Ognjeslav Kostović, the captain of the Russian Army and inventor, was born in the wealthy Serbian family of the wheat tradesmen in the village of Vranjevo near Novi Bečej. In Budapest, he completed the High Technical School. After his studies, Kostović, as a captain of his father’s ship “Sloga” transferred barges with wheat. After coming to Russia (1878), Kostović joined the group of Russian experts and officers that strove to improve the development of aircrafts. He participated in the establishment of the first Russian journal “Aircrafts” and the first number appeared in the January of 1880, and he was the initiator of the establishment of the “Russian Aircraft Society” and his first president.
Kostović, even before coming to Russia, had behind him a serial of inventions connected to the construction of ships and hydro technical works under water. In 1884, he made the balloon “Helios”, and he flew with it above St. Petersburg, and entered the history as the first Serbian balloonist. Kostović, in October 1887, presented submarine to the Russian heir of throne. Although the plans of the submarine are not preserved, it is believed that Kostović wanted to use for drive his gasoline engine (four tact’s with electrical ignition, power of 80 HP) and for the building of the trunk, material arborite (a kind of plywood), and that represents his two most important realized projects. The most important Kostović project is dirigible that could be controlled because Kostović envisaged firm construction from arborite. The manufacture of the dirigible “Russia” was initiated in 1882, and lasted all the way to 1888, but it was burned the next year waiting for the test flight. Kostović protected his inventions, except in Russia, in at least 7 countries, but the precise number of his patents is still not known.