Pioneering 'jet' taxies in Romania

摘要

A replica of the 1910-built Henri Coanda, once billed as the world's first 'jet' aircraft, was taxied in front of crowds using the thrust from an Artouste Ⅲ engine (as used in the Alouette helicopter) at the Bucharest International Air Show in June. Costing $100,000 (£59,000) and built over three years by a team of eight former military pilots and engineers based in Craiova, Romania, the replica is made from aluminium tubes and plywood. The team, known as ARPIA (Romanian Association for Propaganda and Aeronautics History), was led by 85-year-old Ilie Dumitrescu. Former Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 pilot Ion Craciunescu taxied the machine using the two external hand wheels that control the cruciform tailplane surfaces.