The Fiat G.2 was an Italian three-engine six-passenger

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 ...

transport aircraft designed by

Giuseppe Gabrielli Giuseppe Gabrielli (26 February 1903 – 29 November 1987) was an Italian aeronautics engineer. He is famous as the designer of numerous Italian military aircraft, including the Fiat G.50 Freccia and G.55 World War II fighters. He was born in ...

and built by

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

Development

The G.2 was an important step for the Fiat company as their first low-wing

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

monoplane. The structure was all-metal, with fabric-covered control surfaces. The wide-track

tailwheel undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an 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 dynami ...

was not retractable, and its mainwheels were covered by spats. The tailwheel (not a tailskid) was castering (free-pivoting). The aircraft was powered by three Fiat A.60 inline

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

s, with one mounted on the

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 ...

nose and the other two in wing-mounted

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...

s. Variants were also produced with other engine installations. The enclosed cabin had space for six passengers. The

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

first flew in 1932. Although the G.2 represented a promising design, it failed to sell and operated only a limited service with the ALI airline between Turin and Milan.

Variants

;G.2 :Variant powered by three 101 kW (135 hp) Fiat A.60 inline piston engines. ;G.2/2 :Variant powered by three

Alfa Romeo 110 The Alfa Romeo 110 was an Italian four cylinder air-cooled inverted inline engine for aircraft use, mainly for trainers and light aircraft. The Alfa Romeo 110 was based on the de Havilland Gipsy Major, with approximately 500 units produced. Deriv ...

-1 engines. ;G.2/3 :Variant powered by three 89 kW (120 hp)

de Havilland Gipsy Major The de Havilland Gipsy Major or Gipsy IIIA is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine used in a variety of light aircraft produced in the 1930s, including the famous Tiger Moth biplane. Many Gipsy Major engines still power vintag ...

engines. ;G.2/4 :Variant powered by three

Fiat A.54 The Fiat A.54 was a seven-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine developed in Italy in the 1930s as a powerplant for aircraft. Amongst others, it powered the Ambrosini SAI.1 and SAI.2 racing aircraft. Applications * Ambrosini SAI.1 * Ambrosini SAI ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

Operators

; *

Aerovias Minas Gerais Aerovias S/A Minas Gerais was a Brazilian airline founded in 1944. It went bankrupt in 1949. History Aerovias Minas Gerais was founded on February 7, 1944, and flights started in 1945. The airline was grounded on November 23, 1949, and went ba ...

Varig VARIG (acronym for Viação Aérea RIo-Grandense, ''Rio Grandean Airways'') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline, and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went ...

; *

ALI ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...

Specifications (G.2)

Notes

photo of FIAT G.2 with Brazil's VARIG 1940 airline service

References

* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1796 {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation G.002 1930s Italian airliners Trimotors Low-wing aircraft