The aviation statue of Kašpar for Pardubice is partially finished

Pardubice - The bronze statue of Pardubice aviation pioneer Jan Kašpar is already partly completed. The artistic foundry in Nuremberg has cast the figure of the aviator, and the next step will be the propeller, which will stand next to the figure. The finished work follows the creation of two models and three molds, said the creator of the statue, František Bálek, to ČTK.

He first had to create a clay model on an iron frame, based on which an armed plaster mold was made, divided for disassembly into several parts, from which another plaster model was cast. That then traveled to the foundry, which made another two-layer molds from it, between which there was about five millimeters of wax. The heat in the furnace melted it, and bronze was poured in its place. It was necessary to leave the pouring gates and channels for air escape. The figure was cast separately into three parts, and the propeller was cast separately. The castings are then cleaned, the parts are welded, chiseled, and patinated. The hollow statue will weigh approximately 300 kilograms and will be completed by the turn of the year.

"People only see big money in it, but they don’t realize how complicated it is and how much bronze costs. For me, it is more a matter of prestige, and I wanted to do this," Bálek stated.

For his statue costing 1.95 million crowns, the city councilors of Pardubice decided this March. The aviator Kašpar will be in slightly larger-than-life size of about two meters, with the propeller towering half a meter above it. Originally, the city announced an architectural competition in 2013, which was won by a 37-meter high column with a windsock designed by Petr Pinkas; Bálek's statue came in second. However, the installation of the column would have been complicated, raising the cost from about one million to 2.7 million crowns.

The statue is set to be unveiled on Míru Street. It will also feature a timeline and lighting, which have already been installed into the pavement.