
Robert Bartini: The world's most mysterious aircraft designer
CNN
His life is such a mystery that even his real name is uncertain, but his legacy to the world of aviation is clear: Robert Oros di Bartini was a genius ahead of his time whose wondrous airplanes and bizarre flying boats still impress today.
(CNN) — His life is such a mystery that even his real name is uncertain, but his legacy to the world of aviation is clear: Robert Oros di Bartini -- as the inscription reads on his tombstone -- was a genius ahead of his time whose wondrous airplanes and bizarre flying boats still impress today, almost 50 years after his death. A modern polymath who spoke seven languages, he was also an astronomer, philosopher, physicist, painter and musician. He spent his youth in Austria-Hungary and Italy, but he left his mark as an aircraft designer in the Soviet Union, sharing the stage with some legendary names in aviation history: Andrei Tupolev, Pavel Sukhoi and Oleg Antonov.More Related News

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