Jan Kašpar (20 May 1883 – 2 March 1927) was a Czech

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

constructor, designer and engineer. He is considered an

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

pioneer in the

Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands ( cs, České země ) are the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. Together the three have formed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia since 1918, the Czech Socialist Republic since 1 ...

Biography

Kašpar was born at

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...

. From his early years, he was an enthusiastic fan of

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

and automobilism. After finishing his studies at secondary school in Pardubice, he moved to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. In 1907, Kašpar graduated at the

Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU, cs, České vysoké učení technické v Praze, ČVUT) is one of the largest university, universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Centra ...

. Later, he continued his studies in Germany where he concentrated on aircraft engine construction. Following that, he has worked as a builder in the

Laurin & Klement Laurin & Klement was a Czech automobile, motorcycle and bicycle manufacturing company founded in 1895 in Mladá Boleslav, Kingdom of Bohemia by automotive pioneers Václav Laurin and Václav Klement. Car production commenced in 1905, and the com ...

factory. Together with his colleague, engineer Hieronimus, Kašpar participated in construction of the first

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

in the Czech lands. His passion for aviation forced him to leave the company where, together with his cousin Evžen Čihák, he devoted himself solely to aircraft construction. Bleriot XI Thulin 1

His first attempts to construct a

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

were inspired by the model '' Antoinette'' by the French designer

Hubert Latham Arthur Charles Hubert Latham (10 January 1883 – 25 June 1912) was a French aviation pioneer. He was the first person to attempt to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane. Due to engine failure during his first of two attempts to cross ...

. In 1909, during the construction of his own monoplane, Kašpar heard about Blériot's successful flight from

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. Kašpar had completed his own aircraft, but he was unable to take off. Some of his first attempts nearly cost him his life. He decided to buy a Blériot XI (No. 76) by the French manufacturer. At first, he equipped the Blériot XI with his own engine, but later switched to an engine made by Anzani. On 16 April 1910, Kašpar made his first successful flight with the Blériot XI. The flight covered two kilometres at a height 20–25 metres. This day became a celebrated milestone in Czech aviation because of the flight and Kašpar being the first pilot of Czech nationality. ''"V zájmu objektivity je nutné říci, že Jan Kašpar nebyl první, kdo v Čechách s letadlem odstartoval. „Německý letec Otto Hieronimus ho předešel o dva týdny a Francouz Gaubert v lednu 1910 obletěl letiště v Praze-Chuchli. Kašpar byl ale bezesporu první český letec,“ uvedl historik Pavel Sviták."'' Despite this, Kašpar was not the first person to fly these relatively new inventions in the Czech lands. In January 1910, French pilot Gaubert flew over the aerodrome in the

Velká Chuchle Velká Chuchle is part of Prague situated in the southwest of the city. It is part of Praha 16 administrative district. The district includes Prague-Velká Chuchle Racecourse, Prague's only horse-racing track, offering flat racing on most Sunda ...

district of Prague. German aviator

Otto Hieronimus Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two ...

, the chief engineer at Laurin & Klement, undertook his flight two weeks before Kašpar. A year later, in 1911, Kašpar managed to construct his own functional aircraft which he called ''JK''. With this aircraft, he planned to embark on the first

long-haul flight In aviation, the flight length refers to the distance of a flight. Commercial flights are often categorized into long-, medium- or short-haul by commercial airlines based on flight length, although there is no international standard definition and ...

in the Czech lands. The first test flight took place on 30 April 1911, from

Chrudim Chrudim () is a town in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest town of the region. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Admin ...

and back. The same day Kašpar also made the first flight with a passenger, his cousin Čihák. Kašpar's most famous flight took place on 13 May 1911. Departing Pardubice to

(121 km) the flight lasted 92 minutes. At that time, it was the longest flight in the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Kašpar later donated the aircraft which he had flown for that historical flight to the National Technical Museum in Prague where it remains today. Kašpar's later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardship. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he lost his financial resources and fell into poverty. In 1927, impoverished and suffering from mental illness, Jan Kašpar committed suicide in Pardubice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaspar, Jan 1883 births 1927 deaths People from Pardubice Czech aviators Czech aerospace engineers Suicides in the Czech Republic Czech Technical University in Prague alumni 1927 suicides