The A Vlaicu I was the first powered airplane built by Aurel Vlaicu.

Design and development

After flying his glider in Binținți, Aurel Vlaicu moved to the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. With help from Romanian-Transylvanian expatriates 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 ...

, he obtained financial support to build his first powered airplane, following a number of demonstration flights with rubber-powered models in front of Romanian government officials and journalists. On November 1, 1909, he began the construction of his first powered airplane, the ''A. Vlaicu Nr. I'' at the Army Arsenal in

. 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 cove ...

airfield. For his design, Aurel Vlaicu was granted in 1911 patents: AT60800, CH54597, DK15328, FR422554 and GB191026658.

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 Aurel Vlaicu funerals 17 Sept 1913

Operational history

On September 28, 1910, as a part of the Fall

military exercise A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in Military education and training, training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of ...

s, Vlaicu flew his airplane from Slatina to Piatra Olt 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 . Last public display was on September 17, 1913, part of Aurel Vlaicu's funeral procession.

Operators

; :

Romanian Air Corps The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) () 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 subordinated to the Engineer Insp ...

Galley

File:Aurel Vlaicu patent drawings.png, Vlaicu patent drawings File:A Vlaicu I airplane under construction 1910.webp, ''A Vlaicu I'' under construction early in 1910. File:A Vlaicu I during construction (1).jpg File:A Vlaicu I during construction (2).PNG File:Vlaicu I Oct 1910.jpg, ''A. Vlaicu Nr. I'' airplane at October 1910 military exercises File:Aurel_Vlaicu_poster_Oct.17_1910.jpg, Poster for Vlaicu's demonstrative flights on October 17, 1910 File:A Vlaicu I Baneasa Hyppodromme Oct 1910.jpg File:Vlaicu with A Vlaicu I.PNG

Specifications (Military)

References

{{Reflist High-wing aircraft Aurel Vlaicu Aircraft first flown in 1910