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)

References