Aurel Vlaicu

AUREL VLAICU
6 November 1882, Bintinti-Hunedoara - 13 September 1913, Banesti-Campina
Mechanical Engineer, Airplane Builder and Pilot
Text courtesy of Mihai Radu

Aurel Vlaicu
Photo courtesy of Aurelian Simionescu, 1-17-07

Education Aurel Vlaicu attended primary school in his native village of Bintinti. Next he attended high school at Orastie and Sibiu. In 1902 he entered the Polytechnic School of Budapest, and in 1903 he studied at the Polytechnic School of Munchen.


	Glider 1909	Vlaicu 1 1910	Vlaicu 2 1911	Vlaicu 3 1913


	World Air Games Torino, 2009	Commemoration 2010

Aurel Vlaicu and Friends Aurel Vlaicu standing behind a sitting person (his brother Ion). To Vlaicu's left stands Giovanni Magnani and in the background, with an down arrow pointing to him, is probably the play writer Ion Luca Caragiale.
Contributed by Aurelian Simionescu, 7-27-09

ONLINE RESOURCES If you search the internet using Google on "Aurel Vlaicu" +aviation, (8-9-27), you will find about 5,580 links. Most of them are available in English. If time permits, I suggest that you sample a number of them. If time is limited, you might want to start with the three which are cited below.

Aurel Vlaicu This page on the Orastie City, Transylvania, Romania website, where Aurel attended High School, offers a nice picture of him sitting in his Vlaicu 2 and a brief biography. If you have the time, you might want to go to the homepage and sample some of the many pictures of the city and the surrounding country. You can access his story and the picture by clicking on the title above.

The Romanian Air Corps in WWI
This page on the Axis History Forum website, offers a very interesting and comprhensive revue of the Romanian Air Corps submitted by "Victor.". It includes mention of many of the pioneer aviators who are found on the pages of my website, including Aurel Vlaicu. As a background for a more complete understanding of the stories of each individual aviator, I found it to very helpful. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

Vlaicu's Birthplace Album
Suggested by Aurelian Simionescu, 7-20-09 On this site you will find some nice photos taken at Vlaicu's birth place by Octavian Circa. The text is in Romanian, but I am sure you will enjoy seeing the many photographs. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

Aurel Vlaicu Banknote

Aurel Vlaicu Banknote
Photo courtesy Aurelian Simionescu, 1-17-07

Torino World Air Games - 2009
Courtesy of Giovanni Giorgetti & Giorgio Giorgio, 6-28-09 Dear Ralph:
I was in Turin during the World Air Games in June 2009, fantastic, there was the reproduction of the Romanian airplane of Vlaicu. The photos are mine and of Giorgio Giorgi.
Best regards
Giovanni Giorgetti

To view the collection of photos, click on the title.

ONLINE RESOURCES - 2 The four links below were suggested to me by Aurelian Simionescu.

AUREL VLAICU
(11-22-05) This page offers a nice revue of his life and career and includes two photographs of his planes. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

Vlaicu 2
(11-22-05)       Aurelian included the following comment regarding this webpage:

     "This page offers a photograph taken inside the Romanian National Military Museum in Bucharest, showing a full-size replica of the Vlaicu 2 airplane."

      You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

Aurel Vlaicu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(2-7-06) This entry in Wikipedia offers a nice resume of his life and career and includes links to more details on many of the items and terms in the article. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

An Improved Flying Machine This link was also suggested by Aurelian Simionescu and leads to a copy of the original application for a patent by Aurel Vlaicu in 1911-08-31. You will find a list of the characteristics of his plane in his own language. You can access the page by clicking on the title above.

Aurel Vlaicu - The Movie
Courtesy Aurelian Simionescu, 1-17-07 I found online the movie Aurel Vlaicu split in 4 parts (no sound and 15-20 sec. commercials at the beginning). Still very interesting e.g. minutes 1, 7 and 8 of part four show multiple aircrafts of the time (Vlaicu 2, Bleriot, Farman).

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

Aurel Vlaicu died in Banesti-Campina, September 13, 1913

Aurel Vlaicu's tombstone
in Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.
Photo & note courtesy of Aurelian Simionescu, 7-26-09

Aurel Vlaicu's tombstone
in Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.
To the left, partially visible in the photo above,
is the tomb of aviator Gheorghe Negel,
a friend of Vlaicu, who died a month later.
Photo & note courtesy of Aurelian Simionescu, 7-26-09

Aurel Vlaicu and Friends
Contributed by Aurelian Simionescu, 7-25-09 Vlaicu was not competing for any prize. He wanted to be the first to cross the Carpathians and also to attend the festivities organized in Orastie by the Cultural Association of the Romanians in Transylvania - ASTRA (back then Transylvania was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). The city of Orastie is very close to his birth place.
Attached is a map that I drew quickly showing in red the flight up to his crash in Banesti, near Campina, and in black the intended flight to Orastie. He was followed by two automobiles driven by friends Giovanni Magnani and Constantin Silisteanu in the first one, and Miron (a cousin of Vlaicu) and a professor named Nedelcu in teh second one. The two cars were carrying the fuel to resupply Vlaicu's plane.

If you have any information on this pioneer aviator
please contact me.
E-mail to Ralph Cooper

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