Performance

Outstanding achievements of members of the Mircea Cantacuzino School of Aviation

  • For the first time, in the winter of 1928, the school’s students mounted skis instead of wheels on the Klemm light aricraft being able, with this innovation, to land and take-off on snow.
  • On July 5, 1928, Smaranda Brăescu made a jump from a height of 6000 m, thus winning the first female world record and absolute national record.
  • In 1929 Ioana Cantacuzino became the first woman in Romania to hold a pilot title.
  • In July 1930 Ionel Ghica, failed to cross the Balkans crashing due to fog but although injured he managed to walk to the nearest town. He thus broke the national 1.900 km non-stop distance record, and the national 2.000 km straight line speed record.
  • On 19 May 1932, in USA, Smaranda Brăescu climbed in a plane to an altitude of 24 000 feet(7.400 meter) from where she made the jump with the parachute becoming the winner of the world record for parachute descent.
  • On July 2, 1932 Ionel Cociașu, former student of the school, establishes the first world record for Romania in the aviation field, at the category light aircraft with two seats, with a flight of 8 hours and 17 minutes 42 seconds. the Romanian record lies inscribed on one of the walls of the magnificent building of the World Air Sports Federation in Paris.
  • On 30 March 1932, Ionel Ghica took off in his SET single-seat aircraft – also known as Foișor – towards Saigon on the route Bucharest – Konia – Baghdad – Basra – Buchir – Gwadar – Karachi – Jodpur – Allahadad – Calcutta – Aykyav – Rangoon – Bangkok – Saigon and he returned via a shorter route, his trip amounting to 25.000 km of flight under extremely difficult conditions. His performance still stands among the greatest achievements of the era.
  • On 6 and 7 September 1935, in Poland, Gheorghe Balş becomes the holder of the first two records in the history of Romanian gliding: a six-hour and 15-minute flight, and an altitude gain of 700 meters after takeoff.
  • In 1936, acording to the school’s report „Dare de Seama”, The Mircea Cantacuzino School of Aviation was proud to have formed a third of the 1st Class pilots and almost a half of the 2nd Class pilots from the entire country.
  • Virginia Duţescu became in 1937, the first woman in Romania to perform a training program for acrobatics standing out in numerous aviation rallies.
  • In September 1938 taook place the competition the Little Entente. The first 4 places were ranked in order by: eng. Lindner, eng. Cociașu, Ionescu spouses and eng. Frim, again students of the Mircea Cantacuzino School of Aviation
  • At the International Competition of the Little Entente (1938), eng. Frim improves the performance of an Nardi aircraft, adding a valve between the two tanks to avoid drawing false air and save fuel aircraft which he used on the route Prague – Bucharest – Belgrade – Prague winning on the last leg of the race, race attended by 37 pilots, the cup for „Youngest competitor”
  • During World War II, the Health Squadron is operating, squandron composed mainly of female pilots trained at the Mircea Cantacuzino School of Aviation namely Nadia Russo, Viginia Thomas, Mariana Drăgescu, Virgina Duțescu, Marina Știrbey și Smaranda Brăescu.
  • In only five weeks, between 29 June and 5 August 1943, he managed to set a real frontline record by shooting down 15 enemy planes. He is the only pilot who managed to shoot down a German FW-190 aircraft reason why foreign publications gave him an honourable sixth place in terms of combat value during World War II, with 60 victories achieved.
  • The tireless engineer Radu Manicatide created an impressive number of prototypes, including the IAR-817 (1955), the MR-2 (1956), the IAR-818 (1960), the IAR 818H, the IAR-821 (1967), the IAR-821B, the IAR-822 (1970), and the IAR-823. For his activity, he was distinguished with the Paul Tissandier International Diploma, the State Prize of 1957 and five Romanian Orders.

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