“Queen of the Air” - Smaranda Brăescu commemorative event

You are invited to a virtual commemorative event marking the 89th anniversary of the world parachuting record set in 1932 by Smaranda Brăescu (with her 23730 ft jump in Sacramento, California), on May 20, 2021, at 10:30 AM PST (Los Angeles); 1:30PM EST (New York); 8:30PM EEST (Bucharest), 7:30PM CEST (Paris).

Organizers: Retired Aviation Commander Laurentiu Buzenchi, Eng. Nick Suciu, Prof. Ileana Costea Ph.D.

Technical and event promotion consultant: Teodor Stan, Immigration Research Forum

Moderator: Prof. Ileana Costea Ph.D.

Program:

· Opening of the event

Short presentation of the Smaranda Brăescu commemorative event

Prof. Dr. Ileana Costea

Acting President, Romanian American Academy of Arts and Sciences (ARA)

Director, IC ART

· Formal acknowledgement of Mr. Alex Bartok efforts

· Messages from US aviation institutions

Ex. California Aviation Museums, Sacramento, San Diego, Palm Springs; Smithsonian Institution, Cessna, Northrop, Cesna, Perris Skydiving Center, Temecula, California

· Opening remarks

Cosmin Dumitrescu Pd.D., Consul General of Romania in Los Angeles

· Formal address by Alin Alistar, Honorary Consul of Romania in Sacramento

Keynote speakers:

· “Queen of the Air” - Smaranda Brăescu

Prof. Tudor Sireteanu Ph.D., corresponding member of the Romanian Academy, nephew of Smaranda Brăescu

· My mother's friendship with Smaranda Brăescu

Prof. Mircea Goga Ph.D., retired Sorbonne, Paris professor and nephew of Octavian Goga (well-known Romanian writer, journalist, and politician). Emilia Ilie Goga, the mother of Octavian Goga was the youngest woman to obtain a pilot's license at 16 and a close friend with Smaranda.

· The documentary film “Mandita”

Col. Cornel Mitut, documentary producer

An ​​ARPIA initiative, the "Smaranda Brăescu" documentary received the 3rd prize, “Bronze Sword,” at the Warsaw Documentary Film Festival. A 15-minute screening with remarks from the documentary’s director will be shown.

· “In memoriam Smaranda Brăescu”

Retired Aviation Commander Laurențiu Buzenchi, ARPIA president and project manager of the “Smaranda Brăescu 90” commemorative initiative in Cluj, Romania.

A PowerPoint presentation, a posthumous acknowledgement of her lifetime achievements: Images from the Central Cemetery in Cluj, commemorative monuments and documents, excerpts from the anniversary issue of the AERONAUTICA magazine (ARPIA publication); Overview of ARPIA projects related to the 90th anniversary of Smaranda Brăescu’s records. Book dedicated to her "Smaranda Brăescu: Let me fly!"

· Smaranda Brăescu's planes

Franvois Charvieux, Air-France (1957 à 1998; ground airplane engineer - private pilot - commercial pilot); flight-engineer license Boeing 727, Seattle, WA (1971)

· Smaranda Brăescu 2022 Event, Sacramento, CA

Engineer Nick Suciu, founder and CEO of Skylark USA Aircraft

Smaranda Brăescu was the first parachutist and the third female pilot in Romania. She set two world records: in women's parachuting (19,685 ft) in the Bărăgan plain on October 2nd1931, and the absolute world skydiving record (of that time, 23,730 ft) in Sacramento, California, on May 19, 1932. She was decorated with the Aeronautical Virtue with the Golden Cross and Golden Strap by the King Carol II of Romania. She flew in a single-engine plane over the Mediterranean Sea, from Rome to Tripoli 683.5 miles in 6 hours. For her achievements she was named "Queen of the Air". In World War II she was a member of the "White Squadron" transporting wounded soldiers from the Eastern front.

The absolute world record for high jump parachuting, set in Sacramento, California, was a Romanian American record: achieved by a Romanian, Smaranda Brăescu with an American plane, an American pilot, on American territory and approved by the American Aeronautical Federation. Moreover, Smaranda Brăescu was the first foreign pilot certified in the USA. The Aerospace Museum of California in Sacramento has in its collection two panels dedicated to the achievements of Smaranda Brăescu.

English is the official language of the Zoom event. All presentations in Romanian will have subtitles in English. The presentations will be followed by a Questions and Answers session in which live translation will be provided.

You will receive details about the event in a subsequent email at a date closer to the date of the event. Those who wish to attend the Zoom event are asked to register via this page or by sending an email to: arainterimpresident@gmail.com. The Zoom link will be made available upon RSVP.

Event Organizers:

ARPIA – Romanian Association for Propaganda and History of Aeronautics

– “Smaranda Brăescu”, Cluj Chapter arpia-filialacluj.ro

ARA – American Romanian Academy of  Arts and Sciences main.ara-as.org

Event Sponsors:

I.C. ART, LLC ic-art-gallery.com

Trezoreria Documentelor 380v.ro

Immigration Research Forum: immigrationresearchforum.org