The Vulcanair SF.600 ''Canguro'' ( en: "Kangaroo") was a

feederliner A regional airliner or a feederliner is a small airliner that is designed to fly up to 100 passengers on short-haul flights, usually feeding larger carriers' airline hubs from small markets. This class of airliners is typically flown by the reg ...

developed in Italy in the late 1970s. Despite a number of attempts to put the aircraft into series production, only a small number were ever built. The Canguro was a high-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 of conventional configuration with a fuselage of rectangular cross-section and a high-set tail. The tricycle undercarriage was not retractable, and its main units were carried on

sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercraft On watercraft, a spon ...

s on the fuselage sides.

SIAI Marchetti SIAI-Marchetti was an Italian aircraft manufacturer primarily active during the interwar period. History The original company was founded during 1915 as SIAI (''Società Idrovolanti Alta Italia'' - Seaplane Company of Upper Italy). As suggested ...

provided funding towards the construction of the prototype, and constructed this aircraft at the former

Aviamilano __NOTOC__ Aviamilano Costruzione Aeronautiche was an Italian aircraft manufacturer established in Milan in the early 1950s. It was the original manufacturer of Stelio Frati's Falco light aircraft, although when production did not run as smoothly ...

plant. After flight testing proved positive, the type was put on sale, but failed to attract buyers in any number, even when the original

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 were exchanged for

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

s and retractable undercarriage was offered as an option. Following their acquisition of SIAI Marchetti,

Agusta Agusta was an Italian helicopter manufacturer. It was based in Samarate, Northern Italy. The company was founded by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923, who flew his first airplane in 1907. The MV Agusta motorcycle manufacturer began as an offshoot o ...

continued to offer the design, and a contract for joint production was signed with Sammi in South Korea in 1992, but nothing came of this. A similar venture to produce the aircraft in conjunction with PADC in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

proved similarly fruitless. PADC acquired two aircraft, RP-C1298 and RP-3101. In 1997,

Vulcanair Vulcanair is an Italian aircraft manufacturer based in Casoria, near Naples. History Partenavia was established in 1957 by Prof. Luigi Pascale and produced a quite large family of single-engined sport aircraft which eventually culminated with ...

purchased the design from

Finmeccanica Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian Multinational corporation, multinational company specialising in Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, arms industry, defence and Information security, securi ...

(Agusta's parent company), but although a small number of examples were produced, no series production was undertaken. Vulcanair next proceeded to use the Canguro's fuselage to develop the single-engine

Vulcanair Mission The Vulcanair VF600W Mission is an Italian single-engined utility transport, under development by Vulcanair of Casoria. Design and development The Mission is based on the twin-engined Vulcanair Canguro but powered by a single Walter M601F-11 ...

Variants

;SF600 :1982-variant with two

Allison 250-B17C The Allison Model 250, now known as the Rolls-Royce M250, (US military designations T63 and T703) is a highly successful turboshaft engine family, originally developed by the Allison Engine Company in the early 1960s. The Model 250 has been pro ...

turboprop engines. ;SF600A :1989-variant with increased mean take-off weight, two Allison 250-B17F/1 turboprop engines, modification to the wing aerodynamics and modifications to the landing gear support structure.

Specifications (SF.600TP)

References

* * * * * {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation 1970s Italian airliners SIAI Marchetti aircraft General Avia aircraft Canguro Agusta aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1978 High-wing aircraft Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft