Luepp - A Digital Storyteller's Notepad: november 2005

My Little Caproni Trilogy Part III

To complete the series of posts on Caproni, I shall add some information which I think is indicative of the large extent to which the Caproni factory was involved in the development of the jet airplane. We have already seen that the weird looking "Stipa" should be seen in the experimental light of future developments. It now turns out - because I am posting things as I go along, which is great fun even if it will appear to be rather frivolous to most readers - that Caproni would soon be involved in an even more ambitious and avantgarde experiment.

The CC2 during a flight acceptancy test (photo National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo Da Vinci, Milano)

From 1934 onwards, the Caproni factory at Taleido teamed up with engineer Secondo Campini in building and testing the pioneer jet which, though originally conceived by Campini, bore both their names. The first succesful flights of the Campini-Caproni (hybrid) jet aeroplane date from 1940. I gladly refer to a short history on this aeroplane written by Aldo Curti and published on the website of the National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo Da Vinci" in Milano.

The CC2 during a ground test (photo National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo Da Vinci, Milano)

I note that the machine was apparently still a hybrid rather than a jet true an proper, "using a traditional piston engine, combined with a compressor, combustion chambers and exhaust system, the power coming from an afterburner" (quoting, as if I actually understood the implacations of thyese words, Philip Stevens from his webpage on the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle.

One of the two extant prototypes, a CC1 which actually flew apparently, is on display in the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle (photo by Philip Stevens).

This is a beautiful machine if you ask me. But I promise you: I'll bother you with a Macchi Folgore before long because that aeroplane is simply too beautiful!

Caproni's granturismo

The Caproni Ca.36 Bomber

In case you were wondering whether or not the Caproni factory also built "normal" aeroplanes, I present you with an image of a restored bomber from the First World war. Its development started in 1914 with Gianni Caproni's Ca.31 model. By 1918, it had evolved into this model which remained in service until 1929. "The Ca.36 on display was obtained by the USAF Museum in 1987. It was restored at the Museum and is on loan from the Museo Aeronautica Caproni di Taliedo in Italy." (USAF Museum).

Another Ca.3 bomber was stored in a barn in Piedmont by its decorated pilot Casimiro Buttini immediately after the First World War where it remained until 1959. It is now in the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle (photo by Philip Stevens).

Caproni Ca.9

Caproni had already made a big name in the design and production of monoplanes. From 1911 to 1913, the Caproni factory built 16 prototypes and 55 production models. On April 22th, 1912, the Ca.12 took off from the Lido di Venezia with the first paying passenger in Italy (Museo Gianni Caproni).

The Caproni Ca. 100 Idro

The "Ca.100 Idro" would become Caproni's biggest hit. It was succesful enough to earn itself the nickname of "Caproncino" - they have added an affectionate diminuitive to a name which suggested something big resulting in a nickname much like a "little-big-goat". The aeroplane was widely used throughout the 1930s both in civil aviation for leisure, pleasure and "Gran Turismo" so to speak and in military service as a reconnaissance and meteorological survey aircraft, a target-tractor and even a light bomber. The Flight Arm of the Royal Italian Navy ("la Regia Aeronautica") still had 241 of these aircraft in service by as late as 1943. The last civil trainer retired in 1968 (Museo Gianni Caproni).

The Caproni Ca. 193 was designed by Amilcare Porro for Caproni in the late 1940s.

And here's yet another Caproni. The Caproni Ca. 193 was intended as an "air-taxi" - which to me seems to be somewhat of a return to the original function of the monoplanes. It was never taken into production however. A single machine, truly one of a kind, has been flown around by various owners in the 1950s and has long since retired to the Museum (Museo Gianni Caproni).

Shopping Cart. The Caproni Trilogy Part I.

"Lynette Zuccoli in front of her 3:5 scale replica of the Stipa Caproni."

No, it is not my policy to include other people's photo's on the weblog, but I felt I had to borrow these from a site called "Legends in Our Own Lunch Times: The Stipa Caproni". The original aeroplane was designed as a "venturi duct fuselage" experiment by the engineer Luigi Stipa and built in 1932 by the Caproni factory. The 3/5-scale replica was built by Bryce Wolf for Guido and Lynette Zuccoli at Aerotec in Queensland (the scale having been chosen, incidentally, for classification purposes apparently).

"A venturi duct fuselage."

A good collection of photo's of the original, as well as a detailed discussion in Italian, can be found at this website by Giorgio Dorati.

"The original Stipa Caproni in flight."

The Stipa Caproni is often ridiculed for quite obvious reasons- some have called it the most ugly airplane ever designed - but it did apparently serve its experimental purpose of testing the thrust effect a tubular duct would have on a propellor engine. Does is not constitute an interesting precursor, then, to the turboprop?

"The De Havilland Gipsy III Engine."

Spark Flash Event. De Balie & Paradiso, Amsterdam

This should be a slideshow. And you should be able to see text. If the text does not show, you're probably not using Flash Player 8.

Please check the Workstation Weblog for some posts on the Spark Flash Event. This one here is a kind of test post. Yes, I am trying to put things into practice. I'm trying to understand Actionscripting.... I may turn the image above into an xml datadriven slideshow, "Lynda willing", that is.