The book presents the history and tells the stories connected with aviation in the Písek region. It does not focus solely on Krašovice Airport. Readers will learn about the legendary Vít Fučík Kudlička, the first balloonists, as well as pioneers of powered flight such as Ing. Jan Kašpar and his cousin Eugen Čihák. The book also offers stories of forgotten aviators, such as Jan Hirsch.
It introduces the lives of two First World War pilots, Jan Polívka and Rudolf Vaníček, as well as Royal Air Force pilots Miroslav Plecitý and Rudolf Procházka. All of them were born in Písek, and their life stories, which reflect the history of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and later Czechoslovakia, deserve to be remembered.
Three chapters are also devoted to events of the Second World War and the activities of German and Allied aviation. Aviation in Písek itself is covered in chapters on the Masaryk Aviation League and, after the Second World War, on all the organizations that contributed to the construction of Krašovice Airport — the Czech National Aeroclub, Doslet, and Svazarm.
However, Krašovice Airport did not serve civil aviation for long, as it was taken over by the army in 1965. At first, a helicopter squadron was stationed there, and after a certain interval, during which the airport served the needs of a communications regiment, one of two squadrons of VR-3 Rejs unmanned reconnaissance systems was based there.
From the mid-1990s, the Army of the Czech Republic no longer had a use for the airport. Its first private owner was Fantasy Air, which used it for test flights of ultralight aircraft. Since 2019, the latest owner of Krašovice Airport has been Primoco UAV SE, which tests Primoco UAV One 150 unmanned aircraft at the airport. These aircraft have also achieved several world records. Aviation has not disappeared from the life of Písek!
Authors: Michal Plavec and Jakub Fojtík
Number of pages: 297
Format: A4, hardcover
Limited edition: 1,000 copies
Price: CZK 1,000 including VAT and courier delivery
Online book order: http://letistepisek.cz/kniha/