--- title: Vecihi Hürkuş slug: vecihi-hurkus-a033c url: /detay/vecihi-hurkus-a033c type: biography language: English entity: primary: Vecihi Hürkuş type: biography categories: - name: General Knowledge slug: genel-kultur url: /kategori/genel-kultur tags: - Turkish aviation - Vecihi - Vecihi Hürkuş - aviation - pilot author: Ömer Kökçam created_at: 2026-07-14T18:36:08.066615+03:00 updated_at: 2026-07-14T18:36:08.066615+03:00 image: https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2026/07/15/hCnjSoCZrxZMFxGUnDxt0lxwV3bUAdDn.png --- # Vecihi Hürkuş > Life ## KURE Information Cards ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2026/07/15/eDC3ftGg9t3dGGf07u4QxGrTdy7eMwpx.jpg) *Vecihi Hürkuş* | Field | Value | |-------|-------| | Father | Ali Feham Bey | | Date of death | 1969-07-16 | | Child | Gönül Hürkuş Şarman,Sevim Türkan Hürkuş Maxson,Perran Hürkuş Ülgen | | Mother | Zeliha Niyir Hanım | | Date of birth | 1896-01-18 | ## Article Content [Türk](/en/detay/turk/llms.txt) aviation’s pioneering figure [Vecihi Hürkuş](/en/detay/vecihi-hurkus-60c71/llms.txt) was a soldier educator entrepreneur and businessman. He received flight training while serving voluntarily in the army and over time his passion for aviation evolved from piloting to teaching and from aircraft production to airline operations leaving his name in the annals of Turkish aviation history. ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2024/11/21/v3B7cMrCeRAJphvAxXDFH91C6Kh6femk.jpg) *Vecihi Hürkuş in front of a Gotha aircraft used during the War of Independence 1919.* ### **Childhood and Education**   Vecihi Hürkuş was born on 18 January 1896 in Istanbul. His father Ali Feham Bey was a Customs Inspector from an Istanbul family and his mother Zeliha Niyir Hanım was from Vidin. After losing his father at the age of three he moved with his mother and siblings to live with his uncle Ahmed Şekür Bey who taught fencing and drawing in Harbiye. Later they settled in Üsküdar. He completed his primary education in Bebek and his secondary education at the Füyuzati Osmaniye Rüştiyesi in Üsküdar. After attending Paşakapısı İdadisi he transferred to Tophane Sanat Okulu due to his interest in art and graduated from there.   In 1912 Vecihi Hürkuş volunteered to join the Balkan Wars alongside his brother-in-law Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Kemal Bey and was among the troops entering Edirne after its recapture. After the Balkan Wars he was appointed commander of the Serviburun Prisoner Camp in Beykoz by the Istanbul Military Command.   ### **The Beginning of His Aviation Journey**   Driven by his interest in aviation he aspired to become a pilot but due to his young age he received training as an engineer and graduated from the Tayyare Makinist Mektebi as a Junior Officer (Gedikli/Astsubay). During the First World War he was sent to the Baghdad Front as an engineer. ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2024/11/21/zQyLcj34hDm2Wyd1BLj4ThkJXHrks9zH.jpg) *Vecihi Hürkuş in front of his own designed aircraft.* On 2 February 1916 Hürkuş returned to Istanbul after being injured in an aircraft crash on the Baghdad Front. He enrolled at the Tayyare Mektebi in Yeşilköy and made his first flight on 21 May 1916. He completed his pilot training by receiving his pilot diploma on 15 November of the same year. In the autumn of 1917 he was assigned to the 7th Aviation Squadron on the Caucasus Front where he became the first pilot to shoot down a Russian aircraft.   On 8 October 1917 after shooting down an aircraft he set it on fire to prevent it from falling into enemy hands and was captured and sent to Nargin Island in the Caspian Sea. With the help of Azerbaijani Turks Vecihi Hürkuş swam off the island and set out with Lieutenant Salih Bey to return to Türkiye via Iran. After a grueling 2.5-month journey under harsh conditions he reached Mosul via Süleymaniye.   He returned to Istanbul as the war was drawing to a close and was assigned to the Istanbul Air Defense Division. When Istanbul was occupied he boarded a ship from Harem and went to Mudanya then traveled via Bursa and Eskişehir to Konya to join the War of Independence. He carried out the first and last flights of the War of Independence and received two commendations and the Red-Striped Independence Medal from the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye as the first aviator to occupy the İzmir–Seydiköy Airfield. After the war he served in aviation units in İzmir and engaged in teaching as well as technical work. He was assigned to retrieve a passenger aircraft that had mistakenly landed in Edirne and in return for his service the aircraft was named “Vecihi.” This event provided Vecihi Hürkuş with his first concrete step toward developing aircraft projects beginning in 1919. ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2024/11/21/r32wZt4yvk9bCsCLC9wHtTE6cR2ZBwg1.jpg) *Vecihi Hürkuş in front of his first Turkish-designed aircraft Vecihi K-VI in 1924.* ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2024/11/21/y0m5pbwP9TvAQHJgnp3e9BOMooMQULc0.jpg) *Vecihi Hürkuş with the Vecihi K-VI aircraft and his team in 1924.* ### **Aircraft Manufacturing: Challenges and Obstacles**   In 1924 he constructed Türkiye’s first indigenous aircraft the [Vecihi K-VI](/en/detay/vecihi-k-vi-56d86/llms.txt) using engines captured as war booty from the Greeks. When he applied for a flight permit a technical committee was formed to evaluate its airworthiness but the committee lacked personnel qualified to fly and inspect the aircraft resulting in delays. Upon realizing the committee would not issue a license Vecihi Hürkuş took off without authorization on 28 January 1925. However he was punished for flying without permission and resigned from the Turkish Air Force.   Vecihi Hürkuş joined the Turkish Aircraft Society (T.Ta.C.) in Ankara and worked under its Technical Division. T.Ta.C. aimed to establish a national aviation school through public donations. Hürkuş participated in fundraising campaigns to spread his passion for aviation among the public. In a campaign where the name of the donor who contributed 10 000 TL would be given to the aircraft the first aircraft received the name “Ceyhan” after the donor from the Ceyhan district of Adana. In subsequent phases of the campaign Vecihi Hürkuş traveled with the Ceyhan aircraft to promote donations. He traveled abroad with the Turkish Aeronautical Association to study European aviation visiting Breguet Potez and Hanriot factories in France and Junkers and Rohrbach factories in Germany and conducting test flights.   On 19 October 1925 he resigned from the Turkish Aeronautical Association and joined the efforts to establish the Aircraft and Engine Turkish Joint Stock Company (TOMTAŞ) under the Ministry of National Defense in Kayseri. He went to Germany and participated in the construction of the Junkers A.35 aircraft. On 1 August 1926 he successfully completed a demonstration combat flight with the French two-seat fighter Nieuport Delage. ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2024/11/21/UMB0INMDBGCZdvuxy4Nm5bNt3ZWlChy5.jpg) *Vecihi Hürkuş and the Vecihi K-VI with the public and officials during its unveiling in 1925.* In 1927 Vecihi Hürkuş operated flights between Ankara and Kayseri using two passenger aircraft under TOMTAŞ: a three-engine 14-seat Junkers G.24 and a single-engine 6-seat Junkers F.13. These were Türkiye’s first civil aviation flights.   In 1930 he built the Vecihi XIV aircraft in his own workshop in Kadıköy and made its first flight on 27 September 1930 at Kadıköy Fikirtepe. The Vecihi XIV a two-seat single-engine sports and training aircraft also performed demonstration flights in Ankara and was inspected and congratulated by Prime Minister İsmet İnönü and several commanders.   An application to the Ministry of Economy for an airworthiness certificate was rejected on 14 October 1930 with the statement “No one could be found to assess the technical specifications of the aircraft and therefore the required documentation could not be issued.” To obtain the necessary certification Vecihi Hürkuş received permission to send the aircraft to Czechoslovakia. The aircraft was disassembled in Ankara and shipped by rail to Prague. After technical reports translated into Czech were reviewed and the aircraft successfully passed inspections it completed its flight and received flight authorization on 23 April 1931 in a ceremony attended by Czech officials. The Vecihi XIV departed from Czechoslovakia on 25 April 1931 and arrived in Türkiye on 5 May 1931.   A tour was planned by the Turkish Aeronautical Association using Vecihi Hürkuş’s aircraft. The tour began in Ankara and concluded in Yeşilköy passing through Aksaray Konya Manavgat Antalya Fethiye Muğla Aydın Denizli Uşak Eskişehir Adapazarı and İzmit. Due to unknown reasons his assistant and engineer Hamit Bey was dismissed and flight compensation was cut leading to the Vecihi XIV being grounded. Vecihi Hürkuş left the Turkish Aeronautical Association once again. On 21 April 1932 he founded the Vecihi Civil Aviation School Türkiye’s first civilian aviation school. The school began instruction on 27 September 1932 with a total of 12 students enrolled in its first year including two women. Among its first students was [Bedriye Gökmen](/en/detay/bedriye-tahir-gokmen-799ac/llms.txt) Türkiye’s first female pilot. No accidents occurred during training. To secure financial support the school accepted advertisements from institutions such as Tekel Administration and Türkiye İş Bankası as well as donations from philanthropists. ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2024/11/21/cLzMwnRIqBUOTMGmjCHQSSAOl9EZpGNh.jpg) *Vecihi Hürkuş in his Vecihi XIV aircraft designed by himself in 1930.* ### **Crossing Paths with Nuri Demirağ**   Another important figure in Turkish aviation [Nuri Demirağ](/en/detay/nuri-demirag-25b02/llms.txt) visited Vecihi Hürkuş’s workshop and gave him 5 000 TL to be used in aircraft construction. With this donation Hürkuş built a closed-cabin light passenger aircraft named Nuri Bey. In the same year Vecihi Hürkuş also constructed the single-seat Vecihi XV training aircraft. His students performed a demonstration flight over Istanbul using two Vecihi XIVs two Vecihi XV aircraft and the Nuri Bey Vecihi XVI. During this flight Sait Bayav Tevfik Artan Muammer Öniz Osman Kandemir and the first female aviator Bedriye Gökmen each completed solo flights. The Vecihi Civil Aviation School closed due to financial difficulties and the lack of official recognition of its graduates’ diplomas.   ### **Contributions to the Turkish Aeronautical Association**   In 1935 he served as chief instructor at [Türkkuşu](/en/detay/turkkusu-flight-school-574db/llms.txt). He played a key role in constructing the Etimesgut hangars creating the İnönü summer camp airfield and arranging for his former students Sait Bayav Tevfik Artan and Muammer Öniz to be sent to Russia for further training.   In 1937 the Turkish Aeronautical Association sent him to Germany for engineering education. He graduated after one and a half years. However upon returning to Türkiye his engineering degree was not recognized by the Ministry of Public Works on the grounds that “one cannot become an engineer in two years.” After a long struggle he succeeded in having his diploma officially recognized through a decision by the Council of State. ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2024/11/21/4jqAFv8LoPLSpUapEER6HeJeuE1sXoKS.jpg) *Vecihi Hürkuş at work in his office during the 1930s.* In 1942 he published a book titled “Havada” in which he recounted his experiences between 1915 and 1925 during the First World War the War of Independence and the early years of the Republic as well as how he built his first aircraft.   In 1947 he founded the “Kanatlılar Birliği” which attracted great interest from young people. The monthly magazine Kanatlılar under the organization’s umbrella with his daughter Gönül as head of editorial affairs continued publication for 12 months. In 1951 he co-founded a company named “Türk Kanadı” with five friends to conduct aerial agricultural spraying. He traveled with Sait Bayav and Muammer Öniz to England and purchased three Auster MK-V aircraft. Upon returning to Türkiye a disagreement among the partners led Hürkuş to relinquish his rights and leave the company.   On 29 November 1954 Vecihi Hürkuş purchased eight aircraft retired by [Turkish Airlines](/en/detay/turkish-airlines-thy-c3c9c/llms.txt) and founded Hürkuş Airlines Türkiye’s first private airline company. He continued operations by establishing routes not covered by Turkish Airlines and transporting newspapers. However this venture also failed due to various difficulties sabotage and financial problems. The enterprise ended when Hürkuş Airlines’ aircraft were grounded. Despite all this he continued using his remaining aircraft TC-ERK under the command of the Mineral Research and Exploration Institute to search for thorium uranium and phosphate in the harsh natural conditions of Southeastern Anatolia.   In the final years of his life struggling with economic hardship while writing his memoirs Vecihi Hürkuş suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and fell into a coma. He passed away on 16 July 1969 at Gülhane Military Medical Academy and was buried at Ankara Cebeci Asri Cemetery. ### **FIRSTS** · He was the first Turkish pilot to fly a twin-engine aircraft “Caudron G-4.” (Eastern Front 17.07.1917) · He achieved the first Turkish aerial victory by shooting down a Russian aircraft on the Caucasus Front. (Kelkit 26.09.1917) · He manufactured propellers for a Nieuport aircraft captured from the Russians. “One propeller = one aircraft.” (Istanbul 1918) · During the War of Independence he made gelatin-based adhesive for repairing aircraft wings. · He conducted the first reconnaissance flight of the War of Independence. (Kula/Alaşehir 15.08.1920) · He won the first aerial victory of the War of Independence. (Alaşehir 15.08.1920) · He was the first to enter the Seydiköy/Gaziemir airfield during the final flight of the War of Independence. (İzmir 14.09.1922) · He was the only person to receive two commendations from the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye during the War of Independence upon the proposal of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and was awarded the Red-Striped Independence Medal. · He was the first pilot to operate a civilian passenger flight on Turkish soil. Caproni Breda – 11 passengers. (Edirne June 1923) · He designed and built Türkiye’s first indigenous aircraft “Vecihi K-VI.” (İzmir 1924) He made its first and only flight. (İzmir 28.01.1925) · He was the first and only pilot among the founding members of the Turkish Aircraft Society (T.Ta.C.) Türkiye’s first civilian aviation organization. · He was the first person in Türkiye to be given the title “The Father of Turkish Aviation.” (Ankara 17.06.1925) · He flew the aircraft during Türkiye’s first parachute jump. The jump was performed by German parachutist Herr Hainike in the presence of Atatürk. (Ankara 16.09.1926) · He designed and built Türkiye’s first civilian aircraft “Vecihi XIV.” (Kadıköy/Istanbul 16.09.1930) · He was the first pilot to fly in European skies with a Turkish-built aircraft. (Prague–Istanbul 25.04.1931) · He was the first pilot to conduct the first nationwide tour in Türkiye using a Turkish-built aircraft. (02.09.1931 / 09.11.1931) · Belgian parachutist M. Rene performed the first parachute jump from Türkiye’s first civilian aircraft at Vecihi Hürkuş’s suggestion. Vecihi Hürkuş piloted the Vecihi XIV. (Yeşilköy 18.01.1932) · He established Türkiye’s first civilian aircraft and seaplane factory “Vecihi Fiham Kara ve Deniz Tayyare Fabrikası.” (Kadıköy/Istanbul 1932) · He designed a motorized speedboat “Vecihi SK-X” and received an invention patent. (1930) He built it. (Kadıköy/Istanbul 1933) · He opened Türkiye’s first civilian pilot training school “Vecihi Civil Aviation School.” (Kadıköy/Istanbul 1932) · He built Türkiye’s first enclosed-cabin passenger/seaplane “Vecihi XVI.” (Kadıköy/Istanbul 1933) · He manufactured Türkiye’s first sports and training aircraft “Vecihi XV.” (Kadıköy/Istanbul 1933) · He trained 12 pilots together with Türkiye’s first female pilot Bedriye Gökmen. (Kadıköy/Istanbul 1933) · While contributing to the establishment of Türkkuşu he built Türkiye’s first gliders (US-4 and PS-2). (Ankara 1935–36) · The record for longest flight duration with a glider in Türkiye was broken on 14 July 1936 by Russian expert instructor and pilot Sergey Anokhin with 3 hours 10 minutes. However on 15 July 1936 Vecihi Hürkuş took off from Eskişehir İnönü at 14:17 and achieved a new record of 5 hours 45 minutes at an altitude of 800 meters. · He founded HHY Türkiye’s first private airline operating passenger and cargo flights on domestic routes. “Hürkuş Airlines.” (Istanbul 1954–60) · He was honored by ICAO as the first Turkish pilot to have flown for over 50 years. (1916–1967) · Between 1916 and 1967 Vecihi Hürkuş was the first and only pilot to fly 102 different aircraft models. · He was the first and only Turkish pilot whose life included approximately 30 000 hours of flight time. 30 000 hours = 1 250 days = 41 months 20 days = 3 years 5 months. ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2024/11/21/1fdyTyl4wJtxRmoMVWzNRn4gApxVyLNJ.jpg) *Vecihi K-VI adorned with the Turkish flag in 1924.* ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2024/11/21/xm6gO2HLNgYVYi3QgM54an6loXgiSws6.jpg) *Vecihi K-VI on the runway before test flights in 1924.* ![Image](https://cdn.t3pedia.org/media/uploads/2024/11/21/6CiDdWNY18rrbwgkX8v5clFpGQMljX4I.jpg) *Vecihi Hürkuş in the cockpit of the Vecihi K-VI in 1925.* ## Academic Sources and References 1. Atatürk Ansiklopedisi 2. Hürkuş, Vecihi. Bir Tayyarecinin Anıları. Edited by Gönül Hürkuş Şarman and Sevim Hürkuş Maxon, Yapı Kredi Yayınları, Istanbul, 2000. 3. Hürkuş, Vecihi. Havalarda. Kanaat Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1942. 4. Tayyareci Vecihi Hürkuş Müzesi Derneği