The Aurel Vlaicu memorial museum is located in the village that currently bears the name of the great inventor, which belongs to the town of Geoagiu. The former town of Bintenți, which is currently called Aurel Vlaicu, is about 10 kilometers away from Geoagiu, and access is quite easy.
The memorial complex includes Aurel Vlaicu's birthplace and the museum arranged in the immediate vicinity of the house, though only the museum can be visited. It is a modest location, but full of history.
"Icarus" from Bintenți, as Aurel Vlaicu was called, is a pioneer of Romanian and world aviation.
On the birthplace there is a plaque on which is inscribed the following text:
“In this Romanian house was born in 1882 the first fligher of Transylvania, Aurel Vlaicu, the conqueror of the air through the airplane which was his own invention and construction. Perceived by the historical necessity of abolishing the borders between the brothers, He indicated as a forerunner the path that the Romanian nation would follow in 1916 for the victory and realization of its secular aspirations.
Martyr of the idea of national unification and liberation, He sanctified with the blood of his youth, in 1913, the beginning of this path of salvation. May the memory of him and of the nation from which he sprang be blessed forever! Astra - Orăștie July 8, 1925, Aurel High School ”.
What you can admire in the Aurel Vlaicu memorial museum
The personal belongings of the great inventor, originally from Hunedoara County, are now in a building near his birthplace, where the "Aurel Vlaicu" Museum Complex was inaugurated in 1982. Here you can admire some of Aurel Vlaicu's sketches, from his correspondence, but also an aviator suit that he would have worn when he crashed his plane, in 1913.
Also here, we discover some tools and implements. used by Vlaicu, a gramophone, an old music box, photographs, excerpts from the newspapers in which he appeared in those times and components of the Vlaicu II plane, with which he crashed. Also on display are a bicycle, motorcycle and models made after the planes built by the great inventor.
In the museum you can admire the lathe where Aurel Vlaicu made various pieces of his inventions, over time. Also, a projection device built by Vlaicu can be admired.
About Aurel Vlaicu
Aurel Vlaicu was born in the village of Bințiţi (today Aurel Vlaicu) on November 19, 1882. He was the son of Dumitru and Ana Vlaicu, a family with good financial condition who allowed himself to support, with great sacrifices, his son in different schools.
Aurel Vlaicu, after graduating from primary school in his native village, enrolled at the High School in Orăştie, from where, after the first two years, he transferred to the German High School in Sibiu where he attended the seventh and eighth grades, at the end of high school he gained a highschool diploma.
Ever since high school, he demonstrated special inclinations towards techniqual aspects, which determined him to orient himself towards a faculty with this profile.
The first projected glider, erected on the island of the native village
In the autumn of 1902 he enrolled in the Budapest Polytechnic, but dissatisfied with the modest degree of teaching he retired. He moved to the Munich Polytechnic, where he was taught from 1903 to 1908. His many technical interests made him known to the students and teachers of the Munich High School.
Becoming an engineer, he was passionate about studying of flight problems. The first success, after an intense work, was the lifting from the ground of the glider designed and built according to his own plans, on the island of his native village, in 1909. Convinced that in Bucharest he will find other possibilities to carry out his projects, Aurel Vlaicu crossed the mountains and, supported by a series of personalities, he managed to build the "Vlaicu I" aircraft, a remarkable achievement due to its simplicity.
With this plane, Aurel Vlaicu managed, on June 17, 1910, to take off from the Cotroceni field from the first attempt.
„"Vlaicu II", collapsed in an attempt to cross the Carpathians
The second aircraft built, "Vlaicu II" which reached a speed of 90 km / h and rose up to 1000 meters, Aurel Vlaicu flew to Arad, Blaj, Brasov, Sibiu, Iasi and other cities in the country. In 1912, participating in the international aviation competition in Aspern - Vienna, Vlaicu was awarded for the accuracy of launching a projectile from 300 meters high in a circle of 40 meters and for landing at a fixed point.
Between 1912 and 1913, Aurel Vlaicu designed the Vlaicu III model, the first metal construction aircraft in the world, a project that has not been completed.
On September 13, 1913, during an attempt to cross the Carpathian Mountains with his plane Vlaicu II, he crashed near Câmpina, apparently due to a heart attack. He is buried in Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.
On October 28, 1948, he was elected a post-mortem honorary member of the Romanian Academy, along with Henri Coandă, Traian Vuia and other famous names, Aurel Vlaicu can be considered one of the forerunners of modern aeronautics and one of the fathers of world aviation.
The visiting hours at the Memorial Museum Aurel Vlaicu are:
Monday - closed, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 09:00 - 17:00.
More info www.mcdr.ro
The ticket price is 10 lei per person.
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