Wilhelm Kress

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Wilhelm Kress
Wilhelm Kress

Wilhelm Kress (* July 29th 1836 in Saint Petersburg; † February 24th 1913 in Vienna) was a pioneer in aviations and constructor of aircraft.

[edit] Life

Kress came to Vienna in 1873, where he developed the first modern delta-flying hang glider in 1877. This hang-glider was a major achievement for the time, where many engineers still struggled with "heavier than air"-developments of non-motorised airvehicles.

Kress' aircraft
Kress' aircraft

During the turn of the century he was one of the world-wide contestors for break-through motor aircraft. In 1900 he developed the stick control for aircraft. His model aircraft was constructed for water takeoff and made a first successful attempt (it was not a controlled flight like the one of the Wright brothers in 1903, but more or less larger 'hops') in 1901 near Vienna. A controlled longer flight was not possible due to a heavy motor.

[edit] See also

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