Albin K. Longren

A Kansas Portrait

In the 1890s near Leonardville, Kansas, Albin K. Longren watched turkey vultures soar effortlessly through the sky and dreamed that someday he would also fly. In 1911, Longren's dream came true as he flew a pusher-type biplane, dubbed the Topeka I, which he also constructed himself. That flight earned him the distinction of being the first to manufacture within Kansas a successfully-flown aircraft.

This was just the beginning of a lifelong career in aviation for A. K. Longren. As an aviator, he barnstormed throughout the Midwest, making a total of 1,372 exhibition flights from 1911 - 1914 without a major mishap. Longren channeled his income from barnstorming into his more serious interest of aircraft design and construction in his Topeka factory. In 1926, for various reasons, he closed his Topeka plant and for the next 20 years he served as a consultant for other aircraft manufacturers. The roots of our state's great aviation industry can be traced to Longren's pioneer flight of the Topeka I.

Longren died in California at the age of 68. The only known surviving example of his work, a pusher-type biplane built in 1914, is on exhibit in the Main Gallery at the Kansas Museum of History.

For thousands of Midwesterners, the "Birdman," as Longren was popularly known, was their first encounter of a man in flight.