Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi


Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi was a legendary Ottoman aviator of Constantinople, reported in the writings of traveler Evliya Çelebi to have achieved sustained unpowered flight.

Non-powered flight

The 17th century writings of Evliyâ Çelebi relate this story of Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi, circa 1630–1632:
The title "Hezârfen", given by Evliyâ Çelebi to Ahmet Çelebi, is from Persian هزار hezār + فنّ fann meaning "having a thousand sciences" .

Historic account

In 1648, John Wilkins cites Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, the Austrian ambassador to Constantinople in 1554–1562, as recording that "a Turk in Constantinople" attempted to fly. However, if accurate, this citation refers to an event nearly a century prior to the exploits reported by Evliyâ Çelebi.
Evliyâ Çelebi's account of the exploits of Hezârfen Ahmet Çelebi is three sentences long. The story has great currency in Turkey as he is an inspiration for future generations of aviators.

Site details

Measurements of the alleged launch height and flight distance are as follows: