The A Vlaicu I was the first powered airplane built by
Aurel Vlaicu
Aurel Vlaicu (; 19 November 1882 – 13 September 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor and early pilot.Gheorghiu, 1960
Early years and education
Aurel Vlaicu was born in the village of Binținți in Transylvania, Aus ...
.
Design and development
After flying his glider in
Binţinţi, Aurel Vlaicu moved to the Kingdom of Romania.
On November 1, 1909, he began the construction of his first powered airplane, the ''A. Vlaicu Nr. I'' at the Army Arsenal in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
. The
Romanian Ministry of War provided an initial grant of 2000
lei, and
Minister of Public Education was paying Vlaicu a 300
lei monthly stipend.
The A. Vlaicu Nr. I flew for the first time on June 17, 1910, over
Cotroceni
Cotroceni is a neighbourhood in western Bucharest, Romania located around the Cotroceni hill, in Bucharest's Sector 5.
The nearest Metro stations are Eroilor, Academia Militară, and Politehnica.
History
The Hill of Cotroceni was once covered ...
airfield.
Military Commission Report
Below are the minutes after aerial demonstrations held by Aurel Vlaicu in August 1910 before a military commission :
Underwriters assisting in day August 13, 1910, from flights performed by the airplane or engineer Vlaicu I agree to the following conclusions to be made to the Ministry of War, which subsidizes this engineer .
Signatures:
Captain (indecipherable)
Major (probably) Mihailov
Colonel D. Iliescu
General Georgescu
Operational history
On September 28, 1910, as a part of the Fall
military exercise
A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...
s, Vlaicu flew his airplane from
Slatina to
Piatra Olt Piatra may refer to the following places:
In Romania:
*Piatra Neamț, a city in Neamț County
*Piatra-Olt, a town in Olt County
*Piatra, Teleorman, a commune in Teleorman County
*Piatra, a village in Brăduleț, Argeș County
*Piatra, a village in ...
carrying a message, an early instance of an airplane being used for
military purposes.
[Gheorghiu, Constantin C. (1960). Aurel Vlaicu, un precursor al aviaţiei româneşti. Bucharest: Editura Tehnică.]
On October 17, 1910, he performed a demonstration flight on Băneasa hippodrome.
Operators
; :
Romanian Air Corps
The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) ( ro, Corpul de Aviație) was the air arm of the Romanian army until the formation of the Romanian Air Force. It was established on 1 April 1913 as the Military Aeronautics Service () and subordina ...
Specifications (Military)
See also
*
Aurel Vlaicu
Aurel Vlaicu (; 19 November 1882 – 13 September 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor and early pilot.Gheorghiu, 1960
Early years and education
Aurel Vlaicu was born in the village of Binținți in Transylvania, Aus ...
*
A Vlaicu II
*
A Vlaicu III
The A Vlaicu III was the world's first metal-built aircraft, designed and built in Romania prior to World War I. It was the third powered aircraft designed by pioneering Romanian aviator Aurel Vlaicu.
Design and development
Engineer and invento ...
*
List of aircraft (pre-1914)
This is a chronological list of pioneer aircraft built, planned or conceptualized before 1914. Entries here may or may not be repeated in the main List of aircraft pages.
Before the 19th Century
* 12000 BC Vailixi flying machines
* 12000 BC ...
References
{{Reflist
High-wing aircraft
Aurel Vlaicu
Aircraft first flown in 1910