At a time when only two countries in the world had airplanes designed by one of their own sons, Aurel Vlaicu made Romania the third. He created the first Romanian airplane that was used in battle and, as such, founded Romanian aviation.
Aurel Vlaicu was born on the 6th of November 1882 in the village of Binţinţi, Hunedoara County. He did his studies in both Hungarian and German and in the year of 1903 he applied to the Ludwig Maximilians Universität in Munich. He graduated in 1907, receiving an engineer diploma. Allegedly, during his time at the university, he built a model airplane that impressed his professors and that was kept by the school in order to enrich its patrimony.
After graduating, he worked for Opel, the car manufacturing company, but was not satisfied and decided to follow his dream of building airplanes. He returned to Romania, to the village where he was born, and, together with his brother, built his first glider in 1909.
He and his family didn’t have the money to build a flying machine, so, at the advice of his friend, poet Octavian Goga, Aurel Vlaicu went to Bucharest to demonstrate what his glider could do. He did a few flights in front of the most important people of the time and as a result, he was hired in the Romanian army to build an airplane, having at his disposal funds for the necessary materials.
His first airplane, which he named A. Vlaicu No. 1, was ready in the summer of 1910. Aurel Vlaicu and his airplane’s first flight took place on July 17th 1910, in the presence of Prince Charles I. He flew about 40-50 meters and reached a height of 3-4 meters, which for those times, was revolutionary.
In 1912, he showcased his invention at the International Aviation Contest in Aspern, Austria. Vlaicu’s airplane impressed the jury through its simplicity and the ease with which it was flown. It came in third, obtaining 5 prizes.
Another important success of Aurel Vlaicu was the building of the first ever airplane made entirely out of metal. He built it for the English company called Marconi and it had two seats.
Sources:
http://www.descopera.ro/stiinta/6583658-aurel-vlaicu-icar-deasupra-carpatilor
Andra Mihaela Cimpean
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