| Aeronautica Lombarda | |
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HW100 - 45000
UAW55 - 105000 RRW100 - 175000 PKRR - 7500 |
Aeronatica Lombarda AL-3 AL-3 Role - Competition sailplane National origin - Italy Manufacturer - Aeronautica Lombarda Designer - Camila Silva First flight - 1938 Number built - 1 The Aeronautica Lombarda AL-3 was an Italian sailplane, designed and built in 1939 to take part in the Olympic sailplane competition. It did so but was not successful. Design and development The AL-3 was one of two Italian designs competing to become the preferred Olympic glider at the 1940 Olympic Games. The other was the CVV-4 Pellicano. Had they happened, these Games would have been the first to host a gliding event. It was planned that all competitors should fly the same 15 m (49 ft 3 in) span type and designs from Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were evaluated for the role at Sezze, near Rome in Italy during February 1939. The DFS Meise was the competition winner. The competition stipulated the 15 m (49 ft 3 in) span gliders had to be wooden, though fabric covering could be used. Its cantilever wing was built around a single spar with plywood skinning around the wing forward of it. The wing was attached to a pylon about 230 mm (9 in) above the fuselage and at the centreline the wing ply extended back to about 70% chord, returning to the spar about 1 m (3 ft 3 in) along it. The wing planform was strongly double straight tapered, mostly on the trailing edge where ailerons occupied almost half the span. These were split into two nearly equal sections and acted differentially. Parallel ruler type airbrakes were placed a little inboard of the ailerons, at mid-chord. Near the roots the airfoil section was NACA 4514; further out this was tapered into the symmetric NACA 0012 of the tips, which had 4° of washout to prevent tip stalling. Apart from a metal nose-cap, the fuselage was plywood skinned throughout. The pilot sat under the wing leading edge, enclosed in continuous glazing which extended on top into a V-shaped cut-out in the wing to enhance upward vision. Behind the cockpit the pylon, which extended just beyond the trailing edge, was also ply covered. From nose to tail the fuselage cross section was ovoid, becoming markedly slimmer aft. The AL-3's tailplane was of similar construction to the wing and likewise strongly tapered. It was positioned largely ahead of a tall, narrow fin, allowing the broad chord, rounded, balanced rudder to extend to the keel without cut-outs in the elevators. The glider landed on a single skid from just aft of the nose to under mid-chord, which was mounted close to the fuselage on rubber shock absorbers. Specifications Data from Sailplanes 1920-1945 General characteristics Crew: One Length: 6.60 m (21 ft 8 in) Wingspan: 15.00 m (49 ft 3 in) Height: 1.17 m (3 ft 10 in) base of fuselage to fin tip, excluding tail skid Wing area: 14.00 m2 (150.7 sq ft) Aspect ratio: 16 Airfoil: NACA 4514 at root, tapering to NACA 0012 at tips Empty weight: 157 kg (346 lb) Gross weight: 252 kg (556 lb) Performance Maximum glide ratio: 25:1, estimated Wing loading: 18.0 kg/m2 (3.7 lb/sq ft) Aeronautica Lombarda AL-12P AL-12P Role - Transport glider National origin - Italy Manufacturer - Aeronautica Lombarda Designer - A. Ambrosini First flight - 1943 Primary user - Italian Army Number built - 16 The Aeronautica Lombarda AL-12P (also known as the Ambrosini AL-12P) was a Second World War Italian transport glider built by the Aeronautica Lombarda for the Italian Army. Design and development The AL-12P was designed by A. Ambrosini and was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a wood-ribbed fuselage covered with stressed molded plywood. It wing had a foliated spruce plywood spar and was covered with plywood although the ailerons were fabric covered. It also had large slotted spoilers that could be opened perpendicular above and below the wing. The pilot and co-pilot sat side by side in the nose which made from plywood-covered welded steel tubes and was hinged to allow cargo to be loaded into the fuselage, a passenger door was fitted on the right hand side of the fuselage. It could carry 12 fully equipped troops or the equivalent weight in equipment. The company built 16 AL-12Ps for the Italian Army. Ambrosini P.512 After World War II, S.A.I.-Ambrosini modified at least one AL-12P to be powered by 2 × 167.78 kW (225 hp) Alfa Romeo 115ter six-cylinder air-cooled engines and fitted with a revised undercarriage with shock absorber struts attached to the engine nacelles braced by V-struts from the fuselage sides. Specifications (AL-12P / P.512) Data from Mrazek General characteristics Crew: 2 (pilot, co-pilot) Capacity: 12 fully equipped troops, (P.512) 1,600 kg (3,527 lb) Length: 14.02 m (46 ft 0 in) Wingspan: 21.34 m (70 ft 0 in) Height: 3.4 m (11 ft) Wing area: 50.7 m2 (546 sq ft) Empty weight: 1,588 kg (3,500 lb) , (P.512) 2,000 kg (4,410 lb) Gross weight: 2,812 kg (6,200 lb) , (P.512) 3,600 kg (7,937 lb) Powerplant: 2 × Alfa Romeo 115ter 6-cyl. inverted in-line air-cooled piston engines, 168 kW (225 hp) each (P.512) Propellers: 2-bladed metal variable-pitch propellers Performance Maximum speed: 249 km/h (155 mph, 135 kn) (P.512) Cruise speed: 230 km/h (143 mph, 124 kn) (P.512) Minimum control speed: 85 km/h (53 mph, 46 kn) (P.512) with flaps, (P.512) without flaps 97 km/h; 52 kn (60 mph) Range: 500 km (310 mi, 270 nmi) (P.512) with a payload of 1,275 kg (2,810 lb), (P.512) 499 km; 269 nmi (310 mi) with a payload of 748 kg (1,650 lb) (1,240 miles) Service ceiling: 2,100 m (6,900 ft) (P.512) on one engine Rate of climb: 4.9 m/s (970 ft/min) (P.512) Wing loading: 71 kg/m2 (14.5 lb/sq ft) (P.512) Power/mass: 0.09 kW/kg (0.057 hp/lb) (P.512) |