Cerchez & Co.

Last updated
Cerchez & Co.
Industry Aerospace
Founded1909
FounderMihail Cerchez
Defunct1912
Fate Bankruptcy
Headquarters
Chitila
,
Romania
Area served
Romania
Key people
Robert Catargi
Michel-Paul Molla

Cerchez & Co. was the first aircraft company, the first aerodrome and the first flight school in Romania. The company was founded and registered on 20 November 1909, being inaugurated on 11 June 1910 by the lawyer and industrialist Mihail Cerchez. The company manufactured the first serial production aircraft in Romania in 1911. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

On 20 November 1909, the "Cerchez & Co." company was registered at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, based at Chitila near Bucharest. The inauguration of the complex took place on 11 June 1910. On the same day, a telegram was addressed to the Ministry of War, requesting support for developing the construction of aircraft at Chitila. This was the first official document issued in Romania for the aeronautics field. [1] [2]

The Goliescu Avioplan in the hangar at Juvisy, 1909 Goliescu Avioplan.png
The Goliescu Avioplan in the hangar at Juvisy, 1909

With Order no. 2900 of 6 July 1910, Major Ioan Macri, commander of the Batalionul 2 Pionieri (2nd Pioneer Battalion), was commissioned by the Ministry of War to visit the "Aerodrome" in Chitila for evaluation. At that time, the aerodrome had the following aircraft: a Farman biplane, a Wright biplane, a Santos-Dumont Demoiselle which didn't yet have an engine mounted, and Lieutenant Goliescu's aircraft which was disassembled. Following his visit, he proposed that two officers be sent to Chitila to learn to fly and to follow the aircraft manufacturing process. [1]

The company hired the French pilot Guillemin as head of the piloting school and instructor. However, after an accident, he was replaced by Michel-Paul Molla. On 14 August 1910, the Cerchez & Co. workshops finished the first license-built Henry Farman model 1910 for use as a school plane. The next day, the aerodrome at Chitila was open to the public, with Michel-Paul Molla performing two flights on the Farman biplane. On 23 August, Molla took off towards Cotroceni (an aerodrome and a piloting school will be established here in 1911) where Prince George Valentin Bibescu was training on his Blériot monoplane and Aurel Vlaicu on his Vlaicu I. The three of them performed some flights together around Cotroceni with their aircraft, after which Molla returned to Chitila. [1]

Vlaicu during a visit at the Cerchez & Co. airfield in 1910 Aurel Vlaicu I Cotroceni(2).jpg
Vlaicu during a visit at the Cerchez & Co. airfield in 1910

On 25 August 1910, Molla flew for the first time over Bucharest, landing on the Șoseaua Kiseleff before returning to the aerodrome. This was the second flight over a city in the world, [1] being preceded by Émile Dubonnet's flight over Paris in April 1910. [4]

In April 1911, the Ministry of War ordered 4 Farmans from the workshops of Cerchez & Co, this order was followed by another for 2 more Farmans. The first officers also started their pilot training, with Sublocotenent Ștefan Protopopescu receiving the first pilot license in Romania and becoming the first pilot of the Romanian Army. [2]

The first Farmans were delivered to the army in August and September 1911. Polihroniade "Poly" Vacas delivered the 4th plane at Roman in September, where the autumn military maneuvers were taking place, setting a new national distance record of 138 kilometres (86 mi) traveled in flight from Focșani to Roman. [1] [2] [5]

After the delivery of the last aircraft, the Ministry of War did not issue any new orders for aircraft construction and did not send new officers to the piloting school. At the initiative of Prince George Valentin Bibescu, a military piloting school was set up in Cotroceni, and orders went to factories in France. At the end of 1912, Mihail Cerchez was forced to declare bankruptcy of the company. [1] [2]

Legacy

A Farman III built at the Cerchez & Co. workshops from Chitila Farman III built at Chitila.png
A Farman III built at the Cerchez & Co. workshops from Chitila

Cerchez & Co. manufactured a total of 7 Henry Farman aircraft, 1 in 1910 for the school and 6 in 1911 for the military. Six military pilots and six civilian pilots were trained at the flight school, the company remaining in the history of world aviation as one of the first in the world to serially produce aircraft. [2]

The next initiative to start an aeronautical industry in Romania happened in 1915, however it was not successful either due to lack of funding. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurel Vlaicu</span> 19/20th-century Romanian engineer and aviator

Aurel Vlaicu was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor, and early pilot.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1910:

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1913:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1909 in aviation</span>

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1909:

Romania has a rich tradition in aviation. At the beginning of the 20th century, pioneers such as Henri Coandă, Aurel Vlaicu, Traian Vuia and George Valentin Bibescu made important contributions to early aviation history, building revolutionary airplanes and contributing to the international scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romanian Air Force</span> Air warfare branch of Romanias military

The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) (Romanian: Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five air bases, a logistics base, an air defense brigade, an air defense regiment and an ISR brigade. Reserve forces include one air base and two airfields. In 2022, the Romanian Air Force employed 11,700 personnel. The current chief of the Romanian Air Force Staff is Lieutenant general Leonard-Gabriel Baraboi, who succeeded Lieutenant general Viorel Pană on 29 November 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Boxkite</span>

The Boxkite was the first aircraft produced by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company. A pusher biplane based on the successful Farman III, it was one of the first aircraft types to be built in quantity. As the type was used by Bristol for instruction purposes at their flying schools at Larkhill and Brooklands many early British aviators learned to fly in a Boxkite. Four were purchased in 1911 by the War Office and examples were sold to Russia and Australia. It continued to be used for training purposes until after the outbreak of the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Valentin Bibescu</span>

George III Valentin, Prince Bibescu was a Romanian early aviation pioneer and automobile enthusiast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Grahame-White</span> 19/20th-century English aviator

Claude Grahame-White was an English pioneer of aviation, and the first to make a night flight, during the Daily Mail-sponsored 1910 London to Manchester air race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoshitoshi Tokugawa</span> Japanese general (1884–1963)

BaronYoshitoshi Tokugawa was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army and one of the pioneers of military aviation in Japan. The first Japanese to obtain his pilot's licence from the Aéro-Club de France, he is credited with having made the first flight in a powered aircraft in Japan in 1910.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Force Application School "Aurel Vlaicu"</span>

The Air Force Application School "Aurel Vlaicu", also known as Boboc Air Base, is the Romanian Air Force Application School based at Boboc, Buzău County. Originally located at the Boboc airfield starting from 1939, the school was re-established as the "Aurel Vlaicu" Aviation Officers School in 1953, and moved back to Boboc in 1958. Since August 2003, as a result of the air force transformation and re-sizing, the Air Force Application School is the main applicational facility for the three main air force branches: air force, surface-to-air missiles, and radiolocation.

Captain Horatio Claude Barber (1875–1964) was an early British aviation pioneer and First World War flight instructor. In 1911 he flew the first cargo flight in Britain, transporting electric light bulbs from Shoreham to Hove. He was also the first person in Great Britain to gain an aeronautical degree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Pixton</span> Early British test pilot and racing pilot

Cecil Howard Pixton was a British aeronautical engineer, test pilot and air racing pilot who was most famous for winning the 1914 Schneider Trophy seaplane race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Weston (aviator)</span>

John Weston was a South African aeronautical engineer, pioneer aviator, farmer and soldier. He travelled extensively in a motor caravan (RV) that he designed and built himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Magnani</span>

Giovanni Magnani was a Romanian-Italian entrepreneur who lived in Bucharest at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1911 he fabricated a set of propellers for A Vlaicu II airplane, thus becoming the first propeller manufacturer in Southeast Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gheorghe Caranda</span> Romanian army officer

Gheorghe Caranda was a Romanian army officer and early aviator. He registered at Cotroceni Piloting School founded by George Valentin Bibescu in 1911, and earned his pilot license in 1912.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romanian Air Corps</span> Military unit

The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) was the air arm of the Romanian army until the formation of the Romanian Air Force. It was established on 1 April 1913 as the Military Aeronautics Service and subordinated to the Engineer Inspectorate, being organized in two branches – the aviation and the balloon branch. On 23 August 1915, the RAC was formed as an independent military arm and operated until 1 January 1924 when it became an equal to the Army and Navy, being redesignated as the Royal Romanian Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Vlaicu I</span> Type of aircraft

The A Vlaicu I was the first powered airplane built by Aurel Vlaicu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ștefan Protopopescu</span> Romanian aviation pioneer

Ștefan Protopopescu was a Romanian officer and aviation pioneer, he held the no. 1 pilot license in Romania, being the first licensed pilot in Romania and the first pilot of the Romanian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gheorghe Mihăilescu</span> Romanian World War I pilot

Gheorghe Mihăilescu was a Romanian World War I pilot, credited with four victories by Romanian standards and eight including shared ones.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Dan Antoniu; George Cicoș (27 October 2006). "Primii pași către o industrie aeronautică în România" (in Romanian).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Școala de Pilotaj". Primaria Chitila (in Romanian).
  3. ↑ Silvia Iliescu (12 June 2018). "Stârnind văzduhul…" (in Romanian).
  4. ↑ "Dubonnet Flies Over Paris" (PDF). The New York Times . April 24, 1910. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  5. ↑ "Polihroniade Vacas". Early Aviators.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.