Dragutin Novak

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Dragutin Karlo Novak (Zagreb, February 16, 1892. - Zagreb, October 31, 1978.), was first person in Croatia to make a heavier-than-air flight. He flew a plane constructed by Slavoljub Eduard Penkala], June 22, 1910..

Dragutin Karlo Novak took to flying as first man to do that in Croatia. He had flown in an airplane made by constructor Slavoljub Penkala in 21/22 June 1910. He fled from the military training-field in Crnomerac, Zagreb. Later on, during one of Novak s flying achievement, on the 20th October 1910, the airplane was damaged and Penkala resigned from further examination of that trade. Anyhow, that was the first flight with motor operated airplane in Croatia, and thanking to that achievement Dragutin Novak was the first Croatian pilot in history. That event then considered by many as pure nonse, made a message for the future.

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[edit] Childhood and youth

Dragutin Novak was born in Zagreb, in Ilica 19 street. During the immature years of his life he lost his parents, so his aunt cared for him, "harmonizing" his life. He took his degree in an elementary school in Zagreb, then went to convent school in Tropavy (Silesia). He then continued in mechanical trade, specializing mechanics. In the year 1910 he left Zagreb and went to his sister in Budapest, where he succeeded to take part in an airplane competition. Shortly afterwards he came back to his stronghold in Zagreb and took an employment in the business of Slavoljub Penkala, who invested his efforts in the construction of airplanes, becoming his right hand in manufacturing and proving the flight characteristics until the first flight in Croatia. He worked there until Penkala’s decision to abandon the further work on airplanes.

[edit] Flying in the sky of Zagreb

Following an invitation he went over to a photographer and entrepreneur Mihajlo Merčep, who in the meantime built up a hanger side by side to Penkala’s. Besides that, he brought to Zagreb brothers from Slovenia, Edvard and Joško Rusjan. Financially aided by Mercep, they started to build their own airplane. (Otherwise, in spite of the impression created in and about a part of the community, mainly by his merit, Mihajlo Merčep bad never taken to flying himself, nor he was a constructor or similarly; he was the enterpreneur who decided to share the glory of Edverd Ruslan and later of Dragutin Novak, deciding that the future of aviation is knocking on the door.) Novak joined them and helped in the construction and building of an airplane. By the end of the year 1910, Edvard Rusian took wing on the test flying in the sky of Zagreb. After Edvard Rusian got killed in Beograd, in the year of 1911, Novak worked with Joško Rusian on the handful of versions of Rusian's airplanes (now Merčep – Rusian's), and essentially improved the supplementary controls for the depth (elevators) and sideways (ailerons) commands, by making relevant and manufacturing the steering-wheel for lateral operation of the inclination, and many more of other betterments.

[edit] Second aviation competition

On one of those airplanes, Novak on the 20th and 21th 1911, won the best degree on the Second aviation competition in Budapest. He took to flying over Zagreb, Osijek, Budapest. Later on, he was awarded the winning award – in 1912 – during an aero-meeting in Graz, where he suffered the fall from the sky. He was abandoned by fame-thirsty boss Mercep, who even left him alone in a hospital. That was the point of no return in their cooperation. After leaving the hospital, Novak works in the Puch factory. In 1913 he returns to Croatia, and have got employed as a motor-mechanic near Križevci.

[edit] First World War

By the end of 1914 he went to military service. After s short period of serving the army (foot-soldiering) he was shifted in the aviation of the Austria-Hungaryan kingdom. For his pilot s achievements he won the Gold medal for courage and bravery, and then secured the Argent Medal of the first class, the title of Fieldpilot and the Cross with wreath. Beginning by the 1916 after he was wounded during a battle fliyng (when after an explosion near the airplane he went deaf in the left ear), he was promoted to the post of flight-teacher in the most important military-pilot school in the Monarchy in the Wiener Neustadt. He won pilot's degrees for military and civil services. After the end of the First World War he refused to serve in the Austrian army, and turns back to his family.

[edit] Broken wings

He permanently stopped flying, and he was never again in the air even as a passenger. With family he changed his residence to Krizevci where for a short while he worked in a steam-powered flour-mill, then he returns to Zagreb getting employed at the Anatomy institute of the Medicine faculty. In the 1923 he is again in Krizevci engaged in the town s Lightning power plant. In the 1927 he founded in Krizevci his own auto-transport enterprise, bus and taxi service for transport of passengers. After 1945 he remains without his auto-park and in the 1948 he became director of the City auto-bus enterprise in Krizevci. After that another job: until his retirement in the 1954, working from the 1949 on the Agriculture-engineering, again in Krizevci. After 50 years, in the 1970, he returns to his home town Zagreb, together with the family. He died in his 86th year of life, on the October 31th 1978.

[edit] Summary

After the year of 1918, he was systematically passed over in silence as a person who did so much in the history of Croatian aviation. Thanking to the right motivation and intervention of his family and enthusiasts, his peculiar contribution to the life of citizens was awarded by his insertion in the Croatian encyclopedia LZMK (7th volume), and in a short time from now he will be included in the Croatian biographical lexicon. The documentary TV- transmission was made and broadcast in the year of 2000 (“Dragutin Novak-first Croatian flyer”). Near the airport Lučko there is a street named after him (with the thanks to ing. Boris Puhlovski, the writer of the book about Dragutin Novak, published in 1995). The most complete work about the history of the Croatian aviation and the contribution of Dragutin Novak, was written in 2001 by Zlata Klapcic, under the title "The stambling in the air – the history of early aviation in Croatia".

The city of Križevci honored him by assigning the memory-plate on the house he had lived and worked, and by naming the neighboring promenade Dragutin Novak. More, the local Aero-club is named after him. But, on the house he was born in Zagreb, the city officials failed to do the same.

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