AS.1/AS.2/TR.1
Fiat AS.1 of Lombardi and Capannini
Role Touring aircraft
Manufacturer Fiat
First flight 1928
Number built ca. 550

The Fiat AS.1 was a light touring aircraft developed in Italy in the late 1920s.

Design and development

The AS.1 was a basic and conventional design: a parasol wing monoplane with tailskid undercarriage and seating for two in tandem open cockpits. The type proved extremely popular, and the production run would eventually extend to over 500 machines, with roughly half of these purchased by the Regia Aeronautica as trainers and liaison aircraft. Construction was of wood throughout, covered by plywood, fabric, and (around the nose) metal. A later development, designated TR.1 featured a metal structure and a shorter span wing.[1]

AS.1s were used successfully in a number of competitions and record-breaking events. In August 1929, they participated in the Challenge 1929 international contest, and in January 1930, an AS.1 piloted by Renato Donati with mechanic Gino Capannini was used to set endurance, distance, and altitude records in its class, respectively 29 h 4 min 14 s, 2,746.2 km (1,706.4 mi) and 6,782 m (22,251 ft). On 28 December 1932, Furio Niclot and Mariano Lanciani used a 127 kW (170 hp) CNA C-7, 9-cylinder radial engined example to set the seaplane altitude record in its class at 7,362 m (24,154 ft).[2] Swapping wheels for pontoons, the same aircraft went on to set the equivalent landplane record two days later at 9,282 m (30,453 ft).[3] Long-distance feats included flights from Rome to Mogadishu and Vercelli to Tokyo (both by Francis Lombardi and Gino Capannini)[4] and an aerial circumnavigation of Africa by Francis Lombardi, Count Lodovico Mazzotti, and Mario Rasini who covered 27,600 km (17,150 mi) in 54 days.[5]

The TR.1 also had competition successes in 1931 in the Giro Aereo del Piedmonte and the Giro Aereo d'Italia.[1]

Variants

  • AS.1 - initial version with Fiat A.50 engine.
    • AS.1 Idro - floatplane version.
    • AS.1 Sci - ski-equipped version.
  • AS.2 - version with strengthened structure and Fiat A.50 S engine.
  • TR.1 - version with metal structure, shorter span wing (9.00 m; 29 ft 6.5 in) and enclosed cabin.[1]

Operators

 Brazil
 Ethiopia
 Spain

Specifications (AS.1)

Fiat TR-1 3-view drawing from NACA Aircraft Circular No.130

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1, pilot
  • Capacity: 1 passenger
  • Length: 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)
  • Wingspan: 10.40 m (34 ft 2 in)
  • Height: 2.53 m (8 ft 4 in)
  • Wing area: 17.5 m2 (188 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 450 kg (990 lb)
  • Gross weight: 690 kg (1,520 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Fiat A.50 , 67 kW (90 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 158 km/h (98 mph, 85 kn)
  • Range: 1,000 km (621 mi, 540 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 6,800 m (22,310 ft)

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Thompson, p.135-6, p.174
  2. ↑ FAI General Aviation World Records database
  3. ↑ The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, 1778
  4. ↑ "Italy–Japan" 1930, 896
  5. ↑ "Round Africa by Light Plane" 1931, 137
  6. ↑ "Abyssinia 1935 - 1936". Nevington War Museum.

References

  • "FAI Records". FAI website. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 383.
  • Thompson, Jonathan (1963). Italian Civil and Military Aircraft 1930-1945. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, Inc.
  • "Italy–Japan". Flight: 896. 8 August 1930. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  • "Round Africa by Light Plane". Flight: 137. 13 February 1931. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  • World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 894 Sheet 18.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fiat AS.1.
  • Fiat in Flight, April 4, 1930
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