Report 1936

THE MIRCEA CANTACUZINO ASSOCIATION FOR

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AIR TOURISM

REPORT

1936

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before presenting you the Association’s Report for year 1936, i am in everyone’s consent in proposing to send the following telegram to HRH King Carol II:
“On the occasion of our General Assembly, our thoughts are turning towards your Majesty, entrusting it of our deepest devotion and ceaselessly work which we worship them to the country”

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As a pious duty, let us keep a moment of silence in the memory of Sub-Lieutenants Ioan Nicolae and Petre Iovanovici, former instructors at our school of aviation, killed on duty in a plane crash accident in Cernei Mountains.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The activity of the school in year 1936, under the leadership of our Director Lt.-Av. C. Abeles, was exceptional compared to the previous years. Thanks to the moral incentive from Mr. Eng. N. Caranfil, at that time Subsecretary of State for Air, which understood the purpose of air tourism and the yield possibilities of our school, and the fact that for training he provided us with two planes belonging to the state, we were able to achive a record activity of air tourism in the country.
Indeed at our school of aviation were executed in 1936:
17 382 (seventeen thousands three hundrad and eighty-two) flights;
61 627 (sixty-one thousands six hundrad and twenty-seven) km traveled only in journeys;
2 124 (two thousands one hundrad and twenty-four) flight ours;
having as flight material:
Three planes Messerschmitt 100 HP Siemens school’s property;

and two planes Icar Universal provided by S.S.A.;
and as instructors: Lt. C. Abeles, Chief Adj. Pop Simion, and line pilot, Chifulescu.

The number of licensed students in this year reaches also a record figure, not only for our school but for some of the schools around the country.

Have been licensed 36 pilots 1st Class and 35 pilots 2nd Class.

The following pilots have obtained the 1st and 2nd Class licence: Alexandru Maxim, Grigore Stoenescu, Capitan Parvulescu, Alexandru Ionescu, Francisc Gall, Nadeja Russu, Constantin, Radulescu, Nicolae Deac, Radu de Reineck, Mihail Mertus, Emil Klein, Gheorghe Claru, Spiridon Negoita, Virginia Thomas, Adj. Petre Radulescu, Sorin Tulea

Eduard Lindner, Serban Manciulescu, Locot. Valeriu Cioaba, Virginia Dutescu, Constantin Greceanu, Sima Smulescu, Ionel Fernic

The following pilots have obtained the 2nd Class licence which have previously obtained 1st Class licence: Constantin Mironescu, Eftimie Stanciulescu-Moraru, Constantin Ruleta, Radu Manicatide, Samy Heinrich, Ilie Livianu, Bujor Ardeleanu, Iulian Vania, Gerard Raoul-Duval, Locot. Ioan Zmeu, Eng. Gh. Radulescu, Gheorghe Rado

The following pilots have obtained the 1st Class licence: Eng Dorin Pavel, Eng. Eugen Bodea, Cosntantin Felix, Locot. C. Panescu, Mihaela Frim, Eugen Stanescu, Aureliu Doicescu,

Sandu Tudor, Eduard Lindenberg, Dan Balaciu, Mihai Meteanu, Teodor Bologa, Eng Const Grigorescu
Outside school activities, the association to help the aeronautical propaganda, took part with its planes, at several meetings, organised at the country side.
Thus:
On the morning of June 21 at the air show organised by Capitala Newspaper, and in the same day in the afternoon,
At Ploiesti at the air show organised by Prahova Aeroclub;
On the 30th of August at Targu Mures at the meeting organised by the locat Aeroclub;
And on the 13th of September at the air show from Kishinev, organised by our former student, Ionel Fernic, with the purpose to collect the necessary funds for buying a plane.

The activity of our members, former students,was this year noteworthy;

Bazu Cantacuzino breaks his own record, on the route Paris-Bucharest, with the Renault Typhon purchased for the journey around the world, and performs countless intercontinental journeys;
Marina Stirbey opens at Darmanesti its own airport, and with her planes she performs a journey on the route Bucharest – Paris and return and another one through Northern Europe having as the farthest point, Stockholm;
Spiridon Varnav buys a Hawk-Miles plane flying it from London and then performs a journey on the route Bucharest – Cairo and return;
Constantin Soutzo takes part with his plane, at a international tourist event in London, being eulogistic mentioned in the English newspapers, and then scours through Europe doing indeed “air tourism” during holiday; The other members are all performing countless journeys through the country, which we can not mention as they are too many.
The Mircea Cantacuzino Association has the right to be proud of its former students.
Moreover, HRH King Carol II wanted

to materialise the official recognition of these merits, giving on the 6th of June The Gold Cross of Aeronautical Virtue to Ioana Cantacuzino and Marina Stirbey and to Bazu Cantacuzino a strap to the decoration he already had.
In year 1936 was organised the first touristic competition in Romania; “The Tempo Cup”. With pride we found that out of the seven participating teams, six were former students of our school, part of them competing with planes provided by the Association. All performed the jouney in perfect conditions.
The Mircea Cantacuzino Association fulfilled in year 1936 adundanty its duty: formed pilots, trained the old ones, Asociatia Mircea Cantacuzio si-a indeplinit in anuk 1936 cu prisosinta datoria: a creat piloti, a antrenat pe cei vechi, helped other aviation associations and encouraged air tourism. All these with obvious progress compared to previous years.
Let us be permitted, with this occasion, to establish for the history of air tourism in Romania, the role of the Mircea Cantacuzino Association on the two fields which since its foundation was proposed to activated on:

1) Producing pilots and 2) The prosperity of air tourism.
Indeed, stepping on the heavy steps of the beginning, opening the path and paving the way for those who came behind, the Mircea Cantacuzino school of aviation had to fight for creating the environment, crushing the indifference of the public organisations, for overcoming inertia and achieving the state’s cooperation with private initiative, in one word for the implementation in Romania of a private aviation recognised and supported by the state; because only like this it can fully develop it’s possibilities and bring services of undeniable utility to the Romanian aviation.
Although it was a tough fight, which only few know, the Mircea Cantacuzino School of aviation was able to achieve an exceptional activity:
From 296 1st Class licenses throughout the country, 99 are obtained at our school.
Deducting from the total of 165 2nd Class licenses, throughout the country, the 28 licenses given through equivalence to military pilots for sport demonstrations, remain 138 2nd Class licences from which 61 are obtained at our school.

We therefore have in our asset a third of the 1st Class licensed pilots and almost a half of the ones licensed 2nd Class throughout the country, the rest being assigned to the other six existing schools.
The licenses No. 1 to No. 10 from the Civil Aviation registry, issued to the our school’s licensees, are a living testimony that the beginning was done by us, and testimony of the tough struggle, as these licenses wear a date after the death of the first licensed – Mircea Cantacuzino – date two years earlier than the first licensing flights.
The effective fulfillment of point no. 2 of the proposed schedule: the prosperity of air tourism is the great merit of the Mircea Cantacuzino Association.
If the number of the total licensed pilots in Romania, due to the lack of real support from the state, is relatively small, the association can be proud of the quality of the pilots formed and the large number of pilots who have kept their training up to date. Making the free plane available to those with no means, stimulating others, guiding all of them, the association counts today from 99 licensed pilots, 78 trained.

It is a result with which only a few schools around the world can be proud with.
Knowing to inspire its students with the love of flight, and the duty of each one to activate for the prosperity of the Romanian wings, the association counts today amongst its members, former students, 10 owners of planes: S. Varnav, I. Cociasu, I. Cretu, Ioana Cantacuzino, Marina Stirbey, Bazu Cantacuzino, Irina Burnaia, Lucien Levy, Petre Stamatescu and Constantin Soutzo. Of these Marian Stirbey, Ioana Cantacuzino, Constantin Soutza, Bazu Cantacuzino and I. Cretu have organized near their estates, an airport for help, contributing also with this to the prosperity of air tourism throughout the country.
A lot of the former students dedicated their activity to aviation, occupying top positions in aviation circles.
The spirit of sacrifice and of total worship of an ideal, planted in our school by its founder – Mircea Cantacuzino – created a tradition which animates those who pass through our school.
This is the undeniable merit of our association

and the secret of its success, success which amazes all of those who know the financial possibilities of the association and the sacrifices that are being done to achieve the goal proposed.

Ladies and Gentelmen,
From the financial point of view, as you can see in the auditors’ report, with all the exceptional activity performed in year 1936, the association could not balance its budget, the help of the state being mostly in kind – two training planes have been borrowed to us for our old pilots – and the money grant, according to the decision in action, being of only 193 000 lei (one hundred and ninety-three thousands) compared to our budget of 1 450 000 lei (one million four hundred and fifty thousand).
We have the certainty that for year 1937, the situation will change for the better, the Ministry of Air and Marine establishing a new ministerial decision through which the state, being convinced by the utility of the school’s activity, decided for the first time

to support awarding prizes for licensing.

Also, the creation of the Royal Romanian Aeronautical Federation, which collates, under the active presidency of HRH The King, all the aviation associations, through coordination and support of their activities, it’s a pledge that the air tourism in Romania walks on a good path, which will allow it to get an unknown development still until today.

Auditors’ Report
Gentlemen Members,
We have the honour to inform you that we have checked and found in order the records and the entire monetary management of the Association for the Prosperity of Air Tourism “Mircea Cantacuzino” for year 1936.
We have checked also the accounts of Revenues and Expenditures and the Balance for year 1936, and also the Revenues and Expenditure budget for year 1937, which we also found in order
Bucharest, 10 April 1937.
Auditors:
(ss) Gh. Cantacuzino
(ss) Gh. Bals
(ss) Eng. Dan Nacescu