Traian Vuia

Traian Vuia ( born August 17, 1872 in Surducu Mic, Austria - Hungary (now Timiş, Romania); † September 3, 1950 in Bucharest ) was a Romanian aviation pioneer.

Traian Vuia was born in the village Surducu Mic in today's Timiş county in western Romania. After graduating from the University of Lugoj 1892 he attended the Polytechnic University in Budapest. At the School of mechanics, he received his diploma, he enrolled at the Faculty of Law of the University. In May 1901 he received the Ph.D. degree in Law with the topic military and industry, government contract management

After his graduation he returned to Lugoj. There he devoted himself to the problem of flying machines heavier than air and designed his first flying machine, which he called Flight automobile. In July 1902, he decided to go to Paris, to build his flying machine. Here he was looking for potential business partners to finance the construction. He went to Victor Tatin a well-known aviation Thereotiker, who had already built in 1879 flight models.

Tatin was immediately interested in Vuias project. However tatin did not think Vuia could build such aircraft with enough stability and engine power. But Vuia was not discouraged and went to the French Academy of Sciences in Paris. On February 16, 1903, presented his project. His plans, however, were rejected with the following comment as utopian:

Despite the many rejections Vuia did not want to give up. He applied his flying machine patent on August 17, 1903 which was released on October 16, 1903. Vuia had already started in winter 1902 with the construction of the flying machine and encountered many problems, mostly financial, but he managed it anyway. In the fall of 1904, he built an aircraft engine according to his own ideas, which was patented in the same year in the UK.

He called His plane Traian Vuia 1 It was a single with a high wing, all of which were assembled in December 1905. He found a place in Montesson near Paris, where he could test his flying machine. Initially, the apparatus tested without wings as a car. On March 18, 1906 was finally over, the first flight could begin. After 50 m starting phase his plane took off and flew about 12 meters in one meter height. Then, the engine and the aircraft landed stopped. Many magazines in France, the U.S. and Britain wrote about this short flight. This was reportedly the first free flight of a flying machine with a tractor propeller.

In 1907 he built his Vuia II with an Antoinette 25 hp (19 kW) engine. The Antoinette Antoinette engines and later the aircraft was then building Léon Levavasseur, which was at times the fitter of Alberto Santos Dumont. The Vuia II was exhibited at the Aeronautical Salon in Paris.

Between 1918 and 1921 he built experimental helicopter in Juvissy and Issy -les -Moulineaux - Aerodrome. Another large invention was the development of a steam generator, the steam pressures of more than 100 atmospheres (10 MPa) was produced. These generators are still used in some power plants.

On 27 May 1946 he was made an honorary member of the Romanian Academy. Today, the Timisoara ( TSR) airport bears his name. It is the second largest airport in Romania.