The IMAM Ro.26, sometimes called the Romeo Ro.26, was a single-engine

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

trainer aircraft produced by the Italian aeronautical company

IMAM Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

in the early 1930s. Only one example was built.

Development

At the beginning of 1932, the Italian company ''SA Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridurali'' (

) manufactured the Ro.26 biplane, a basic trainer aircraft based on a design by aeronautical engineer Giovanni Galasso.Airwar. It was powered by a seven- cylinder, Armstrong Siddeley Lynx radial engine, built under licence by Alfa Romeo as the ''Lince''. IMAM intended to market the new aircraft for basic pilot training and use in

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

competitions. The Ro.26′s design also allowed it to serve as a trainer for seaplane pilots by converting into a

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

as the Ro.26I — or Ro.26 ''Idro'' ("Hydro") — with the landing gear replaced by floats. 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 ...

, registered as ''I-ABIL'', flew for the first time in 1932.

Design

The Ro.26 was a biplane trainer aircraft with equal-span wings with a slight upward cant.''Jotti da Badia Polesine'' 1934, p. 91. The wings and tail section were of all-wooden construction and covered with

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

. The fuselage was of all-metal construction, built with autogenously welded

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

tubes. The aircraft had fixed, wide-track rear tricycle landing gear with oil-elastic

shock absorbers A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most sh ...

. A pair of floats could replace the landing gear in order to transform the aircraft into a floatplane. The 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 were arranged in tandem, with the instructor placed in the first cockpit, accessible from a door positioned on the right side of the fuselage. The pilot in the forward cockpit could engage and disengage the flight controls in flight at will. The Alfa Romeo Lynx seven-cylinder, air-cooled engine was rated at and drove a helical wooden two-bladed propeller that was in diameter.

Operational history

At the beginning of 1934 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 ...

'' (Italian Royal Air Force) tested the Ro.26 prototype ''I-ABIL''. Although the aircraft displayed good flight characteristics, the military authorities decided not to buy it. IMAM abandoned plans for series production and built no additional examples.

Variants

;Ro.26: Biplane basic trainer, powered by a Alfa Romeo Lynx 7-cylinder radial engine. ;Ro.26I The floatplane version had a maximum speed of and a stall speed of , and could climb to in 3 minutes 20 seconds, to in 7 minutes, to in 13 minutes, to in 21 minutes 30 seconds, and to in 34 minutes.''Jotti da Badia Polesine 1934, p. 150. "I" stood for ''Idrovolanti'' ("seaplane").

Operators

; *

Specifications (Ro.26)

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Photo: Side view of Ro-26 ''I-ABIL'' at airwar.ruPhoto: Front view of Ro-26 ''I-ABIL'' at airwar.ruPhoto: Side view of Ro.26 ''I-ABIL'' equipped with floats in Ro-26I configuration at airwar.ru
{{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation Ro.26 1930s Italian civil trainer aircraft 1930s Italian military trainer aircraft Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1932