Věřili v křídla - Historie sportovního letectví na Zlínsku v letech 1932 až 1940 – Dúbravčík Jan (2020)

The city of Zlín became, in the first third of the 20th century, a significant industrial and administrative center of Eastern Moravia, thanks to the entrepreneurial efforts of Tomáš Baťa and his associates. Due to the enthusiasm of many Zlín citizens and the significant support of Jan Antonín Baťa, it also became one of the centers of Czechoslovak sports aviation in the 1930s. The beginnings of aviation in Zlín date back to 1924, when the company T. & A. Baťa (from 1931 Baťa a. s.) purchased the first Letov Š-10 aircraft for corporate air transport and company promotion. It was the first private aircraft intended for commercial flights in Czechoslovakia. Air transport and the later aircraft production of Zlínská letecká a. s., together with Zlín's sports aviation, made Zlín one of the largest and most significant centers of Czechoslovak interwar civil aviation. However, it is very difficult to 'separate' the sports part from Zlín's aviation. Pilots and employees of Zlín's professional air transport and aircraft production were also officials and members of Zlín's aviation clubs, and determining which events and which aviation performances were the results of amateur club sports activities requires significant research effort. Therefore, in this publication...