Traian Vuia
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Traian Vuia or Trajan Vuia (; August 17, 1872 – September 3, 1950) was a
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n inventor and aviation pioneer who designed, built and tested the first
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
. He was the first to demonstrate that a flying machine could rise into the air by running on wheels on an ordinary road. He is credited with a powered hop of made on March 18, 1906, and he later claimed a powered hop of . Though unsuccessful in sustained flight, Vuia's invention influenced Louis Blériot in designing monoplanes. Later, Vuia also designed
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s. A French citizen from 1918, Vuia led the
Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
(especially
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
ns) of France in the Resistance during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He returned to Romania just before his death in 1950.


Education and early career

Vuia was born from Romanian parents – Simion Popescu, a priest, and his second wife, Ana Vuia – living in Surducul-Mic and/or Bujor, where he attended the local primary school, and
Făget Făget (; hu, Facsád; german: Fatschet) is a town in Timiș County, Romania, with a population of about 7,500. The town administers ten villages: Bătești, Begheiu Mic, Bichigi, Brănești, Bunea Mare, Bunea Mică (depopulated), Colonia Mică ...
, a village in the
Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
region,
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, today in Romania; the place is now called
Traian Vuia Traian Vuia or Trajan Vuia (; August 17, 1872 – September 3, 1950) was a Romanian inventor and aviation pioneer who designed, built and tested the first tractor monoplane. He was the first to demonstrate that a flying machine could rise into the ...
. From 1884 he attended the Roman Catholic High School in
Lugoj Lugoj (; hu, Lugos; german: Lugosch; sr, Лугош, Lugoš; bg, Лугож; tr, Logoş) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș River divides the city into two halves, the so-called "Romanian Lugoj" ...
and graduated in 1892. He then enrolled in the School of Mechanics at the Polytechnic University of
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
where he received his engineering diploma. He then joined the Faculty of Law in Budapest, Hungary, where he earned a PhD in law in May 1901 with the thesis "Military and Industry, State and Contract regime".. He returned to
Lugoj Lugoj (; hu, Lugos; german: Lugosch; sr, Лугош, Lugoš; bg, Лугож; tr, Logoş) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș River divides the city into two halves, the so-called "Romanian Lugoj" ...
, where he studied the problem of human flight and designed his first flying machine, which he called the "airplane-car". He attempted to build the machine, but due to financial constraints decided to go to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in July 1902, hoping to find someone interested in financing his project, possibly balloon enthusiasts. He met with considerable skepticism from people who believed that a heavier-than-air machine could not fly. He then visited
Victor Tatin Victor Tatin (1843–1913) was a French engineer who created an early airplane, the ''Aéroplane'', in 1879. The craft was the first model airplane to take off using its own power after a run on the ground. The model had a span of and weighed . ...
, the well-known theoretician and experimenter who had built an aircraft model which flew in 1879. Tatin was interested in the project, but doubted that Vuia had a suitable engine or that his aircraft would be stable. Vuia then presented his plan to the
Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...
in Paris on February 16, 1903, but was rejected with the comment "The problem of flight with a machine which weighs more than air can not be solved and it is only a dream." Undeterred, Vuia applied for a French patent on May 15, 1903, and obtained patent No. 332106 for his design. He began to build his first flying machine in the winter of 1902– 03. Overcoming more financial difficulties, he also started construction of an engine of his own design for which he was granted various patents, the first in 1904.Traian Vuia – a Century of Aviation
/ref>


Flying experiments

By December 1905 Vuia had finished construction of his first airplane, the "
Vuia I The Vuia 1, also nicknamed ''Liliacul'' (the bat), was a pioneer aircraft designed and built by Romanian inventor Traian Vuia. It was finished in December 1905 in France and first flew on 18 March 1906 at Montesson. Background After finishing his ...
". This was a high-wing monoplane constructed entirely of steel tubing. The basic framework consisted of a pair of triangular frames, the lower members forming the sides of the rectangular chassis which bore four pneumatic-tyred wheels, the front pair steerable. The wing was mounted on the apices of these frames and resembled those of
Otto Lilienthal Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders, therefore making ...
's gliders, with a number of curved steel tubes radiating outwards from centres at the apex of each of the side frames, braced by wires attached to a pair of
kingposts A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss Apex (geometry), apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, support ...
, and covered in varnished linen. Pitch control was achieved by varying the
angle of attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is m ...
of the wing. A trapezoidal rudder was mounted behind and below the wing. It was powered by a carbonic acid gas engine driving a single tractor propeller. The 25 hp engine had to be adapted by Vuia himself as a suitable engine was not available. Liquid carbon dioxide was vaporized in a
Serpollet Gardner-Serpollet was a French manufacturer of steam-powered cars in the early 20th century. Léon Serpollet is credited with inventing and perfecting the flash boiler in the late 1800s.Montesson Montesson () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris. Transport in Montesson is served by buses with T-tickets as well as by several Paris-suburba ...
, near Paris, for testing. At first he used the machine without the wings mounted so he could gather experience controlling it on the ground. The wings were put on in March and on March 18, 1906, it lifted off briefly. After accelerating for about , the aircraft left the ground and travelled through the air at a height of about for a distance of about , but then the engine cut out and it came down. Caught by the wind it was damaged against a tree. On August 19 a longer hop of at a height of about 2.5 m (8 ft) was made, ending in a heavy landing which damaged the propeller. In August 1906 he modified the aircraft, reducing the
camber Camber may refer to a variety of curvatures and angles: * Camber angle, the angle made by the wheels of a vehicle * Camber beam, an upward curvature of a joist to compensate for load deflection due in buildings * Camber thrust in bike technology * ...
of the wing and adding an
elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
. In this form it is sometimes called the Vuia I-bis. The British aviation historian
Charles Harvard Gibbs-Smith Charles Harvard Gibbs-Smith (22 March 1909 – 3 December 1981) The French journal ''L'Aérophile'' emphasized that Vuia's machine had the capability to take off from a flat surface, without assistance such as an incline, rails, or catapult.. At the time Europe was aware of the efforts of the Wright brothers who on December 17, 1903, had flown their ''
Wright Flyer The ''Wright Flyer'' (also known as the ''Kitty Hawk'', ''Flyer'' I or the 1903 ''Flyer'') made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft—an airplane—on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown b ...
'' from level ground using a dolly undercarriage running on a guide rail into a 20 mph headwind, though few yet recognised the achievement. The Wrights had made sustained and controlled flights in a complete circuit by September 1904. In 1907 Vuia built the Vuia II, using an Antoinette internal combustion engine. This aircraft had the same basic configuration as the Vuia I-bis, but was both smaller and lighter, with a total weight (including pilot) of and a wingspan of . Vuia succeeded in making a brief powered hop on July 5, travelling , but damaging the aircraft and suffering slight injuries on landing. No further attempts were made to fly the aircraft. Charles Dollfus, former curator of the Air Museum in Paris, wrote that aviation pioneer
Alberto Santos Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont ( Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavier- ...
's use of wheels on his aircraft was influenced by Dumont's having seen Vuia's flight attempts.


Documentation

Vuia made his first powered hop on March 18, 1906, on a flat field at Montesson, near Paris, France. The flight took place in the presence of his mechanic and two close friends. The airplane, Vuia 1, lifted one meter off the ground and flew for 12 meters. Accounts of this test published at the time, and of his later airborne tests, until August 19, 1906, are based on letters he wrote to ''
L'Aérophile ''L’Aérophile'' ("The Aerophile") was a French aviation magazine published from 1893 to 1947. It has been described as "the leading aeronautical journal of the world" around 1910. History and contents ''L’Aérophile'' was founded and ru ...
'', the official journal of the Aéro Club of France.Orna 1956, p.365 Vuia made the first known public demonstration of his airplane on October 8, 1906, when he became airborne for four meters, witnessed by
Ernest Archdeacon Ernest Archdeacon (23 March 1863 – 3 January 1950) was a French lawyer and aviation pioneer before the First World War. He made his first balloon flight at the age of 20. He commissioned a copy of the 1902 Wright No. 3 glider but ha ...
and Édouard Surcouf. Another journal of the period, ''
Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...
'', credited him with a five-meter hop on October 8, 1906, as the earliest entry in a list of his tests shown in a table of "the performances which have been made by the most prominent aviators of the last few years".


Later career

Between 1918 and 1921 Vuia built two experimental helicopters on the
Juvisy Juvisy-sur-Orge (, literally ''Juvisy on Orge'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located 18 km south-east of Paris, a few kilometres south of Orly Airport. The site of the town has been o ...
and
Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...
aerodromes. He is buried at
Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...
in Bucharest, Romania.


Legacy

Another invention by Vuia was a steam generator with internal combustion that generates very high pressure – more than 100 atm (10 MPa) – that is still used today in thermal power stations. Traian Vuia and one of his partners, Emmanuel Yvonneau, patented several types of gas generators. On May 27, 1946, Vuia was named an Honorary Member of the
Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...
.. His birthplace, Bujoru, in
Timiș County Timiș () is a county ('' județ'') of western Romania on the border with Hungary and Serbia, in the historical region of Banat, with the county seat at Timișoara. It is the westernmost and the largest county in Romania in terms of land area. T ...
was renamed
Traian Vuia Traian Vuia or Trajan Vuia (; August 17, 1872 – September 3, 1950) was a Romanian inventor and aviation pioneer who designed, built and tested the first tractor monoplane. He was the first to demonstrate that a flying machine could rise into the ...
after his death. Timișoara International Airport Traian Vuia (TSR),
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
's third largest airport, carries his name. High schools in
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,
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,
Făget Făget (; hu, Facsád; german: Fatschet) is a town in Timiș County, Romania, with a population of about 7,500. The town administers ten villages: Bătești, Begheiu Mic, Bichigi, Brănești, Bunea Mare, Bunea Mică (depopulated), Colonia Mică ...
,
Focșani Focșani (; yi, פֿאָקשאַן, Fokshan) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. It has a population () of 79,315. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curv ...
,
Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most par ...
,
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,
Reșița Reșița (; german: link=no, Reschitz; hu, Resicabánya; hr, Ričica; cz, Rešice; sr, Решица/Rešica; tr, Reşçe) is a city in western Romania and the capital of Caraș-Severin County. It is located in the Banat region. The city had ...
,
Satu Mare Satu Mare (; hu, Szatmárnémeti ; german: Sathmar; yi, סאטמאר or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the ...
,
Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polat ...
, and
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are named after him, and so is a boulevard in Galați and streets in Bucharest,
Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...
, Galați,
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,
Otopeni Otopeni () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, some north of Bucharest along the DN1 road to Ploiești. It has 15,850 inhabitants, of which 99.0% are ethnic Romanians. One village, Odăile, is administered by the city. Henri Coandă ...
,
Suceava Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central and Eastern E ...
, and
Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...
.


Gallery

File:Vuia I - 1906 (3).png, File:Vuia I - 1906 (4).png, File:Vuia II - 1907.png, File:Vuia II - 1907 (2).png, File:Vuia 1920.png,


See also

*
History of aviation The history of aviation extends for more than two thousand years, from the earliest forms of aviation such as kites and attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight by powered, heavier-than-air jets. Kite flying in Chi ...
*
List of aviation pioneers Aviation pioneers are people directly and indirectly responsible for the advancement of flight, including people who worked to achieve manned flight before the invention of aircraft, as well as others who achieved significant "firsts" in aviation ...
*
Early flying machines Early flying machines include all forms of aircraft studied or constructed before the development of the modern aeroplane by 1910. The story of modern flight begins more than a century before the first successful manned aeroplane, and the ear ...
*
Alberto Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont (Santos Dumont, Minas Gerais, Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both l ...
*
Clement Ader Clement or Clément may refer to: People * Clement (name), a given name and surname * Saint Clement (disambiguation)#People Places * Clément, French Guiana, a town * Clement, Missouri, U.S. * Clement Township, Michigan, U.S. Other uses * Ad ...
*
Du Temple Monoplane The du Temple Monoplane was a steam-powered aircraft made of aluminium, built in Brest, France, by naval officer Félix du Temple in 1874. It had a wingspan of 13 m (43 ft) and weighed 80 kg (180 lb) without the pilot. Sever ...
*
Richard Pearse Richard William Pearse (3 December 187729 July 1953) was a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering aviation experiments. Witnesses interviewed many years afterward describe observing Pearse flying and landing a powered heavie ...
*
Gustave Whitehead Gustave Albin Whitehead (born Gustav Albin Weisskopf; 1 January 1874 – 10 October 1927) was an aviation pioneer who emigrated from Germany to the United States where he designed and built gliders, flying machines, and engines between 1897 an ...
*
John Joseph Montgomery John Joseph Montgomery (February 15, 1858 – October 31, 1911) was an American inventor, physicist, engineer, and professor at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, who is best known for his invention of controlled heavier-than-a ...


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


Patents of Trajan Vuia
on Espace net.

on Early aviators.

Century of flight.
The Traian Vuia 1
on historicwings.com. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vuia, Traian 1872 births 1950 deaths People from Timiș County Romanian Austro-Hungarians Romanian engineers Romanian aerospace engineers Romanian inventors Romanian aviators Aviation history of Romania Aviation inventors Aviation pioneers Romanian Freemasons Honorary members of the Romanian Academy Burials at Bellu Cemetery Romanian emigrants to France