Centenary of the First Flight Across Lake Balaton

Szöveg: Gábor Kálmánfi | 2011. augusztus 25. 9:20

A hundred years ago, Lieutenant Antal Lányi was the first pilot to fly across the Hungarian sea between Badacsony and Fonyódliget, and the flight took him eight minutes. To commemorate the pioneer venture in the history of aviation, on Saturday, August 13, a ceremony was held at the Fonyód port. At the memorial unveiled ten years ago, wreaths were laid by MoD Parliamentary State Secretary Dr. István Simicskó, and Ilona Harris, Antal Lányi’s granddaughter, who arrived from Australia to pay tribute to the heroic achievement of her grandfather.

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In his festive address Dr. István Simicskó emphasized: as regards aviation, we can tell the whole world that our ancestors, the Hungarian people of earlier periods, ‘held their ground’ among the great nations. He reminded the audience that the acts of active, brave men drive forward the development of humanity, and the flight of Lieutenant Antal Lányi was such a historic act.

József Hídvégi, the Mayor of Fonyód underlined: it is important to keep alive glorious events in the history of this lakeshore town. "Without past, there is no future, and without commemoration, we forget our past. We should be proud of our heroes and their acts"  said the Mayor.

Retired Brig-Gen. Bertalan Farkas, the first Hungarian astronaut thanked the people for the love he had received as an astronaut. In his opinion, the flight must have been a fantastic experience for Antal Lányi.

Retired Air Force Col. Gyula Knoll, member of the Hungarian Aviation Historical Society (Magyar Repülőtörténeti Társaság) recalled the lieutenant’s career and the events that took place a hundred years ago. In the year of the Balaton flight, the lieutenant was working in Rákos as a flight instructor, and he performed the brave act with the ‘Blériot’-type monoplane used there. The airplane was transported to Badacsony on August 25, 1911, and the first flight across Lake Balaton had been planned for August 27, but the ’open air performance’ was postponed owing to the stormy weather. However, on August 28, Antal Lányi took off at half past five in the afternoon, left the shore near Badacsony, and rose to an altitude of 150 metres. He flew across the Balaton, heading for Fonyód, and then landed successfully on the southern shore of Lake Balaton. The audience gave the pilot a big round of applause.

During the commemorative event, a tribute flight was completed with the support of Blue Sky Aviation Club (Kék Ég Repülő Egyesület) of Budapest. At the port László Révy’s Kvasz I-type period airplane and aircraft models were exhibited.