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Proto 1 was a training
biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
designed by Major
Ștefan Protopopescu Ștefan Protopopescu (14 January 1886 – 10 October 1929) was a Romanian officer and aviation pioneer, he held the no. 1 pilot license in Romania, being the first licensed pilot in Romania and the first pilot of the Romanian Army. Military care ...
in collaboration with Dumitru Baziliu and Gheorghe Ticău at
Arsenalul Aeronautic Arsenalul Aeronautic ("Aeronautical Arsenal" in English) in Bucharest was the first factory with an aeronautical profile in Romania. Its activity took place between 1919 and 1939. ''Arsenalul Aeronautic'' manufactured three models of aircraft: Han ...
in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
in 1922. It was the first Romanian airplane to be built in a specialized enterprise. The first experimental flights were carried out by its designer, Ștefan Protopopescu, who held the Romanian pilot licence No.1.


Production

The Ministry of War ordered 25 aircraft on 10 January 1923 of this type from the '' Fabrica de avioane Astra''. The Astra Factory changed the wings on its own initiative, which reduced the strength of the wings, and during an early test flight, one of the wings broke and the aircraft crashed into the
Mureș river Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County * Ocna Mureș, a town in Alba Cou ...
, killing the test pilot. After the accident, production of Proto 1 aircraft was halted and improvements were made to the design, after which Astra manufactured a new variant as the Proto 2.


Specifications


References

{{Reflist Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1922 Ștefan Protopopescu 1920s Romanian military aircraft Biplanes