Biographical Sketches

ALBIN KASPER "A K" LONGREN

Born: January 18, 1882    In: Leonardville, KS
Died: November 19, 1950    In: Adin, CA

Born into a Swedish farm family, in the early 1900s Albin Kasper ("A K") Longren ran a hardware store in Walsburg, and didn’t become interested in airplanes until 1910 when he watched exhibition flyer J C Mars crash his plane Skylark. A K was one of several who helped rebuild the plane for Mars, and that sparked a lifelong career in aviation.

The following year he, with a brother and a friend, began handcrafting a flying machine in Topeka. On September 2 they rolled out their creation, dubbed Topeka, at dusk to avoid publicity should there be a mishap. But luck -- and skill -- favored them as A K flew a test fllight of six miles, just a bit above grass level, becoming the first man to build and fly an airplane in Kansas. To raise funds for further creations, he barnstormed the Midwest and flew popular exhibitions at fairs as "The Wizard of the Air."

After building a half-dozen aircraft of different shapes and sizes, in 1920 he formed a company to develop his design of a light plane with folding wings and a rolled-plywood, molded fiber-laminate fuselage. As well, he designed and patented a hydraulic stretch press and made a formed aluminum fuselage that was years ahead of the competition. Three Longren ships were also bought by the Navy for testing and evaluation.

Despite modest success, small planes lacked an audience, and his company was among many that fell victim to the Great Depression and its doors were closed in 1926, although the name was carried on into the 1950s by others who acquired his patents. A K went to work as an engineer at Cessna, Butler Mfg, and other companies, and had a successful California business manufacturing metal parts until passing away at age 68.

REFERENCES:
Morehouse Early Pioneers

Denotes an individual known to have soloed an aircraft prior to December 16, 1917, whether they were members of the "Early Birds of Aviation" Organization or not.