Fiat AS-1

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.Thompson, p.135-6, p.174

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 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).FAI General Aviation World Records database 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).''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'', 1778 Long-distance feats included flights from Rome to Mogadishu and Vercelli to Tokyo (both by Francis Lombardi and Gino Capannini) 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.

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

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.

Operators

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*Brazilian Air Force - One aircraft.
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* Ethiopian Air Force
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*Spanish Air Force

Specifications (AS.1)

Notes

References

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External links

Fiat
in Flight, April 4, 1930

{{Fiat aircraft

AS.1
1920s Italian sport aircraft
Parasol-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1928