Viggo Widerøe

Viggo Widerøe (13 August 1904 – 8 January 2002) was a Norwegian aviator and entrepreneur. He founded Widerøe's Flyveselskap, Norway's third largest airline, in 1934. The airline is still in operation today.

Viggo Widerøe was born in Kristiania as a son of the mercantile agent Theodor Widerøe (1868–1947) and Carla Johanne Launer (1875–1971). He was a brother of the engineer and accelerator physicist Rolf Widerøe, and grew up at Vinderen. In 1935 he married Solveig Agnes Schrøder (1914–1989); they had the daughter Turi Widerøe. Through her, Viggo Widerøe was the father-in-law of Karl Erik Harr between 1972 and 1975.

Reportedly, Viggo Widerøe decided to become an aviator already in 1910. This was one year after the start of aviation in Kristiania. In 1924, Widerøe joined the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service and received a pilot's licence the following year. He became a conscript pilot for the RNNAS until 1 January 1928, when he was appointed officer. Widerøe took his civilian pilot's licence on 13 June 1930 with Norske Luftruter and worked for the company until the end of summer of 1930. Two years later, Viggo Widerøe bought John Strandrud's shares in Rundflyvning, that was based in Drammen, and started as a pilot. In 1933, Viggo Widerøe established the company Widerøe & Bjørneby along with Halvor Bjørneby and bought a Simmonds Spartan. In all these companies, activity was concentrated at aerial photography, advertisement flying, air shows, demonstrations and charter passenger flights. Widerøe lay much emphasis on increasing the public interest in aviation throughout South Norway, and arranged flight shows in 1933 and 1934 together with Norsk Aero Klubb.

On 19 January 1934, Viggo Widerøe founded the company Widerøe's Flyveselskap along with his brother Arild Widerøe and Einar Isdahl. They raised 25,000 kr and Viggo went to the United States where he bought a Waco Cabin that he flew home himself. Postal services started on the 18. June on the route Oslo – Kristiansand – Stavanger – Haugesund, making Viggo the first person to fly a scheduled, domestic flight in Norway. In 1936, all concessions for scheduled flights were transferred to Det Norske Luftfartselskap (DNL), and Widerøe had to start again with photography, schools and charter flights. But at the same time, DNL bought 51% of Wideøe's Flyveselskap, and they were subcontracted some postal flights. In the winter of 1936–1937, Viggo attended an expedition by Lars Christensen in the Antarctic with the goal to take aerial photography of the continent's coast. About 80,000 square kilometres (31,000 sq mi) were covered.

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