Real importance

[GabiLaser]

Hello gentlemen,

coming from a country that not long ago was under a strict regime with a very nationalistic flavour, we learned in schools a mystified history. In addition, any inventor was presented as having a huge importance in the history of the world ...

I would like to know what is your opinion about the importance or the role of Aurel Vlaicu (and perhaps Traian Vuia?) in the history of aviation? I will not ask about Henri Coanda as i've seen many discussions mentioning the effect bearing his name (or disputes about flight theory models).

The image below is taken near the Aurel Vlaicu museum in the locality with the same name.

Thank you,
Gabi/Laser

------------------------------------
http://hosted.filefront.com/GabiLaser
------------------------------------

[mike_baram]

Got this from Wikipedia:

Aurel Vlaicu was born in Binţinţi, near Orăştie, Transylvania, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time. He attended Calvinist High School in Orăştie (renamed "Liceul Aurel Vlaicu" in his honour in 1919) and took his Baccalaureate in Sibiu in 1902. He furthered his studies at Technical University of Budapest and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München in Germany, earning his engineer's diploma in 1907.

After working at Opel car factory in Rüsselsheim, he returned to Binţinţi and built a glider he flew in the summer of 1909. Later that year, he moved to Bucharest, in the Kingdom of Romania, where he began the construction of Vlaicu I airplane; it flew for the first time on June 17, 1910.

With his Vlaicu II model, built in 1911, Aurel Vlaicu won several prizes summing 7,500 Austro-Hungarian krone (for precise landing, projectile throwing and tight flying around a pole) in 1912 at Aspern Air Show near Vienna, where he competed against 42 other aviators of the day, including Roland Garros.

Aurel Vlaicu died in 1913 near Câmpina while attempting to cross in flight the Carpathian Mountains in his aged Vlaicu II airplane. He is buried at the Bellu cemetery, in Bucharest.

During his short career he built three original, arrow-shaped airplanes, with flight controls in front, two coaxial propellers, NACA-like ring around the engine, and independent suspension-tricycle-landing-gear with brakes. At the time of his death, a two-seated monoplane Vlaicu III, ordered by Marconi Company for experiments with aerial wireless radio, was only partially built. After Vlaicu's death the plane was completed by friends, and several short experimental flights were made during 1914. Further tests were hindered by the unusual controls of the airplane, no other pilot was familiar with.

In 1916, during the German occupation of Bucharest, Vlaicu III was seized and shipped to Germany. The airplane was last seen in a 1942 aviation exhibition in Berlin.

Vlaicu was posthumously elected to the Romanian Academy in 1948.

First off, until I saw your post I never heard of him, and it appears that his contributions to aviation in general were minimal. His importance did not extend far beyond Romania's borders.

[Doc]

First off, until I saw your post I never heard of him, and it appears that his contributions to aviation in general were minimal. His importance did not extend far beyond Romania's borders.[/QUOTE]

Unlike Mike, I had heard of Vlaicu before this post, and am fairly familiar with his aviation activities. Vlaicu was in fact very typical of many of the early pre-war aviators of many countries in that his primary contribution was that of popularisation and publicity for aviation, rather than in specific technological advances. I am not aware of any technological advances he developed which were adopted to any significant degree by others, but through his demonstrations, competitions, and continuing development of aircraft he developed an interest in aviation among the Romanian population which supported the development of aviation in general. He was instrumental in bringing many technological advances in aviation to the Attention of Romania, most of which were developed in Austria or Germany. He was one of the most well-known and popular aviators in pre-war Romania, and flew exhibitions in front of literally hundreds of thousands of spectators. Thus, he was extremely influential, though not necessarily technologically innovative. He was one of the true pioneers of aviation in Romania. Doc

[GabiLaser]

This is the kind of information i needed to learn, many thanks gentlemen!

Gabi/Laser

------------------------------------
http://hosted.filefront.com/GabiLaser
------------------------------------