1906 · Flight · Prototype
Vuia I monoplane
Traian Vuia
The idea
Vuia I made a short powered flight at Montesson, near Paris, on 18 March 1906.
A wheeled chassis, an engine and a wing became one experimental machine. The Academy Library documents its Montesson flight.
A life behind the work · 1872–1950
Traian Vuia
Vuia grew up in Banat, where a childhood interest in kites developed into a fascination with flight. Financial pressures diverted him from mechanical studies in Budapest into law, and he earned a doctorate in legal sciences in 1901. He moved to Paris in 1902 to pursue his aircraft project. On 18 March 1906, Vuia I made a short powered flight at Montesson. He continued with another monoplane, helicopter experiments and steam generators. Elected an honorary member of the Romanian Academy in 1946, he died in Bucharest in 1950.
Biography & sources ↗