The CVV-4 Pellicano ( en, Pelican) was a single seat

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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 ...

designed for a competition to select an aircraft for the 1940

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. The

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was preferred to it after the trials in Italy in 1939.

Design and development

The CVV-4 Pellicano was one of two Italian designs competing to become the preferred Olympic glider at the 1940

. 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 2.5 in) span type and designs from

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, the

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and the

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were evaluated for the role at Sezze in Italy in February 1939. The Pellicano was designed by the Centro Studi ed Ezperienze per il Volo a Vela (CVV) of the

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, who had a tradition of glider development. A typical late 1930s glider, it had an all wood frame and was covered with a mixture of plywood and

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...

. The Pellicano was a mid-wing monoplane, with significant dihedral on the centre section forming a

gull wing The gull wing is an aircraft wing configuration, known also as ''Pulaski wings'', with a prominent bend in the wing inner section towards the wing root. Its name is derived from the seabirds which it resembles. Numerous aircraft have incorpora ...

, rather fashionable at the time. In plan the wing was straight tapered, with rounded tips. It was built around a ply covered D-box

leading edge The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...

with fabric covering aft.

Ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

occupied the whole

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 199 ...

of the outer, zero dihedral section and there were mid- chord airbrakes, opening above and below the wings, towards the outer end of the centre section. At the

wing root The wing root is the part of the wing on a fixed-wing aircraft or winged-spaceship that is closest to the fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, o ...

the plywood skin extended to the trailing edge. The choice of

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rather than

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airfoils, the former less cambered and so faster, was a little unusual. The Pellicano had an oval cross-section, ply skinned

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

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 aircraf ...

tapering rearwards. The narrow chord fixed rear surfaces were ply covered with the

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyropla ...

mounted on top of the fuselage and forward of the fin. The control surfaces were fabric covered and the

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

, broad and deep, moved in a gap between the

elevators An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...

. The pilot sat ahead of the leading edge of the wing under a multi-piece

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with a rather upright

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and which merged into the upper fuselage aft. There was no landing wheel, just a skid which ended under the wings and a very small tail skid.

Operational history

The Pellicano took part in the olympic competition held in Sezze Littoria, near

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in February 1939, have only just made its first flight and with little further testing. It was not successful as the

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was chosen for the Olympic event and, though this did not take place, went into post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

production in several European countries. The Pellicano remained a popular aircraft locally though production numbers are uncertain. Another source says that only the single prototype, ''I-ABNJ'', was built and it the only one on the official records.

Specifications

References

{{CVV aircraft 1930s Italian sailplanes Aircraft first flown in 1939