The Fiat AS.1 was a light touring aircraft developed in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in the late 1920s.
Design and development
The AS.1 was a basic and conventional design: a
parasol wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
with
tailskid undercarriage and seating for two in tandem open
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
s. 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
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 ...
'' as
trainers and
liaison aircraft
A liaison aircraft (also called an army cooperation aircraft) is a small, usually unarmed aircraft primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting commanders and messages. The concept developed before World War II and ...
. Construction was of wood throughout, covered by
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
, 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
The Challenge 1929 was the first FAI International Tourist Plane Contest (french: Challenge International de Tourisme), that took place between August 4 and August 16, 1929 in Paris, France. Four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation ...
international contest, and in January 1930, an AS.1 piloted by
Renato Donati
Renatus is a first name of Latin origin which means " born again" (natus = born). In Italian, Portuguese and Spanish it exists in masculine and feminine forms: Renato and Renata. In French they have been translated to René and Renée. Renata is ...
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).
[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
, 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 ...
to
Mogadishu
Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...
and
Vercelli
Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...
to
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
(both by
Francis Lombardi
The Carrozzeria Francis Lombardi was founded in 1947 in Vercelli, Italy, by noted pilot Carlo "Francis" Lombardi. They originally engaged in some aeronautical design, but this soon ended. Their most famous car was the Lombardi Grand Prix, which w ...
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
;
*Brazilian Air Force
"Wings that protect the country"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Hino dos Aviadores
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...
- One aircraft.
;
*Ethiopian Air Force
The Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) () is the air service branch of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. The ETAF is tasked with protecting the national air space, providing support to ground forces, as well as assisting civil operations during natio ...
;
*Spanish Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 10 December
, equipment ...
Specifications (AS.1)
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
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