• Gift Certificates
  • Learn to Fly
    • Overview of Pilot Courses
    • Ground School Classes
    • Sport Pilot License
    • Private Pilot License
    • sUAS (Drone) License
    • Foreign Students
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Flight Training Financing
    • Documents
  • Advanced Training
    • Instrument Rating
    • Commercial License
    • Multi-Engine Rating
    • ATP License
    • Flight Instructor
    • Tailwheel Endorsement
    • Aerobatics & Upset Recovery
    • Mountain Flying
  • Airplane Rental
  • San Jose
    • RHV Aircraft
    • RHV Instructors
    • San Jose Info
  • Salinas
    • Salinas Aircraft
    • Salinas Instructors
    • Salinas Info
  • Monterey
    • Monterey Bay Tours
    • Monterey Aircraft
    • Monterey Instructors
    • Monterey Info
  • PaperlessFBO

100 Years of Airplanes in Croatia

Mar 08 2011 · 0 comments · Events, Flights, News

Did you know that the first airplane flight in Croatia took place in 1910? Not just that, but that it was a monoplane taildragger?

Penkala CA-10

Penkala CA-10

Indeed, Croatians were involved in aeronautics for quite a while. It was a Croat, Faust Vrančić, who in the early 17th century elaborated the principle of a parachute (homo volans) in a scientific manner. It is not known if he actually tested it, however. Another little known fact is that Graf Zeppelin bought his first airship design from David Schwartz from Zagreb.

Slavoljub Eduard Penkala

Slavoljub Eduard Penkala

Slavoljub Penkala, was a prolific inventor, with some 80 patents to his credit, including things we still use today like the mechanical pencil and rubber hot-water bottle. He was interested in flight, and decided to buld his own airplane. He had little to go on, since the Wright brothers were embroiled in patent disputes with all and sundry, so he had to pretty much make it up as he went along. He also observed that birds and butterflies use their tails for stabilization, particularly when landing, so he decided to make the tail of his plane emulate theirs. He designed and patented it in late 1909 and the plane was ready for  its first flight by June 2010. The funding came from Penkala’s own income from his pen and pencil factory, and a lot of the work and ideas also came from Dragutin Novak who joined Penkala earlier the same year.

Dragutin Novak

Dragutin Novak

Novak had been interested in flying for a while, was a mechanic by trade, and had attended an airplane competition in Hungary earlier in 2010. He joined Penkala when he returned to Zagreb.

It was on June 22, 1910 that the craft, powered by its little 20hp engine, made its first flight. Sadly it is not recorded who was the pilot. It could have been Novak, or Penkala himself. What is clear is that the plane flew to a height of some 5 meters (16′) and made short hops of a couple of hundred feet or so.  Whoever was the first pilot, it is recorded that both Novak and Penkala flew the plane in the course of the next several weeks, until it was damaged in the usual crash that seemed to be the inevitable result of early flight testing.

Penkala in his plane

Penkala in his plane

Penkala, suffering financially, decided not to pursue aeronautics further. He enjoyed business success in his other ventures, but his life was cut short by pneumonia in 1922.

Novak in CA-10

Novak in CA-10

In late 1910, Novak joined Mihail Merćep and the Rusjan brothers, who were also working on airplanes in Zagreb, and produced the first commercially viable planes in that part of the world. He worked first as a technician and later as a pilot, winning prizes at aeronautical competitions, and distinguishing himself as a pilot in the First World War. Novak lived till 1976.

For the 100th anniversary, Zagreb aviators could not let the occasion pass unremarked. They set to building a replica. There were no plans, just old pictures. They had to call on the help of a carpenter. The plane was built in the spirit of Penkala’s original, but with a modern engine placed much further forward to make the plane better balanced, and the plane was ready for its first flight in September 2010. Check out the Youtube video:

So there you have it, 100 years of airplanes in Croatia!

100th Anniversary of flight in Zagreb

Tags: pilot, taildragger, tailwheel.

Related Posts

    • first solo, pilot, Cessna 172
      First Solo Flight – Nizar Assaf
      Dec 29 2022 · First Solo Flight, Flight Training · 0 comments

      Solo Date: December 5, 2022 Aircraft: Cessna N9027H Instructor: Nir Chen Reid-Hillview Airport (KRHV) We love to see that, “I...

    • Citabria, tailhweel, N990WY
      New Private Pilot – Jenna Graham
      Dec 29 2022 · Checkrides passed, Flight Training · 0 comments

      Private Pilot Checkride: December 7, 2022 Instructor: Scott Williams Aircraft: Citabria N990WY School Location: San Jose, CA (KSJC) Just a...

    • Citabria, tailhweel, N990WY
      First Solo Flight – Ian Roe
      Dec 19 2022 · Flight Training · 0 comments

      Solo Date: November 19, 2022 Aircraft: Citabria N990WY Instructor: Scott Williams Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV) We love helping people...

    • PPL, checkride, C172
      New Private Pilot – Siyuan Zhang
      Oct 31 2022 · Checkrides passed, Flight Training · 0 comments

      Private Pilot Checkride: October 27, 2022 Instructor: Nir Chen Aircraft: Cessna N61637 School Location: San Jose, CA (KSJC) CFI Nir...

    • 7ECA, Citabria, N990WY, solo
      First Solo Flight – Jenna Graham
      Oct 18 2022 · First Solo Flight, Flight Training · 0 comments

      Solo Date: October 7, 2022 Aircraft: Citabria N990WY Instructor: Scott Williams Location: San Jose, CA (KRHV) A female taildragger pilot...

    • tailwheel, Citabria, 7ECA, N2508Z, taildragger
      New Tailwheel Endorsement – John Keegan
      Sep 24 2022 · Flight Training, Scholarship, Tailwheel Endorsement · 0 comments

      Date: September 22, 2022 Tailwheel Endorsement Aircraft: Citabria N2508Z Instructors: Lynzie Hudson, Ivan Stanojevic, Scott Williams, Grainne Gilvarry & Jen...

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Follow Us
    Facebooktwitterlinkedinyoutubeinstagram
  • Latest News
    • New Private Pilot – Nizar Assaf Mar 14, 2023 · Checkrides passed, Flight Training
    • New Private Pilot – Anand Agrawal Jan 26, 2023 · Checkrides passed, Flight Training
    • New Private Pilot – Stephen Sun Jan 26, 2023 · Checkrides passed, Flight Training
    • First Solo Flight – Nizar Assaf Dec 29, 2022 · First Solo Flight, Flight Training
    • First Solo Flight – Joseph Warner Dec 29, 2022 · First Solo Flight, Flight Training
    • New Private Pilot – Jenna Graham Dec 29, 2022 · Checkrides passed, Flight Training
    • New Private Pilot – Scott Tilney Dec 29, 2022 · Checkrides passed, Flight Training
    • First Solo Flight – Ian Roe Dec 19, 2022 · Flight Training
  • Tags
    7ECA aerobatics Aeronca Champ Aviation california California flying Cessna Cessna 172 Cessna 172RG CFI CFII checkride citabria Commercial Pilot CPL first solo flight training IFR Instrument Rating KMRY KRHV Light Sport LSA monterey multi-engine N968RC N9027H N54102 N61637 N98485 pilot Pilot license PPL private pilot Recreational pilot reid-hillview Salinas San Jose solo sport pilot SportStar student pilot taildragger tailwheel twin comanche
  • Archives
    • March 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • November 2013
    • July 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • September 2009
    • June 2009
    • March 2009
  • Ask a Question
    =
    • Schedule A Flight
    • Contact Us
© 2019 Gentle, All Rights Reserved MassivePixelCreation