Caproni Bergamaschi PL.3

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Caproni Bergamaschi PL.3 - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

PL.3

Role	Long distance racer Type of aircraft
National origin	Italy
Manufacturer	Caproni Bergamaschi
Designer	Cesare Pallavicino
Number built	1

The Caproni Bergamaschi PL.3 was designed and built in Italy to compete in the 1934 London-to-Melbourne air race. It was a single-engine cantilever monoplane with clean lines, retractable undercarriage and side-by-side seating for two.^[1] Though it was registered as a race entrant, late delays prevented it from competing.

Design and development

The PL.3 had a low wing built entirely of wood, covered with plywood, tapering uniformly both in chord and thickness from wide, deep roots to rounded tips. The tail was conventional, the tailplane set at mid-fuselage with straight swept leading edges and carrying elevators with trim tabs. The fin was triangular, with a rounded rudder ending above the fuselage.^[2]

In contrast the fuselage of the PL.3 was mostly of metal construction. From propeller to aft of the wing root the fuselage was a tube of constant diameter, set by the wide chord NACA cowling around its 525 kW (700 hp) licence-built Pratt & Whitney Hornet radial engine, which then tapered to the tail. The underlying structure from nose to tail was a rectangular chrome molybdenum steel frame, aluminium covered in front and plywood behind. The low profile cockpit placed the crew at the wing trailing edge. The PL.3 had a conventional undercarriage with mainwheels retracting rearwards into the wing, leaving a small part exposed.^[2]

Operational history

The PL.3 was one of many types entered into the London-Melbourne race of 1934 for the MacRobertson Trophy and £10,000 prize. The race was scheduled to start on 20 October 1934 The PL.3 was entered in May 1934.^[3] By early September it had a race number, 61, and the crew had been elected; though it had not flown it was still an expected competitor. The crew were known: both Francis Lombardi and Vittori Suster were experienced flyers with careers beginning in the First World War. Lombardi had made many competitive long-distance flights and Suster had spent the last seven years as an airline pilot, latterly as chief pilot.^[2]

The exact reasons for its non-participation are not known, but the PL.3 was one of many registered competitors which cancelled early or failed to appear at RAF Mildenhall, the starting point, in the week before the start.

Specifications

Data from Italian Civil and Military Aircraft 1930-1945^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: two
Length: 9.04 m (29 ft 8 in)
Wingspan: 11.89 m (39 ft 0 in)
Height: 2.77 m (9 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 24.0 m² (258 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,696 kg (3,740 lb)
Gross weight: 3,493 kg (7,700 lb)
Fuel capacity: 2,080 L (550 US gal; 460 Imp gal)
Powerplant: 1 × Fiat A.59 9-cylinder radial, licence built Pratt & Whitney Hornet, 520 kW (700 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed variable pitch

Performance

Maximum speed: 360 km/h (224 mph, 195 kn) at 3,660 m (11,152 ft)
Range: 3,098 km (1,925 mi, 1,673 nmi)
Time to altitude: 17 min 30 s to 4,300 m (13,120 ft)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caproni Bergamaschi PL.3.

^ ^a ^b Thompson, Jonathan (1963). Italian Civil and Military Aircraft 1930-1945. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, Inc. p. 99.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Who's who in the MacRobertson race". Flight. XXVI (1341): 617–8. 6 September 1934.
^ "MacRobertson News". Flight. XXVI (1326): 547. 31 May 1934.

Caproni aircraft

Establishments
Taliedo

Company WW1 HP designations	80 hp 260 hp 300 hp 350 hp 450 hp 600 hp 700 hp 750 hp 750 hp (2) 900 hp 1,200 hp
Numerical designation sequence^2,³	Ca.1 Ca.2 Ca.3 Ca.4 Ca.5 Ca.6 Ca.7 Ca.8 Ca.9 Ca.10 Ca.11 Ca.12 Ca.13 Ca.14 Ca.15 Ca.16 Ca.17 Ca.18 Ca.19 Ca.20 Ca.21 Ca.22 Ca.23 Ca.24 Ca.25 Ca.26 Ca.27 Ca.28 Ca.29 Ca.30 Ca.31 Ca.32 Ca.33 Ca.34 Ca.35 Ca.36 Ca.37 Ca.38 Ca.39 Ca.40 Ca.41 Ca.42 Ca.43 Ca.44 Ca.45 Ca.46 Ca.47 Ca.48 Ca.49 Ca.50 Ca.51 Ca.52 Ca.53 Ca.54 Ca.55 Ca.56a Ca.57 Ca.58 Ca.59 Ca.60 Ca.61 Ca.62 Ca.63 Ca.64 Ca.65 Ca.66 Ca.67 Ca.68 Ca.69 Ca.70 Ca.71 Ca.72 Ca.73 Ca.74 Ca.75 Ca.76 Ca.77 Ca.78 Ca.79 Ca.80 Ca.81 Ca.82 Ca.83 Ca.84 Ca.85 Ca.86 Ca.87 Ca.88 Ca.89 Ca.90 Ca.91 Ca.92 Ca.93 Ca.94 Ca.95 Ca.96 Ca.97 Ca.98 Ca.99 Ca.100 Ca.101 Ca.102 Ca.103 Ca.104 Ca.105 Ca.106 Ca.107 Ca.108 Ca.109 Ca.110 Ca.111 Ca.112 Ca.113 Ca.114 Ca.115 Ca.116 Ca.117 Ca.118 Ca.119 Ca.120 Ca.121 Ca.122 Ca.123 Ca.124 Ca.125 Ca.126 Ca.127 Ca.128 Ca.129 Ca.130 Ca.131 Ca.132 Ca.133 Ca.134 Ca.135 Ca.136 Ca.137 Ca.138-139¹ Ca.140 Ca.141 Ca.142 Ca.143 Ca.144-145¹ Ca.146 Ca.147¹ Ca.148 Ca.149¹ Ca.150 Ca.151 Ca.152¹ Ca.153 Ca.154 Ca.155 Ca.156 Ca.157-159¹ Ca.160 Ca.161 Ca.162 Ca.163 Ca.164 Ca.165 Ca.166 Ca.167 Ca.168¹ Ca.169 Ca.170-172¹ Ca.173 Ca.174¹ Ca.175 Ca.176 Ca.177 Ca.178¹ Ca.179 Ca.180-182¹ Ca.183 Ca.184 Ca.185¹ Ca.186 Ca.187-189¹ Ca.190 Ca.191 Ca.192¹ Ca.193 Ca.194 Ca.195 Ca.196 Ca.197 198-199¹ Ca.200¹ Ca.201 Ca.202-203¹ Ca.204 Ca.205 Ca.206¹ Ca.207 Ca.208-210¹ Ca.211 Ca.212-213¹ Ca.214 Ca.215¹ Ca.216 Ca.217-224¹ Ca.225
Names	Cinquemotore Transaereo Noviplano Capronissimo
WW1 Military designations	Ca.1 Ca.2 Ca.3 Ca.4 Ca.5