Proto 1
Arsenalul Aeronautic · Romania · first flew 1922 · light aircraft
Proto 1 was a training biplane designed in 1922 by Major Stefan Protopopescu with Dumitru Baziliu and Gheorghe Ticau at Arsenalul Aeronautic in Bucharest. It was the first Romanian aeroplane to be built in a specialised enterprise.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 7 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Two-seat training biplane
- Single water-cooled Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine driving a two-bladed wooden propeller
- Compact biplane 7 m long with a 9.6 m wingspan
A small two-seat biplane trainer with a water-cooled V-8 engine. It is the first Romanian aeroplane built by a specialised enterprise.
Specifications
- The Proto 1 has a length of 7 m (23 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 9.6 m (31 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 183 km/h (114 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The first experimental flights were made by its designer, who held Romanian pilot licence No. 1. It had a 130 kW Hispano-Suiza water-cooled V-8 engine.
Variants
After the accident that halted production, improvements were made and the Astra factory built a new variant as the Proto 2. Fewer than 25 Proto 1s were built.
Where you'll see it
The Ministry of War ordered 25 aircraft from the Astra factory on 10 January 1923. Astra changed the wings on its own initiative, which weakened them, and during an early test flight a wing broke and the aircraft crashed into the Mures river, killing the test pilot.
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