In his address at the ceremony for the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the absolute skydiving world record by Romanian aviation daredevil Smaranda Braescu, retired Lt. Gen. Dumitru Prunariu, honorary president of the Romanian Association for Aeronautics Advocacy and History (ARPIA) Cluj, praised Braescu as a true heroine who overcame in her time "unimaginable limits" in the field of aeronautics.
"On October 2 this year we celebrate 90 years since Smaranda Braescu's winning the European skydiving title with a jump from a height of 6,000 meters. We are glad that the efforts of ARPIA 'Smaranda Braescu' Cluj-Napoca led by its persevering chairman, (Ret'd) Commodore Laurentiu Buzenchi, succeeded in prompting the decision that 2022, the 90-year milestone since Smaranda Braescu set Romania's first absolute air sports record with a jump from 7,233 meters, be named the 'Smaranda Braescu Year'," Prunariu told the event hosted by the National Military Circle in Bucharest.
Praising Braescu as a heroine of the international aeronautical community, Prunariu said: "The fact that today we honor Smaranda Braescu proves that at least a part of the Romanian society understands that the promotion of our national heroes and values is highly necessary for maintaining our stability and respect in a turbulent and troubled national and international context."
The speaker also evoked the moment when Smaranda Braescu chose to dedicate herself to aviation.
"On October 19, 1901, when Brazilian Alberto-Santos Dumont became the most famous person in the world after circling the Eiffel Tower in a dirigible balloon, Smaranda Braescu was only four years old. She was six when the Wright brothers flew a power-driven, heavier-than-air machine in South Carolina on December 17, 1903. She was six and nobody knew her destiny would be aeronautics. Traian Vuia performed the first flight powered with own on-board means on March 18, 1806, when Smaranda Braescu was nine years old and already a student. In 1912, when Braescu was turning 15, Aurel Vlaicu was winning international awards (...) in Austria with his monoplane Vlaicu 2. In the same year, as a student at the 'Elena Doamna' Girls' Secondary School in Barlad, she witnessed one of the first flypasts by a Romanian military plane piloted by Lieutenant Gheorghe Negrescu; this was her life-changing moment, yearning to become a pilot ever since. (...) These are a few elements from the national and international background that shaped Smaranda's determination to become an aviator and carry through with this decision (...)," concluded Prunariu.
His allocution was followed by a brief presentation of the documentary about Smaranda Braescu produced by the Defense Ministry's Television and Film Centre and by the launch of the book "Smaranda Braescu: Let me fly!" Several personalities participating in the event were awarded the 'Smaranda Braescu' anniversary medal and diplomas, and a tribute exhibition was inaugurated.
Smaranda Braescu, born May 21, 1897 in the village of Hantesti, Buciumeni commune - Galati County, was the first Romanian female licensed parachutist. On July 5, 1928 she performed first parachute jump from a height of 600 meters. On October 2, 1931 she won the European skydiving title with a 6,000-metre jump, breaking the previous record of 5,384 meters and thus setting a new women's world record. Following this success she was decorated with the 'Aeronautical Virtue' Order - Golden Cross class. On May 19, 1932 Braescu became absolute world parachuting champion with a jump of 7,233 meters that lasted 25 minutes, a record acknowledged by the Washington Air Club. In 1934 she took piloting classes in the US, becoming the first woman in Europe to hold a US-issued pilot license. Nicknamed 'The Air Queen', Smaranda Braescu counts several other feats in her aeronautic record, with European air tours, participation in numerous domestic and international aeronautical rallies and, last but not least, her participation as a volunteer in the Second World War, as a pilot in the medical White Squadron.
The event in Bucharest was attended by military personnel and representatives of the diplomatic corps. AGERPRES
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