Karl Illner

Karl Illner on board his airplane (with autograph)

Karl Illner (born July 14, 1877 in Schatzlar , Bohemia ; † August 6, 1935 in Vienna ) was an Austrian aviation pioneer.

The memorial stone in Horn

Illner's grave at the Grinzing cemetery

Illner was a mechanic and pilot as well as an employee of Igo Etrich . On August 8, 1909, he made the first flight of 40 m in length and 4 m in height with the Etrich I “Praterspatz”. On May 17, 1910 , he made the first Austrian overland flight from Wiener Neustadt to Vienna and back again.

On April 24, 1910, Karl Illner passed the pilot's test as third in Austria-Hungary. At an international flight meeting held in Wiener Neustadt on September 18, 1910, Illner won almost all of the first prizes. How much these flights were dependent on the weather is shown by the fact that the tests took place at this meeting from September 11th. Due to the weather, he was only able to stay in the air for 22 seconds with the Möve built by Etrich , while his competitor Adolf Warchalowski managed 2 minutes 13 seconds. On October 10, 1910, he managed an overland flight from Vienna to Horn and back, with which he won the prize of 20,000 crowns donated by the municipality of Vienna.

To commemorate this achievement, the municipality of Horn (Lower Austria) erected a memorial stone that immortalized Illner's name. Karl Illner was just as successful at flight events in Berlin and Budapest .

Karl Illner was buried in Vienna in 1935 at the Grinzinger Friedhof (group 18, number 124). In Vienna- Donaustadt (22nd district) the Illnerstrasse reminds of him.

literature

• Illner Karl. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 3, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1965, p. 29.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Price flights in Wiener Neustadt. In:  Neue Freie Presse , September 12, 1910, p. 6 (online at ANNO ).

Web links

Commons : Karl Illner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files