Page 23 - Young Wise

CULTURE, ART AND TECHNOLOGY

THE TEACHER AND THE LEGEND
A New Life and a Great Teacher

After the punishment, he felt sad and resigned from the military.
But he never gave up his love for the sky. Vecihi Hürkuş wanted
other young people to love the sky, too. So, he opened the first
civil flying school in Türkiye. He taught many students how to fly.
He trained 12 new pilots there. One of his students was Bedriye
Tahir Gökmen. She became the first Turkish female civil pilot. He
worked hard all his life for Turkish aviation.
hard at that time. He didn’t have a big factory or enough money.
He worked day and night in a hangar. Sometimes he worked 16
hours a day on his project. He used old aeroplane parts left from
the enemy forces after the war. In 1924, he built the first Turkish
aeroplane in İzmir. Its name was ‘Vecihi K-VI’.

The ‘HÜRKUŞ’ Project
Vecihi Hürkuş died many years ago, but the Turkish people
never forgot him because a hero never dies in people’s hearts.
Today, his name is still in the sky. The Turkish Air Force has a
A GREAT SUCCESS AND A PUNISHMENT
new-generation training aeroplane. They use this
When the aeroplane was ready, he aeroplane to teach new pilots. They gave it
needed permission to fly. But there the name ‘HÜRKUŞ’ to remember
were no experts in Türkiye to check this great hero. His
the aeroplane. Vecihi couldn’t wait. On name will live forever.
28 January 1925, he flew his aeroplane
without permission. It was a great
success. He flew perfectly in his own SCAN & WATCH
Do you want to learn more?
machine. He expected a reward, Do you want to learn more? You can read
but his commanders were angry. He more about his life on the Turkish Aeronautical
received a punishment for breaking Association (THK) website. Also, you can watch
the rules. He stayed in prison for 15 a great documentary about the amazing life of
days and lost half of his salary. Vecihi Hürkuş! Please scan the QR code
with your mobile phone’s camera.
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