| PC.100 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Experimental primary glider |
| National origin | Italy |
| Designer | Flaminio Piana Canova |
| First flight | 21 September 1934 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed into | Piana Canova PC.500 |
The Piana Canova PC.100 was a primary glider designed and built in Italy in the 1930s. It had many of the characteristics of these simple aircraft but differed greatly in using a wing of rhomboidal plan. Only one was built.
The PC.100 was designed as a primary glider and was intended as a Zögling replacement. Apart from its wing it was similar to the Zögling, with a single seat perched in the open on the upper edge of a fuselage beam. As with other primary gliders of the early 1930s, the beam was linked by three struts to the wing centre section and by a pair of single struts out to the wing at mid-chord and at about one third span. However, the PC.100 differed radically from its predecessors in its wing planform, which was rhomboidal. Indeed, the included angles were almost equal and the planform almost square, flying along a diagonal. A square wing of this form would have an aspect ratio of 2:1 and the PC.100's aspect ratio was very close to this. Low aspect ratio wings produce less lift than high aspect ones at the same angle of attack but can operate at higher angles before reaching the stall. The PC.100 stalled above 35°. Its wings were fabric covered. [1]
Despite its unusual wing, control of the PC.100 involved the standard surfaces. Ailerons were mounted on the outboard wing trailing edges and a conventional one piece elevator was mounted on the cropped rear vertex. Aft of the first two beam to central wing struts the fuselage turned upwards, sloping towards the wing just ahead of the elevator hinge where it broadened into a short fin. This was continued above the wing as a triangular fin, carrying a rhomboidal rudder with its under edge sloped to allow upward elevator movement. Landing forces were absorbed by a short, strongly curved, rubber sprung skid, though a conventional undercarriage could be attached to the fuselage beam just aft of the pilot's seat. [1]
On 21 September 1934 the PC.100 flew for the first time, piloted by Ettore Cattaneo, after a winch launch. It is claimed that its flight characteristics were superior to those of the Zögling. [1]
The PC.100 was developed two years later into the PC.500, which used a wing of similar planform but mounted on a more robust fuselage pod with a wheeled undercarriage. [1] He also designed a powered aircraft in 1935 with this planform. [2]
Data from Pedrelli p.197 [1]
General characteristics
The Slingsby Type 26 Kite 2 was a post World War II development of the Slingsby Kite, a single seat medium performance sailplane. It sold in small numbers.
The Addyman STG was a single seat primary glider, amateur designed and built in the United Kingdom in the mid-1930s.
The Cloudcraft Dickson Primary was a single-seat primary glider designed in the United Kingdom in 1930 to be constructed from plans. Many glider clubs in the UK and the British Empire flew them in the 1930s.
The Czerwiński Sparrow, sometimes known as the de Havilland Canada glider, was a single seat glider, designed and built by a group of de Haviiland engineers in Canada in 1942. It was intended to popularise gliding and be suitable for both basic training and thermal soaring.
The Davis-Costin Condor was a conventional all-wood, tandem-seat sailplane built in the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Only one was constructed; it was later rebuilt with a longer fuselage and other detailed alterations as the Condor 2.
The Horikawa H-22B-3 is a simple, open frame, two seat primary trainer glider designed and built in Japan in the 1950s.
The Bonomi BS.2 Balestruccio was an Italian sailplane designed to set records. In 1932 it set a new national endurance record with a flight of over 25 minutes.
The Bonomi BS.7 Allievo Italia was a single seat, primary glider designed and built in Italy in the 1920s.
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.
The Piana Canova PC.500 single-seat glider was a development of the earlier PC.100 primary glider, more robust and capable of aerobatics. Both were designed and built in Italy in the mid-1930s and they shared an unusual thick profile wing of rhomboidal plan. Only one PC.500 was built.
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 CAT 15 was a single-seat primary glider built in Italy just before the Second World War. Only one was constructed.
The Teichfuss LT.12 Biposto was an Italian tandem seat primary glider designed by Luigi Teichfuss and flown in 1933.
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 IFIL-Reghin RG-4 Pionier or CIL Reghin RG-4 Pionier was a Romanian single seat primary glider built in the 1950s. Fifty were produced.
The RRG Falke of 1930 was a secondary training glider designed by Alexander Lippisch in Germany and intended to provide better performance than his earlier RRG Prüfling whilst being easier to fly because of its inherent stability. It was sold as plans for both club and commercial production and was built in Germany and abroad.
The Grüne Post was a secondary trainer glider designed by Alexander Lippisch at the request of a German newspaper, the Grüne Post, who distributed plans. Many were built by amateur groups.
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 Bassou Rubis (Ruby) was a low power, robust French aircraft designed for basic training and touring.
