Aurel Vlaicu was a romanian engineer, inventor and pilot. He is recognised as the first romanian aircraft manufacturer. He was born on 19 november 1882, as the first child of the eight children of Dumitru and Ana Vlaicu, peasants from Bintiti village (now Aurel Vlaicu), near Orastie.
In high school he was known as a clock repairman. In those days he heard about the flying attempts of Ion Stoica, from Ormindea village. Even since he was obssessed about making a flying „kite”. After finishing high school, in 1902, he followed the courses of the Polytechnic School in Budapest. At Budapest, Vlaicu succesed to design a lightweight, but still powerful motor, fueled by gunpowder.
Munchen was the next destination for Vlaicu, the place where he made his first model and impressed his college professor.