The story of the first Hungarian-built aircraft

The first Hungarian-built aircraft, the Libelle, was presented in Hungary in December 1909 and officially made its first flight on 10 January 1910. However, a month earlier, on 9 December 1909, the aircraft was tested, a landmark event in Hungarian aviation history.

At the time, aviation experiments were still in their infancy and were seen more as a spectacle, a circus attraction. However, Louis Blériot’s Hungarian debut in October 1909 was a major inspiration for Hungarian aircraft builders, writes PestBuda.

The Libelle: the first Hungarian-built aircraft

The aircraft was built by Jenő Gráber and János Adorján and was named Libelle, or “Dragonfly”. The small structure was made of wood, canvas and wire, weighing just under 200 kilograms. The machine was powered by a two-cylinder Dedics engine, which produced 24 hp to provide the energy needed for the climb.

Dimensions of the Libelle:

• Length: 8.8 metres
• Wingspan: 7.3 metres
• Maximum speed: 55 km/h

The aircraft first appeared at the airport of Rákosmeze, where it was tested on 9 December 1909.

The question of flight: success or failure?

Different accounts of the first test of the Libelle have survived. Zsuzsa Frisnyák, in her book The Chronicle of Hungarian Transport, writes that the plane flew 150 metres at an altitude of about 2 metres. In contrast, László Winkler, in his book Hungarian Fliers, Flying Hungarians, claims that the plane only rolled, but the wheels broke, so the first official flight took place on 10 January 1910.