Albin K. Longren

1882 - 1950

Albin K. Longren in his "Dixie Flyer"  (circa 1911)

Albin Kasper Longren ("A.K.") was born January 18, 1882, one of eight children of Charles and Emma Longren on the family farm five miles east and north of Leonardville (south of Walsburg).

In the early 1900's A.K. ran a hardware store, "A.K. Longren and Co." of Walsburg, and advertised binder twine, listers, sulky plows, disc harrows, disc cultivators, windmills, wagons, and buggies in the Leonardville Monitor.

The Monitor in June of 1905 reported that A.K. Longren of Walsburg had scooted into town on his new motorcycle. "The boys had to hurry to see him go by." The next month A.K. returned from a visit to Topeka on his motorcycle. He made the trip in eight hours, part of the way through heavy sand. His brothers, Albert (A.C.) and Ereanius (E.J.), were working for the Western Sash and Door Company in Topeka, and liked their work very much.

Also in 1905 the Monitor had noted that A.K. Longren had been in town with his own automobile. "He had made it from practically nothing, and it worked like a charm. Mr. Longren is quite a genius," said the editor.

A.K. didn't become interested in learning to fly an airplane until he watched one crash. As a member of a Clay Center Kansas National Guard unit, he was dispatched to Topeka on June 9, 1910, to help with crowd control, while a pilot named J.C. Mars, from Nebraska, flew an aircraft called the "Skylark." Mars crashed his plane. A.K. was one of several who helped rebuild the plane for Mars, sparking a lifelong interest in aviation.

The next year, A.K., his brother E.J. and a friend William Janicke began secretly building an airplane in Topeka. At dusk on Sept. 2, 1911, A.K. and company rolled out what was at that time the largest plane ever seen in Topeka, which Longren dubbed "Topeka I" (later known as the "Dixie Flyer.") Under the cover of near-darkness, (he was afraid he might crash and be embarrassed), he fired it up for a test run. He needed not to have worried! His airplane flew six miles in its maiden voyage, reaching a top speed of 60 m.p.h.

Thus, A.K. Longren became the first Kansan to build an airplane in Kansas and successfully fly that airplane in Kansas!

To fund his operation, A.K. took up barnstorming, earning the nickname "Birdman" as he embarked on numerous flights throughout the Midwest from 1911 to 1914. A.K., billed as the "Wizard of the Air," performed at fairs, advertising "Aerial Insanity, Bomb Dropping Apparatus, Steep Climbs and Dives." He was featured at the Olsburg Reunion in 1915, and many from Leonardville motored over to see him perform. The Clay Center paper reported that Longren's plane was seen flying over that city on the way to the Oak Hill Picnic. "The motor of the machine could be heard for some distance, and the flight caused a great deal of interest. Longren stopped at Green for breakfast and supplies. When he left Olsburg, he was compelled to go up to 3,000 feet because of fog. When passing over here he was traveling at a great speed and soon passed out of sight."

A.K. came out with a new plane in 1920, and he brought it to Leonardville to show to the home folks. Louie Kopachek, Elva Sikes, and Edward Sikes had rides. A year later, in 1921, he was back with a plane that had folding wings, so that it could be put in any garage. The plane weighed 550 pounds, and it could carry 500 pounds. Longren and another pilot, N.D. Trinler entertained the surprised town folks with some thrilling stunts. "Mr. Longren has now come out with his plane and it surpasses anything in the air. He has shown it to his home people here. It is without doubt the most successful plane on the market today," said the Leonardville Monitor.

(Continued in the next column.)