The Manzolini Libellula was a 1950s Italian co-axial twin-rotor helicopter designed by

Ettore Manzolini Ettore is a given name, the Italian version of Hector. People *Ettore Arrigoni degli Oddi (1867–1942), Italian naturalist *Ettore Bassi (born 1970), Italian actor and television presenter *Ettore Bastianini (1922–1967), Italian opera singer *Et ...

. "Libellula" is the Italian word for "Dragonfly".

Design and development

Ettore Manzolini established a company in Rome, Italy to develop a helicopter he had designed. The design was the Manzolini Libellula an unusual co-axial helicopter. The co-axial arrangement eliminating the need for an anti-torque rotor allowed the helicopter to have a twin fin arrangement. The Libellula (Registered I-MANZ) first flew on 7 January 1952. An improved version was the single-seat Libellula II which went on to gain Italian certification on 15 October 1962. A three-seater version (the Libellula III) was built and a four-seat Libellula IV was planned but Manzolini stopped development in the late 1960s.

Variants

;Libellula :Prototype, one built. ;Libellula II :Prototype single-seat version powered by a 75kW (101hp) Walter Minor 4-III engine, one built. ;Libellula III :Prototype two-seat version powered by a 104kW (140hp) Walter M 332 engine, one built but not flown. ;Libellula IV :Proposed four-seat version powered by a 236kW (317shp)

Allison 250-CT18 Allison may refer to: People * Allison (given name) * Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer Companies * Allison Engine Company, American aircraft engine m ...

turboshaft, not built.

Specifications (Libellula II)

References

* Apostolo, Giorgio. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Helicopters. New York: Bonanza Books, 1984. Pg.123 . * *

External links

* https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/5249/manzolini.htm&date=2009-10-25+15:56:04 {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation 1950s Italian helicopters 1950s Italian civil utility aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1952 Single-engined piston helicopters