Aviation pioneer Jan Kašpar to get monument in Pardubice

The new Pardubice city council says it does not want to abandon the idea of building a monument on the town’s main square to the Czech aviation pioneer Jan Kašpar. Plans to build the town’s famous aviator a monument were shelved by the former administration after the winning entry proved too expensive for the town’s coffers. The new administration says it will meet with the winner of the tender for fresh talks.

In 1911 Kašpar undertook a successful long-distance flight from Pardubice to Prague in a retrofitted single-engine monoplane, bought from Louis Bleriot after the Frenchman’s successful flight over the English Channel. Kašpar flew his plane at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour covering the 120 km distance from Pardubice to Prague in 1 hour and 32 minutes.