hürkuş
birth_date = 6 January 1895
birth_place = Istanbul, Turkey
death_date = 16 July 1969
death_place = Ankara, Turkey
occupation = aviator, engineer

Vecihi Hürkuş (6 January 1895 - 16 July 1969) was the first civil aviator in Turkey. He also built the first airplane in Turkey.

Firsts

Without a doubt, Vecihi Hürkuş was Turkey's most celebrated aviator. He was the first Turk to:

* shoot down an enemy aircraft on the Caucasian Front during World War I,
* fly a twin-engine aircraft (1917 - Caucasian Front - captured Russian Caudron G.4),
* manufacture a propeller from scratch (1918 - Istanbul - Nieuport 17 captured from the Russians),
* produce adhesive from gelatin to glue fabric to aircraft wings (Turkish War of Independence),
* first to land at İzmir Seydiköy Airfield during the Turkish War of Independence, occupying it single-handedly. This was considered to be the final flight of the war,
* fly a passenger aircraft (1923 - Edirne - 9 passengers with an abandoned Italian Caproni Ca.5 aka Ca.57 or Breda M-1),
* construct a military aircraft from scratch (1924 - Izmir - Vecihi K-VI, first flight - January 28, 1925),
* build a speedboat (1930 - Kadıköy, Istanbul - Vecihi-SK-X),
* build a civilian aircraft (1930 - Kadıköy - Vecihi K-XIV)
* establish a civilian flying school (April 21, 1932 - V.S.T.M. Vecihi Sivil Tayyare Mektebi - Kadıköy),
* construct a seaplane (1933 - Kadıköy, Vecihi S-XVI),
* train the first Turkish aviatrix (1933 - Bedriye Bacı (Gökmen) Kadıköy, Istanbul)
* construct the country's first gliders (US–4 ve PS–2), while playing a pivotal role in the establishment of Turkish Bird (1935-1936 - Etimesgut - Ankara),
* receive a diploma abroad in aircraft engineering (February 27, 1939 - Weimar Engineering School, Germany),
* establish a privately-funded aviation publication (1948 - "Kanatlılar Dergisi")
* establish a private airline company in Turkey (November 29, 1954-1960 Yeşilköy - Hürkuş Havayolları transported passengers and cargo),
* conduct aerial surveys for the Mining Research Institute (1961-1966).

During his flying career, which spanned a period of 52 years (1916-1967), Vecihi Hürkuş flew a total of 102 different models of aircraft and spent 30,000 hours, that is, 3.4 years of his life in the cockpit of aircraft.

In 1994, he was honored posthumously with the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) 50th Anniversary Award (1944-1994) for the considerable contributions he made in the field of civil aviation in Turkey.

Family

During the War of Independence, Vecihi married to Hadiye, the daughter of the chief of police in Akşehir. Two daughters, Gönül (Hürkuş Şarman) and Sevim (Hürkus Maxson), were born from this marriage. In 1925, he divorced Hadiye and married his early time sweetheart İhsan. Another daughter, Perran (Ülgen-Hürkuş), was born in 1927.

Legacy

His name was given to the "Turkish Primary and Basic Trainer Aircraft Program" of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). [ [http://www.tusas.com.tr/en_menu2.aspx?node=78/187&menu_id=5&id=187&
] ]

Sources

* Vecihi Hürkuş, "Havalarda, 1915-1925", İstanbul, Kanaat Kitabevi, 1942.
* Vecihi Hürkuş, "Bir Tayyarecinin Anıları: Yaşantı", İstanbul, YKY, 2000 ISBN 978 9 75 080219 5 [ [http://www.bestwebbuys.com/Bir_Tayyarecinin_Anlar-ISBN_9789750802195.html?isrc=b-search Best Book Buys] ]
* Mehmet Gürbüz Gürer, "Vecihi Hürkuş "Göklerin Korkusuz Adamı", İstanbul, 2001.
* M. Bahattin Adigüzel, "Türk Havaciliğinda İz Birakanlar", Ankara, 2001.

References

External links

* [http://www.earlyaviators.com/ehurkus.htm Biography]
* [http://www.havaciyiz.com/KurSav06.htm War of Independence-Military Action in 1920] tr
* [http://www.tuncay-deniz.com/ENGLISH/V__HURKUS/v__hurkus.html Hürkuş]
* [http://www.tai.com.tr Turkish Aerospace Industries-TAI]
* [http://havaciliktailkler.com/vecihi/image/vecihi/index001.htm Photos about Vecihi Hürkuş]

See also

Freebird Airlines