Vecihi Hürkuş, one of the pioneering figures of Turkish aviation history, is remembered on the 57th anniversary of his passing with the powerful legacy he left behind. Born in Istanbul on January 18, 1896, Hürkuş became one of the names who shaped Türkiye’s aviation journey not only as a pilot, but also through aircraft design, engineering, training and civil aviation initiatives. After volunteering in the Balkan War, he served in military duties and later began his aviation path by studying at the Aircraft Mechanic School.

During the First World War, Hürkuş served as a mechanic on the Baghdad Front and received pilot training after returning to Istanbul in 1916. In 1917, he went down in history as the first Turkish pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft by downing a Russian plane on the Caucasus Front. He was later captured by the Russians and taken to Nargin Island in the Caspian Sea, but managed to escape. During the War of Independence, he carried out successful reconnaissance flights, shot down a Greek aircraft and received the red-ribbon Independence Medal as the only person awarded three commendations by the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

One of Vecihi Hürkuş’s most important achievements in aviation history came shortly after the War of Independence, when he built his own aircraft. Using aircraft materials left behind by the Greeks in Izmir, Hürkuş built the Vecihi K-VI in 1924, which is considered the first Turkish aircraft. Since there was not enough technical personnel to issue an airworthiness certificate, he made the first flight with the aircraft he designed on January 28, 1925. However, he was penalized for flying without official permission, an incident that became one of the best-known examples of the obstacles he faced.

Hürkuş also played a pioneering role in the development of civil aviation. In 1930, he built the Vecihi K-XIV, a single-engine sport and training aircraft, in three months at a rented carpenter’s workshop in Kadıköy. Vecihi K-XIV made its first flight on September 27, 1930, in Kadıköy Fikirtepe and became Türkiye’s first civilian aircraft. In order to obtain flight approval, Hürkuş had the aircraft dismantled and sent by rail to Prague, where he received approval from Czechoslovak authorities.

Training new pilots was another major goal for Vecihi Hürkuş. In 1932, he established the Civil Aircraft School, where 12 pilots were trained, including Türkiye’s first female pilot, Bedriye Gökmen. Later, Hürkuş allocated his aircraft for training activities under the Türkkuşu program. In 1937, he was sent to Germany by the Turkish Aeronautical Association for aircraft engineering education and received his aircraft and mechanical engineering diploma in 1939. This process showed that he was not only a courageous pilot, but also an engineer with a production vision based on technical knowledge.

Continuing his initiatives in civil aviation, Hürkuş founded the Türk Kanadı company in 1947 for aerial agricultural spraying and established Hürkuş Airlines on November 29, 1954. However, flight permits, bureaucratic obstacles and financial difficulties prevented these ventures from reaching the desired level. He later made his last remaining aircraft available to the Mineral Research and Exploration Institute and contributed to thorium, uranium and phosphate exploration efforts in Southeastern Anatolia. Vecihi Hürkuş, who passed away on July 16, 1969, continues to be remembered today as one of the symbols of courage, production and independence in Turkish aviation.