From an early age, Yordanov was fascinated by flight. Growing up on the farm of his father, Dr. Hristo Yordanov — a wealthy engineer and chemist — he tried to understand what kept birds aloft, even leaping from trees while flapping his arms in imitation. He later enrolled at the flying school of the renowned French aviator and aircraft designer, Louis Blériot, in Paris. However, at the outbreak of the First World War, he returned to Bulgaria. Aged just 16, he became a mechanic at an air base near Svilengrad. At the same time, he began work on building his first aircraft, completing it within a year. A special state commission approved the model and officially recognised it as an invention.

One of the clauses of the Treaty of Neuilly of 1919, which ended Bulgaria’s participation in the First World War, forbade the country from having its own air force. This prevented the 'Assen Hristov Yordanov' aeroplane from entering serial production. An incredible opportunity arose for Yordanov to leave for the United States: in 1921, he received news of an international competition to circumnavigate the globe by aeroplane in no more than 100 days. The winner would receive one million dollars. Assen was joined in his journey to America by another pilot, Alexander Stoyanov, with the necessary funds provided personally by the then Prime Minister, Aleksandar Stamboliyski. Although the competition was cancelled, Yordanov decided to extend his stay in the US, where he later settled permanently.

He started work as a draftsman, but rose to become chief designer in a number of world-famous aircraft companies, and fulfilled his dream of creating the world’s first multi-purpose airplane – the Douglas DC-3.

You can read more about his fascinating life in the Radio Bulgaria collection article Constructor Assen Yordanov – from kite to Boeing.