Royal Swedish Aero Club (, KSAK, previously ''Svenska Aeronautiska Sällskapet'', SAS), established in 1900, is today the national organization for Sweden's over 150

flying club A flying club or aero club is a non-profit organization, not-for-profit, member-run organization that provides its members with affordable access to aircraft. Many clubs also provide flight training, flight planning facilities, pilot supplies and ...

s and has been authorized by the

Swedish Transport Agency The Swedish Transport Agency () is a Swedish government agency which is responsible for the regulation of rail, air, sea and road transport and its enforcement. It was formed on 1 January 2009, through a merger of several government agencies, i ...

administer

ultralight aviation Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

in Sweden. The Royal Swedish Aero Club has a wholly owned service company, located at

Bromma Airport Stockholm Bromma Airport , officially known as Bromma Stockholm Airport, is a regional airport located in the Bromma district of Stockholm, Sweden that primarily serves private aviation. Situated approximately 7 km (4.3 mi) northwest ...

, which sells aeronautical maps and other aviation accessories.

History

When the Swedish Aeronautical Society (''Svenska Aeronautiska Sällskapet'', SAS) was established in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

on 15 December 1900, there were only one predecessor in the world, the

Aéro-Club de France The Aéro-Club de France () is one of the oldest French aviators' associations still active. It was founded as the Aéro-Club on 20 October 1898 as a society 'to encourage aerial locomotion' by Ernest Archdeacon, Léon Serpollet, Henri de la ...

. The purpose of the society was "to its ability encourage the art of ballooning in Sweden in all its branches", and the first years until about 1910 were mostly about

aerostat An aerostat (, via French) or lighter-than-air aircraft is an aircraft that relies on buoyancy to maintain flight. Aerostats include unpowered balloons (free-flying or tethered) and powered airships. The relative density of an aerostat as a ...

s (balloons). It later turned to aerodynes (aircraft). At the society's initiatives a large number of balloon flights were conducted during the first decade of the 1900s. During the early years, a time record was set by Karl Amundson in 1903 at 26 hours from

, Sweden, to

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().Lake Ilmen Lake Ilmen (, ) is a large lake in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. A historically important lake, it formed a vital part of the medieval trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of Veliky Novgorod, which is a major trade center of the ro ...

, Russia; both with the balloon ''Svenske'' (Swede). The observation results from some of the society's expeditions were compiled by the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in its documents and were published in German. After 1910 the society's interest was dedicated almost entirely to aircraft rather than on balloons. From 1910–1912 "fly weeks" were organized in Stockholm, as well as competitions and air shows around the country, where especially Baron

Carl Cederström Friherre Carl Gustav Alexander Cederström (5 March 1867 – 29 June 1918) was a pioneering Swedish aviator, known as "the flying Baron". Biography He was born on 5 March 1867 to the Baron Anders Cederström and the Baroness Maria Cecilia W ...

's ("The Flying Baron") shows attracted great interest. Through the society's activities, the first ever aircraft in Sweden was built, and this was donated to the state. In the spring of 1915 an exposition in Stockholm was organized, which highlighted the domestic aircraft manufacturing's position and wishes for its future development.

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

meant greatly increased interest in

military aviation Military aviation is the design, development and use of military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift (air cargo) capacity to provide military logistics, logist ...

, but the society also worked during this era to establish civilian aviation operations. Among other things, the society worked to bring about airports at various locations in Sweden and thus create conditions for scheduled air services.

Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of Oscar I of Sweden, King Oscar I and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, Queen J ...

was the society's guardian, and in December 1910 the Crown Prince of Sweden succeeded him. In connection with the 20th anniversary in 1920 the name was changed to the current ''Kungliga Svenska Aeroklubben'' (KSAK). King

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

became in autumn 1974 the organization's guardian after his grandfather's death.

Secretaries general

*1937–1939: Carl Petersén *1939–1941: ? *1941–1941: Harald Enell *1941–1954: ? *1954–1964: Nils Söderberg *1965–1969: Björn Lindskog *1970–1972: Kjell Rasmusson *1972–1976: Tore Lundberg *1976–1981: Wilhelm Wagner *1981–1989: Sven Hugosson *1989–1996: Sven Kamsén *1996–1998: Carl-Johan Rundberg *1998–2017: Rolf Björkman *2017–present: Lars-Christer Andersson

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.ksak.se/ Aviation organizations based in Sweden Flying clubs Organizations established in 1900