Radu Manicatide (April 17, 1912 – March 18, 2004) was a Romanian engineer and aircraft constructor.
In 1926, at age 14, Manicatide built his first plane (the RM-1, a single-seat glider) in his backyard, and flew with it on the street for a few meters.
From 1931 to 1937 he earned an engineering degree from the University Politehnica of Bucharest, and then pursued his studies at École supérieure des techniques aéronautiques et de construction automobile (ESTACA), in Paris.
[1] In 1932 he constructed his first plane, the RM-4, with a weight of 250 kg (550 lb) and a maximum speed of 85 km/h (53 mph).
In 2002, he was awarded by President Ion Iliescu the Order of the Star of Romania, Knight class.