I aircraft (a parasol-winged monoplane, nicknamed La Folle Mouche or The
Aurel Vlaicu (1882-1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane
constructor and early pilot. In 1909, he designed the strange-looking Vlaicu No.
I aircraft (a parasol-winged monoplane, nicknamed La Folle Mouche or The
Crazy Fly), which was the first Romanian aeroplane to fly and was test flown
on 17 June 1910. It had a rudder at the front, a chain-driven propeller at
either end of the wing, and a triangular tail. The
construction of Vlaicu Nr. II was started in December
1910 and first flew in April 1911. Vlaicu
Nr. III was a two-seat
monoplane and only partially finished at the time of Vlaicu's death. The
National Aviation Day in Romania is celebrated on 17 June, the anniversary of Aurel
Vlaicu's first flight. The Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (largely
known as Băneasa Airportor Bucharest City Airport) was
named after Aurel Vlaicu.