115 years ago, Alexander Kudashev flew in Kyiv in an airplane of his own design

June 5 marked the 115th anniversary of the first aircraft capable of controlled flight built in Ukraine. On that day (May 23 according to the old calendar) in 1910, Alexander Kudashev, an extraordinary professor at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, flew an aircraft of his own design in Kyiv.

One of the witnesses to this historic event was Boris Delone, then a Kyiv gymnasium student and later a famous mathematician. He later recalled (original language): “Prince Alexander Sergeyevich Kudashev flew in Kyiv and flew on his own plane. At first, he flew it over the field behind Pushkin Park in the mornings, and then in May, he finally took off. We all saw it: it was an amazing sight.” The flight did not last long, and the plane flew about 75 meters in a straight line.

Kudashev built his biplane at his own expense in a small hangar, more like a barn, which was erected on the territory of the KPI. The plane had a simple truss structure, with a front elevator and a tail with a stabilizer and rudder. Pine rails were the main material for the frame of the airplane. On the lower wing was a 35 hp Anzani engine with a propeller.  

Kudashev built two more aircraft in Kyiv. In early 1911, he accepted an invitation to work at the aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works and moved to Riga. 

The fate of Alexander Kudashev is shrouded in mystery. According to Kyiv researchers Serhiy Karamash and Vitaliy Tatarchuk, the documentary sources that have been found do not allow us to trace his fate beyond the end of May 1911. Even the place and circumstances of the prince's death remain unknown. According to a fairly widespread version, he volunteered for the front during World War I and died in 1917. However, no documentary evidence of this has been found.