Long Live the Airplane, Long Live the Airplane

November 11, 1931. Konya

The next day, as we flew towards Konya, I was thinking about what the sum of public donations for the benefit of the organization I had learned on the ground had reached in a short day, and we were flying away with the belief and peace of mind that the great Turkish people were ready to sacrifice for the defense of the homeland. The 200-kilometer stretch that opened before us was like a sea surrounded by a mirage. I think that crossing this desert without an airplane would have been an unbearable torment.

I couldn't help saying, "Long live the airplane, long live the airplane."

An hour and a half later we were in Konya. Always that friendly atmosphere, always that sincere interest. The Governor, the Garrison Commander, representatives of all classes of people, and behind them a crowd of people, students from military and civilian schools, and our flags in their hands had arrived at the airport in masses. There was, after all, a different beauty in the big cities. Especially the demonstrations to see a national monument and a national property had a very different meaning.

In front of this other monument, I spoke at length with all our citizens from Konya, explaining the importance of aviation and the value of the aircraft in the defense of the homeland. Then we flew, and flew, and flew again, but I must admit that so many flights were taking their toll on the plane. We still had a long journey of more than 2,000 kilometers ahead of us and more than 15 stops along the way. Then we went to the city and spent that day and night in a sincere atmosphere among the brothers from Konya.

November 12, 1931. Towards Manavgat

Our duty program that day was to head south towards Beyşehir, Seydişehir, Alanya and Manavgat. We were on a very tough road. Konya is 1,050 meters high, Beyşehir and Seydişehir are both higher than that, and we landed, talked and flew to these places with the same tempo and the same program meticulousness, witnessing the same sensitivities of the people in each place of visit. We had started to struggle with the most difficult obstacles on our way. In front of us, the Taurus Mountains, rising like the southern walls of our country against the Mediterranean Sea, seemed to have risen. We were climbing to overcome them, but the ascent was made difficult by the oppressive air currents created by the strong south wind on the northern surface of the mountains. Even though we had reached over 3,000 meters, I was getting angry as I saw the crystalline granites surrounding us looking at us as if they were laughing at us. We skipped through them to the south and reached the blue waters of the Mediterranean. By now my engine's nerves had softened and it began to rest with calm operation, we were always gliding and descending.

Manavgat

Below us was the town of Alaiye (Alanya), we visited it, but the time was quite late, so we cut this visit short and returned to Manavgat. When we arrived in Manavgat, it was already dark, so we had been flying all day and felt great pleasure. Changing climates, altitudes, landscapes, enthusiastic and exciting performances, what did not revive our emotions!....

I cannot say I saw Manavgat. Before I took off from Seydisehir, I had telegraphed Manavgat to light a fire in the square because I expected to be late. From the fire, I could see the landing place. It was a small bean field surrounded by fenced gardens. I remember that I made many laps to land here and according to the notes in my memoirs, I had a very difficult landing, there were no incidents, but I couldn't help looking at the faces of the friends who chose a field less than 100 meters long and surrounded by fences as the landing site with anger. Whatever!...

We spent the night with the same conversations among the citizens of Manavgat, and especially with the flight situation in the size of the mountains that day and the fact that we arrived safely at the end. Since there was no place that could be a flying field here, it was not possible to make demonstration flights, and our take-off from the ground was also very difficult.

November 13, 1931. On our way to Antalya

A trip to the coast is a very pleasant flight. This fertile and rich region of our country is an emerald land as far as the eye can see, and the forests are the decorations of this green world. Continuing on what I call a pleasure for the eyes, we arrived in Antalya and became guests of the beautiful city of Antalya.

There is a bitter note in my memoirs on behalf of my plane in Antalya; my engine malfunctioned on landing, I landed in a garden in front of me. This garden was a very small place, surrounded by trees and a ditch, so my plane suffered heavy damage.

My right wing front wing, landing gear and propeller were broken. In the face of this incident, Hamid, my mechanic, and I rolled up our sleeves and set to work on repairs. The intense activity and superhuman effort made us forget about time and exhausted every opportunity. We had accomplished this work in one week, and we had even included a large amount of aviation propaganda in this week.

The test flight I made after the repairs were completed gave me a feeling of flight safety and confidence. My Vecihi XIV airplane had shown that it had the quality to stay on the road even in every place and in every impossibility. After this experience, I was at peace with fulfilling the flying desires of the young people of Antalya who surrounded me.

November 22, 1931. We Experienced the Meis Island Tragedy from the Air

After sincerely saying goodbye to our compatriots from Antalya, we boarded our plane and took off, the weather was fine and our route following the coastal road took us to a land that had been the scene of great events in distant history. The bloodstains and solid stone graves of millions of people who perished on this land, which had been trampled by the boots of the great armies of the empires of the past, were laid out before our eyes. I was flying very low to read these distant pages of history, to revive the memories in my mind.

Visits to the towns of Finike and Kaş, the granite range of our southern coast and the ordeal of the island of Meis, this was a circulation that exhausted the mind with positive and negative emotions.

It is very difficult to express this paradise land in its natural aspect, this air trip was very interesting in terms of getting to know my homeland better and nourishing my knowledge as well as the honorable meaning of the duty of the country. This venture, building an airplane, provided me with great useful opportunities not only in terms of knowledge of the country.

We were flying, I was calling the Turkish youth to aviation by spreading the seeds of my ideal. There was no need to be so tired, the Turkish child, born with a heroic spirit, was waiting for a simple sign. While I was enjoying the special beauties of this paradise land, the following line of the great poet Fikret came to my mind.

O bivei-virgin (widow virgin) left over from a thousand husbands

The magic of freshness is still fresh in your beauty

That precious poet describes Istanbul with this verse. However, who knows what wonders he would have created if he had seen these marvelous beauties, especially if he had found the opportunity to watch them from the powder blue dome shining with the light of the east like me!....