Antal Bánhidi
Antal Bánhidi (23 December 1903 – 18 March 1994) was a Hungarian aviator. Antal Bánhidi was born in Szatmárnémeti, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1920, he fled Romania by swimming across the Szamos river, and arrived in Hungary. He attended the Technical University of Budapest, where he assisted in establishing EMESE, the university's flight club. His piloting and engineering talent were recognized and Árpád Lampich taught him how to design airplanes. In 1929, Bánhidi flew a Lampich L-2 Róma ultralight plane on a 5,000 kilometer journey to Sweden and back for the annual world meeting of university aviators. The flight included 150 km legs over sea, the plane's 3-cylinder radial engine lacking the usual redundant set of spark magnets. In 1930, Antal Bánhidi designed the Bánhidi Gerle, a light, universal, two-seater biplane, which was powered by a 5-cylinder Genet-Major radial engine. The plane was suitable for flight schools, light aerobatics, air touring and sailplane towing. About 15 Gerle aircraft were built in Hungary before the outbreak of World War II. In 1931, Bánhidi was hired as Chief Technical Advisor for the successful USA - Hungary transatlantic flight of György Endresz and Sándor Magyar. He chose and prepared a