Bonomi BS.4 Basettino

Last updated
BS.4 Basettino
RolePrimary Primary glider
National origin Italy
ManufacturerAeronautica Bonomi
DesignerCamillo Silva
First flightc.1932

The Bonomi BS.4 Basettino (English: Bearded Tit) was a primary glider designed and built in Italy in the 1930s.

Contents

Design and development

Like most 1930s primary gliders, the Basettino was a simple, high braced wing aircraft with a forward nacelle and an open frame rear fuselage. Its two spar, fabric covered wing had greater span and aspect ratio than most of its class and had a higher performance airfoil. A straight, constant chord centre section occupied most of the span, with straight tapered outer panels which carried the ailerons and had rounded tips. The wings were supported over the nacelle by a single, central N form strut, with an upright forward member and a sloping rear component. The latter defined the aft end of the nacelle and extended above the wing to form a flat, triangular pylon, from which a pair of landing wires ran to both spars on each side. Flying wires from a point on the lower nacelle directly beneath the tip of the pylon ran to the same positions on the wing underside. [1]

The same sloping rear member of the N-strut was used to join the nacelle to the open rear fuselage. Two pairs of V-shaped steel tube struts were attached to it at the wing trailing edge and at its foot; the first was horizontal, the other upward sloping, and their rear meeting points were used to support the fabric covered empennage. These points were also wire braced from the wing underside. The tailplane, fitted between the end of the horizontal V, had straight edges and constant chord, with rectangular elevators. There was a central triangular fin and rectangular rudder, both extending above and below the tailplane; the rudder worked in a cut-out between the elevators. [1]

The Basettino had a hexagonal section, plywood covered nacelle, with curved upper and lower surfaces. A deep, rubber sprung, wooden landing skid on most of its underside formed its undercarriage. The pilot's cockpit, comfortable though open and without a windscreen, was placed below the wing leading edge. [1]

The first flight of the Basettino was probably in 1932, [1] though all known registration are dated September 1931. [2] The numbers built are also uncertain; Pedrielli reports that there is photographic evidence only for one example, though the rebuilt Italian register records four or five. [2] The aircraft was capable of soaring and its performance was good enough for pilots to obtain their C certificate. [1]


Specifications

Data from Pedrielli (2011) p.77 [1]

General characteristics

Performance

Related Research Articles

Schneider Grunau 9

The ESG Grunau 9, later known as the ESG 29 and post-1933 as the DFS 108-10, was one of the first primary gliders, built in Germany from the late 1920s. It was widely sold.

The Addyman Zephyr was a one-off, single-seat sailplane designed and built by Erik Addyman in the UK for his own use in the 1930s.

Bonomi BS.7 Allievo Italia

The Bonomi BS.7 Allievo Italia was a single seat, primary glider designed and built in Italy in the 1920s.

The Bonomi BS.8 Biancone was a single-seat training glider designed and built in Italy in the 1930s. It was developed from the Bonomi BS.7 Allievo Italia primary glider.

The Bonomi BS.11 Milano and BS.12 Roma were primary gliders designed and built in Italy in the 1930s. Only about six were produced.

The Bonomi BS.16 Allievo Bonomi was a single seat primary glider, designed and built in Italy in 1930 and widely used by flying clubs.

Bonomi BS.17 Allievo Cantù

The Bonomi BS.17 Allievo Cantù was a single seat training glider, designed and built in Italy in 1934 and widely used by flying clubs.

The Bonomi BS.24 Biposto Rome was an Italian dual control trainer designed for club use. Six were built in the mid-1930s.

The Tedeschi E.T.186 was a simple, single seat training glider built in Italy and first flown in 1947. Only one was constructed.

The Pagliani Vittoria was a single-seat glider built in Italy during Second World War. Only one was constructed.

The CAT 15 was a single-seat primary glider built in Italy just before the Second World War. Only one was constructed.

The Teichfuss Tenax was an Italian, one-off, single seat glider, designed and built by Luigi Treichfuss in 1926 and influenced by German developments.

The Teichfuss LT.12 Biposto was an Italian tandem seat primary glider designed by Luigi Teichfuss and flown in 1933.

The Teichfuss Grifo was an Italian training glider designed by Luigi Teichfuss and flown in 1934. It was built in small numbers.

The Teichfuss Balilla was an Italian single seat primary glider, designed by Luigi Teichfuss and flown in 1939.

The Teichfuss Allievo Pavullo was an Italian single seat open frame primary glider, designed by Luigi Teichfuss of Pavullo and first flown in 1940. It was sold in two versions, strut and cable braced. A single two seat variant was also built.

The RRG Professor was a very early soaring glider and the first to use a variometer for finding thermals. It was designed by Alexander Lippisch in Germany, first flying in 1928. The Professor was widely built by both flying clubs and factories.

Schleicher Poppenhausen

The Schleicher Poppenhausen named after the town of Poppenhausen was a two-seat glider, available as a dual control advanced trainer, produced in Germany from 1928.

The MSrE M-20 was an Hungarian primary glider with a better performance than the first generation of such aircraft. One of its designers was Ernő Rubik and the MSrE M-20 was his first major contribution. Only one was built.

Rubik R-07 Vöcsök

The Rubik R-07a Tücsök {Cicada) and R-07b Vöcsök (Grebe) were two versions of a Hungarian primary trainer, differing most obviously in the pilot's seating. First flown in the late 1930s, about 530 were built, some remaining in service into the 1960s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pedrielli, Vincenzo; Camastra, Francesco (2011). Italian Vintage Sailplanes. Königswinter: EQIP Werbung & Verlag GmbH. pp. 76–7. ISBN   9783980883894.
  2. 1 2 Air Britain: pre-war Italian register (Malcolm Fillmore)


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.