1. Traian Vuia was the first to demonstrate that a flying machine could rise into the air by running on wheels on an ordinary road.
18 Facts About Traian Vuia
1. 2.
Traian Vuia returned to Romania just before his death in 1950.
3.
Traian Vuia then enrolled in the School of Mechanics at the Polytechnic University of Budapest where he received his engineering diploma.
4.
Traian Vuia returned to Lugoj, where he studied the problem of human flight and designed his first flying machine, which he called the "airplane-car".
5.
Traian Vuia attempted to build the machine, but due to financial constraints decided to go to Paris in July 1902, hoping to find someone interested in financing his project, possibly balloon enthusiasts.
6.
Traian Vuia met with considerable skepticism from people who believed that a heavier-than-air machine could not fly.
7.
Traian Vuia then visited Victor Tatin, the well-known theoretician and experimenter who had built an aircraft model which flew in 1879.
8.
Tatin was interested in the project, but doubted that Traian Vuia had a suitable engine or that his aircraft would be stable.
9.
Undeterred, Traian Vuia applied for a French patent on 15 May 1903, and obtained patent No 332106 for his design.
10.
Traian Vuia chose a site in Montesson, near Paris, for testing.
11.
The French journal L'Aerophile emphasized that Traian Vuia's machine had the capability to take off from a flat surface, without assistance such as an incline, rails, or catapult.
12.
Traian Vuia made his first powered hop on 18 March 1906, on a flat field at Montesson, near Paris, France.
13.
The airplane, Traian Vuia 1, lifted one meter off the ground and flew for 12 meters.
14.
Traian Vuia made the first known public demonstration of his airplane on 8 October 1906, when he became airborne for four meters, witnessed by Ernest Archdeacon and Edouard Surcouf.
15.
Between 1918 and 1921, Traian Vuia built two experimental helicopters on the Juvisy and Issy-les-Moulineaux aerodromes.
16.
Traian Vuia was a socialist and a friend of Petru Groza, who invited him to return to Romania in 1950.
17.
Traian Vuia is buried at Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, Romania.
18.
On 27 May 1946, Traian Vuia was named an honorary member of the Romanian Academy.