The idea of flying has haunted man for thousands of years. At the beginning it was just a dream, arisen from a mere human's thought to soar like a bird in the sky.
The pioneers of aeronautics became heroes of their time but also prominent persons of today.
On the stamps above you can see:
- a Breguet 14 (a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of World War I)
- a Spartan Cruiser ( a 1930s British three-engined transport monoplane for 6 to 10 passengers built by Spartan Aircraft Limited at East Cowes, Isle of Wight.)
- The Rogožarski IK-3 - a 1930s Yugoslav low-wing monoplane single seat interceptor fighter with retractable landing gear, and was designed by Ljubomir Ilić and Kosta Sivčev as a successor to their IK-1/IK-2 fighter
- McDonnell Douglas DC-9 - a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner that was first manufactured in 1965 with its maiden flight later that year. The DC-9 was designed for frequent, short flights
The first among the first was Ivan Sarić (1876 - 1966) whom you can see on both FDCs (and on the latter on the stamp as well), sportsman, enthusiast and constructor from Subotica (town in northern Serbia). Since his first meeting with the aviation, his sports spirit completely devoted to the idea of conquering the last unresearched area on Earth. With a great elan and modest technological knowledge, he builds an airplane, based on his own construction plans. Intuitively, and with great luck and courage, already in the summer of 1910, he accomplished the first successful flights on the racetrack of Subotica. Gradually, he learns the techniques of piloting. On 16th October 1919, he had his first public performance in front of 7000 spectators.
With this accomplishment, made over 100 years ago now, Ivan Sarić has given Serbia the chance to celebrate the Centenary of Aviation, a jubilee of national importance, which just a little number of states in the world can be proud of.
On these laid foundations, a small country elevated aeronautics to an enviable level of development. During the decades that followed, the aviation proved itself to be one of the bearers of state's prosperity.
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