The Ambrosini SAI.7 was an Italian racing

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

flown before World War II that entered production as a military trainer (designated simply S.7) after the war. It was of conventional configuration, constructed of wood, with a tail-wheel

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

. Power was provided by an air-cooled, inverted inline engine, the Alfa-Romeo model 115 with 225 horsepower.

Development

The SAI.7 was built to compete in the ''IV Avioraduno del Littorio'' rally, which departed

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

on 15 July 1939. As equipped for the race, the two SAI.7s were fitted with special glazed fairings extending from the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

to the nose of the aircraft, to provide extra streamlining. The aircraft began their proving flights too late, and were disqualified from the competition, but on August 27, one of them set a new world airspeed record for a 100 km closed loop, which it completed at 403.9 km/h (251 mph) powered by a

Hirth HM 508D The Hirth HM 508 was an air-cooled, eight-cylinder, 60° cylinder bank angle inverted-V aircraft engine built in Germany in the 1930s. It had a bore and stroke of 105 mm × 115 mm (4.1 in × 4.5 in) and developed 210 kW (280 h ...

. During the war, the

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...

expressed interest in the aircraft as a trainer for fighter pilots, and a slightly revised version entered limited production in 1943 as the SAI.7T. Only 10 were built, but in 1949, a modernised version powered by an Alfa Romeo engine was produced, 145 of them for the reformed Italian Air Force, including some single-seaters. On 21 December 1951, Leonardo Bonzi set new airspeed records in one over 100 km and 1000 km, at 367.36 km/h (228.27 mph)and 358.63 km/h (222.84 mph), respectively. The final stage in the S.7's development was the ''Supersette'' (Super 7), two standard S.7s, one re-engined with a 380 hp

de Havilland Gipsy Queen The de Havilland Gipsy Queen is a British six-cylinder aero engine of capacity that was developed in 1936 by the de Havilland Engine Company. It was developed from the de Havilland Gipsy Six for military aircraft use. Produced between 1936 a ...

with a unique four-piece cowling that opened like a "flower petal", and the other with an

Alfa Romeo 121 The Alfa Romeo 121 was an eight-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted V engine for aircraft use produced in Italy. It was typically rated at . Variants ;121 R.C.14: ;121 R.C.20: ;121 R.C.22: Applications * Ambrosini S.7 The Ambrosini SAI.7 was an I ...

. Both were modified and refined several times, and in the latter aircraft, Guidantonio Ferrari increased the international airspeed record for this category of aircraft to 419.482 km/h (260.65 mph) at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on December 3, 1952. Despite this, the air force was no longer interested in buying piston-engined trainers, and no further ''Supersettes'' were built. Both are preserved in museums. An S.7 fuselage was also used as the basis for the

Ambrosini Sagittario __NOTOC__ The Ambrosini Sagittario was an Italian aerodynamic research aircraft based on the manufacturer's S.7. New swept wings and tail surfaces of wooden construction were fitted to the S.7 fuselage. The wing leading edge was swept at 45 de ...

, which tested

swept wing A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction. Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigate ...

configurations.

Variants

;SAI.7 :original racing aircraft ;SAI.7T :World War II trainer. ;S.7 :Post-war trainer, touring aircraft. ;Super S.7 Supersette :Two prototypes of an improved, armed trainer.

Operators

; :

- (Wartime) operated 10 SAI Ambrosini 7 delivered from August 1942 until August 1943 ; :

Aeronautica Militare Italiana , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

- (Postwar) operated 145 Ambrosini S.7 until 1960s

Development

Variants

Operators

Specifications (S.7)

See also

References

Further reading