Legacy of Legendary Aviator Alexander Kartveli Inspires Georgians

On July 14, at the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, Alexander Kartvelishvili known as Alexander Kartveli (Georgian), a famous aviation constructor and pioneer in the American aviation history, was remembered, within the framework of a lecture that bore his name on Georgian-US relations. As highlighted by the US ambassador, he was the founder of modern US-Georgian relations.

Originating from a noble family, Alexander was sent to France to pursue his studies, where he graduated from the Highest School of Aviation in Paris. After starting out as a pilot, he suffered a serious injury after which his focus switched to the design and construction of aircraft.

During his time in France, the Soviet Union had been established, consuming Georgia in the process, which meant Kartveli was not to return to Tbilisi.

Already by 1924, at the age of 30, one of his aircraft – the legendary P47 - broke a world speed record. Another notable creation of his was the A10, which is still being used by the American forces today and will continue to be produced until at least 2025.

Roin Metreveli, Vice-President of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, opened the meeting: “It is so important to have such names nowadays, when Georgia is striving for broad democracy and our young men are fighting for the US security, as there is no other way out and all countries will have to contribute,” he thanked the US ambassador for his positive disposition towards Georgia and presented as a gift a golden lion, which dates back 5000 years.

The Alexander Kartveli Society was established in 2013. Lela Kartvelishvili, president of the society, said: “There is little information about our glorious ancestor. We are glad that his name has been actualized recently, and even more so in the format of Georgian-US relations development. The bas-relief was created and we intend to install it on the faзade of the former Aviation Factory of Tbilisi. Zviad Tsikolia, designer, created the trademark watches P47, which also partly serves to popularize Kartveli’s legacy. We plan to hold Georgian aviation week annually and dedicate it to Alexander Kartveli. Next year would have been his 120th birthday and we will hold a number of events to mark this.”

Davit Narmania, Mayor of Tbilisi stated: “He was born in Tbilisi, therefore, we will do all we can to support the popularization and the research of the road our great aviator has taken.”

Tina Kidasheli, Minister of Defense, mentioned: “Alexander Kartveli’s story shows us very vividly what Georgia lost by becoming a Soviet country. He is one of those exceptional Georgians of whom we are extremely proud. Our Ministry expresses its readiness to support this society in his name. Such Georgians will lead our way to Europe, US and the civilized world and use these wonderful opportunities to tell the rest of the world how important our role is in modern civilization history.”

Katuna Tortladze, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, mentioned other Georgians who also helped to found US-Georgian relations: “Michael Gregor, aircraft engineer and Army General John-Malkhaz Shalikashvili who was the first foreigner on such a post. Since the first day I learnt about this project, it was something that captured my imagination, because there is something so compelling about the story of this young engineer going to United States, developing some of the most important aircrafts in world military aviation history, and only later it was discovered that he was Georgian, not a Russian. For me it was a natural thing to try to support this project in terms of supporting Georgian-US relations. He noted with regret that he did fully fulfill his mission as he did not manage to take A10 to Georgia but did not exclude that in future this plan can come true. It is a time of challenge for Georgia’s security and stability in the region. As Minister Khidasheli mentioned a while ago, Alexander Kartveli was the first man from Georgia who supported US security and it’s time to think about returning the favor.”

Ramaz Bluashvili was a student several years ago in the US when he came across Alexander Kartveli’s name and found out that he was a celebrated scientist. He spent hundreds of hours in NASA, the pentagon, reading materials that are not easily available. “I believe that his name will be a big stimulus for youngsters, as sciences need popularization, as nowadays there are very few children who will tell you they wish to become physician, astronaut, or choose any other scientific sphere. He is the man who tells us that we, Georgians, also can be producers and not only users of technologies, planes, telephones, etc.” said Bluashvili.

Maka Lomadze