Aviation Regards from Šoštanj

Aviation in Šoštanj before the Second World War

Abstract

The beginnings of aviation in the valley of Šaleška dolina go back to the 1930s, which is comparable to similar initiatives in Celje, Slovenj Gradec, Maribor and elsewhere. The article presents the first contacts with aviation, the process of establishing and the actual establishment (1939/40) of the local Gliding-aviation section of the Šoštanj Flying Club, a branch of the Royal Yugoslav Flying Club Naša krila from Maribor. It builds on private archival materials, the archives of the Šaleška dolina flying club and on personal accounts, and describes the process of building the Zögling 1 sailplane from the initial concept, independent construction and a realization of the desire to fly. Ambitious plans of young flyers were partly limited by lack of funding and even more by opposition from the local authorities in Slovenj Gradec, who in 1940 first prohibited and later finally permitted the activities of the flying group. Organized activities of the Šoštanj Flying Club were finally prohibited after the occupation in 1941.