Rudolf Fizir (13 January 1891 – 11 November 1960) was an airplane constructor. He designed at least 18 original planes, some conversions of landplanes to seaplanes - and a parachute. Amphibian aircraft

Fizir was born in

Ludbreg Ludbreg is a town in Croatia, located halfway between Varaždin and Koprivnica near the river Drava. It has 3,603 inhabitants, and a total of 8,478 in the entire municipality (census 2011). History For centuries Ludbreg has been a popular plac ...

, a small town on the river Bednja, in the north of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. In 1914, whilst still a senior student, he was offered his first job in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

, where he worked in the construction of fighter aircraft for the German '' Fliegerkorps'' in the new ''

Fokker Fokker (; ) was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1912 to 1996. The company was founded by the Dutch aviator Anthony Fokker and became famous during World War I for its fighter aircraft. During its most successful period in the 19 ...

-Flugzeugbau'' factory. From there he was sent to

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, in order to find and organize a Fokker subsidiary. Between 1918 and 1920, Fizir was employed in the automobile industry, where he gathered experience with internal combustion engines. In 1920 he returned to Ludbreg, and then moved to

Petrovaradin Petrovaradin ( sr-Cyrl, Петроварадин, ) is a historic town in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, now a part of the city of Novi Sad. As of 2011, the urban area has 14,810 inhabitants. Lying on the right bank of the Danube, across the m ...

. There he started to build his aircraft designs in his yard, at his own expense. BAM-03-Fizir FN

With a biplane, which Fizir built in 1925, he won the first prize in the 1927

Little Entente The Little Entente was an alliance formed in 1920 and 1921 by Czechoslovakia, Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia from 1929 on) with the purpose of common defense against Hungarian revisionism and the prospect of ...

contest, despite having an engine with only half the power of other competing designs. Other aircraft he produced were named after the engines used, such as the Fizir-Mercedes, Fizir-Wright, Fizir-Titan, Fizir-Kastor, Fizir-Gypsi, and the half-metallic Fizir-Jupiter. His successful designs, almost all wooden, were economic to produce, reflecting the low economic power of the pre-World War II

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

, wartime Croatia (

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

) and post-World War II

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and were highly regarded in Germany and France throughout the 1930s, 40s and 50s. He had a strong affiliation for trainers and seaplanes, having a vision of connecting the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

islands with a regular seaplane service. His greatest success was the Fizir FN two-seater with dual controls, over 100 of which were built, which was in use as a trainer up to 30 years after World War II. Rudolf Fizir was awarded with the

Paul Tissandier Diploma Paul Tissandier (19 February 1881 – 11 March 1945) was a French aviator. He was the treasurer of the ''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale'' (FAI) from its foundation (1905) to 1919, and its Secretary General from 1913 to 1945, and it aw ...

from the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

for achievements in aviation, and held the rank of (colonel) in the Croatian Battle Air Force. After World War II, Fizir worked as a motorcycle designer, and continued with aircraft construction in his retirement years. The road leading to

Zagreb Airport Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport () or Zagreb Airport () () is an international airport serving Zagreb, Croatia. It is the busiest airport in Croatia, handling about 4.31 million passengers and some 13,025 tons of cargo in 2024. Named after ...

was named in his honour.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070203162457/http://library.thinkquest.org/C0127004/TQnovo/engilsh/other_inventors/other_sixteen.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20070203091206/http://library.thinkquest.org/C0127004/TQnovo/izumi/izumiostali_sesnaesti.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Fizir, Rudolf 1891 births 1960 deaths People from Ludbreg People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia Aircraft designers Aviation pioneers Croatian engineers Croatian Home Guard personnel Engineers from Zagreb Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Yugoslav engineers