Aurel Vlaicu
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Aurel Vlaicu (born November 19, 1882, in Bintinti, near Orastie, Hunedoara county, died September 13, 1913, near Ploiesti) was a Romanian engineer and aviation pioneer.
He finished high school in Orastie (which was renamed "Liceul teoretic Aurel Vlaicu" in his honour in 1919) and took his Baccalaureate at Sibiu in 1902. He furthered his engineering studies at what is now Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München in Germany, earning his engineer diploma in 1907. After working as an engineer at Opel in Rüsselsheim, he returned to Orastie and began construction of his first airplane, the Vlaicu I. This airplane was extremely well built, stable, and maneuverable. It won him several prizes in international competitions against other aviation pioneers like Roland Garros. In 1912 he won two memorable prizes at Aspern, Austria.
He died in 1913 near Ploiesti during an attempt to fly his airplane Vlaicu II over the Carpathian mountains.