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First Flight of Vlaicu 1
After much hard work, the plane (lacking an engine) was finished in 1909. To buy an engine, he went
to Paris where he met Traian Vuia, who helped him to choose an engine.
In 1910, on Cotroceni field, Vlaicu flew his plane at 3-4 meters high on a 40 meters distance, and then
he smoothly landed. In 23 July 1910, Vlaicu flew again, this time for 400 m at 4 m high. His third flight occurred at 10 August 1910 and it
was a real success because his plane rose several tens of meters and flew over a 4 km distance. From that moment, the airplane could
easily compare with the best flight-machines at the time. At 27 September 1910, at War Minister's proposal, Vlaicu participated to
national military exercises, his mission being to carry a message by flight from Slatina to Piatra-Olt. It was then, when Romania became
the second country that used an airplane for military purposes, after France.In 1910, he obtained national patent RO 2258 for
"Flight-machine like an arrow." |
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