Asso Aerei Srl ( en, Ace Aircraft Limited) is an Italian designer of light and

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

founded by Giuseppe (Bepi) Vidor. Vidor (died 23 September 2013 aged 72) was a carpenter who studied engineering at night school, and all his aircraft are wooden designs, most with

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

. The aircraft are

homebuilt Homebuilt machines are machines built outside of specialised workshops or factories. This can include different things such as kit cars or homebuilt computers, but normally it pertains to homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or ...

from plans or from very basic kits. The name Vidor Asso is also used.

Aircraft

;Asso I :Side-by-side 2-seat

taildragger Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

built by Vidor based on the

Piel Super Emeraude The Piel CP-30 Emeraude (French: ''émeraude'' = "emerald") is an aircraft designed in France in the mid-1950s and widely built both by factories and homebuilders. Design and development The Emeraude is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed ...

– one built 1980. It is also known as RD 95, after Vidor's friend and advisor, Robert Denize, who had collaborated with

Claude Piel Claude Piel (15 January 1921 – 19 August 1982) was a notable French aircraft designer. Biography Piel was born in Paris, the son of an aeronautical carpenter. One of the best known French designers of light aircraft, over the years, Piel d ...

. Another, built by Vidor, first flew in 1984. ;Asso II :Four seater, also known as RD 30V, never flown because of the introduction of an Italian luxury tax based on aircraft weight. ;Asso III :Ultralight to avoid the luxury tax, based on the Asso I but much lighter. Many kits sold.

;Asso IV Whisky :2-seat

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

taildragger with fixed or retractable

maingear Maingear (stylized as MAINGEAR) is an American privately held ("boutique") computer manufacturer headquartered in Warren, New Jersey. Producing Maingear builds, designs, and supports custom desktops, gaming computers, customizable laptops, and wo ...

. (Also known as Aerostar?) Asso Aerei V Champion I-7490

; Asso V Champion :2-seat side-by-side, fixed or retractable gear (1995). Built by

Alpi Aviation Alpi Aviation srl ( en, italic=yes, Alps Aviation Limited) is an Italian aircraft manufacturer based in Pordenone. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of light aircraft in the form of kits for Homebuilt aircraft, amateur con ...

with

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...

skin panels as the Pioneer 300. Asso Aerei V Jolly I-A891

;Asso V Jolly :Lower-power version of the V Champion. ;Asso V X-Ray :Side-by-side version of the IX Warrior. ;Asso VI Junior : A simplified III, fixed gear, plus a

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

version with greater

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

. ;Asso VI Evolution :Development of the Junior, with reduced wingspan,

flap Flap may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film * Flap, a boss character in the arcade game ''Gaiapolis'' * Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland'' Biology and he ...

s and sliding

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 ...

. ;Asso VII ;Asso VIII Centauro :

Fiat G.55 The Fiat G.55 ''Centauro'' (Italian: " Centaur") was a single-engine single-seat World War II fighter aircraft used by the '' Regia Aeronautica'' and the ''Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana'' in 1943–1945. It was designed and built in Turin b ...

scale replica based on the IV Whisky. ;Asso IX Warrior :2-seat tandem RG aerobatic tourer. Asso Aerei X Jewel I-B427

; Asso X Jewel :Laminar flow wing tandem 2-seater development of the V Champion. Developed into the all-composite

Millennium Master The Millennium Master is a low wing, single engine, tandem two-seat ultralight aircraft, constructed chiefly of carbon fibre. Designed and built in Italy, it flew for the first time in 2006. Design and development The design of the Millennium Mas ...

(2006) which evolved into the

Blackshape Prime The Blackshape Prime is an Italian ultralight aircraft, produced by Blackshape srl, the company founded in Monopoli by Luciano Belviso and Angelo Petrosillo. The aircraft first flew in 2007 and was introduced at the Aero show held in Friedric ...

(2007) and the

Pelegrin Tarragon The Pelegrin Tarragon is a Latvian ultralight aircraft that is produced by Pelegrin Limited of Ādaži, introduced in 2010. The aircraft is supplied complete and ready-to-fly.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviati ...

. ;Asso XI Sprint :Production version of the VI Junior with steel tube

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

(2003). ;Asso XIV Spitfire :

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

scale replica based on the IV Whisky. ;Asso XV Sword :2-seat side-by-side RG tourer.

Uncompleted projects

;Asso XVI :Tandem 2-seater with pusher engine at the rear. ;Asso XVIB :Twin-Wankel engines driving a single propeller. ;Asso XVII :Side-by-side version of the X Jewel. ;Asso XVIIB :Side-by-side version of the X Jewel.

References

External links

Asso Aero of France
{{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation Aircraft manufacturers of Italy Vidor aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Light-sport aircraft 1980s Italian ultralight aircraft 1990s Italian ultralight aircraft 2000s Italian ultralight aircraft