Did You Know? Gyrocopter Is Inspired by Real-Life Romanian Engineer and Pilot

Dota 2 Hero, Gyrocopter, named Aurel Vlaciu in the game, undoubtedly takes inspiration from a real Romanian engineer, inventor, and aviation pioneer who was also named Aurel Vlaciu.

He was born in 1882 and became known for his contributions to the early development of aviation. Vlaicu designed and built several aircraft, with one of his most notable creations being the Vlaicu II airplane, which he flew successfully in 1911.

This trend of seeking inspiration from historical figures is evident throughout Dota 2, as witnessed in many characters like Zeus, Medusa, Centaur, Phoenix, and Monkey King, all of them inspired by historical figures, myths, or real-world concepts.

Story Behind Gyrocopter and His Link With Real Life Romanian Aviator Aurel Vlaciu

Gyrocopter stepped into the world of Dota on 26^th July 2010 along with three other heroes IO, Shadow Demon, and Disruptor.

Introduced in patch 6.68, the lore of the hero read,

“After serving through a lifetime of wars, upheaval, riots, and revolutions, the brass figured Aurel had seen enough. But in addition to a few trinkets and his considerable pension, the erstwhile engineer left with something far more interesting: a long-forgotten, incomplete schematic for a Gyrocopter, the world’s first manned, non-magical flying device. Retiring to the tropical obscurity of the Ash Archipelago with little else but time and money, he set to work building the device.”

The description gave Dota community a hint of where the character came from. Gyrocopter resembled a character of sheer perseverance and ambition to fly “the world’s first manned, non-magical flying device,” which closely resembled the real-life story of Romania’s Aurel Vlaciu who started building Aircraft in 1909 and flew his first powered Aircraft A. Vlaicu Nr. in 1910 when the world was still new to the idea of flying in powered aircraft.

Due to his great contributions to the world of aviation, it could be possible that Dota’s infamous Icefrog could have been paying tribute to the Aviation pioneer by naming Dota’s Gyrocopter after him.

Notably, Aurel Vlaciu also appears in the 50 denominations of the Romanian currency Romanian Leu.

Dota’s creators have been known to associate Dota’s heroes with existing figures or concepts and some of these heroes include: