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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0870.PDF
FLIGHT, AUGUST 14, 1931 IL DUCE AS A STARTER: Signor Mussolini dropping his flag and starting Meleri off. CIRCUIT OF ITALY \ROM previous references in FLIGHT to the Circuit"• of Italy, our readers will know that in the general touring aeroplane class, Breda machines securednrst, second, and third places, while in the heavier class, very kindly established by the Italian AeroClub to enable the L>e Havilland " Puss Moths " to com- pete, Captain Hubert Broad secured first place on a" Puss Moth " with Gipsy III engine. Readers of FLIGHT From the table it will be seen that, of the 33 machinesin the general class, five were German, one British, and the rest Italian. In the " Gran Turismo " class all fourmachines were British. The table also discloses the fact that, of the 37 machines taking part, 11 were fitted withBritish engines, five with German, one with American, and the rest with Italian engines. In the results of the technical tests, two Breda 33's will also be aware that the Italian competition was with De Havilland Gipsy III engines are seen to occupy J • • _J _ J "_J__ i _i _ _ T"\__ 1 ' 1 i. . _ 1 * 1 1 XI J_ ~__J -1 _- 1 _ •(! /""* • •-* -ann/air T-i "divided into two parts: Preliminary technical and per- formance tests, and a flight over a circuit covering thewhole of Italy. The Technical Tests The preliminary technical tests took place at the Lit-torio aerodrome at Korne from July 9 to July 15. These tests included a climbing test, a take-off test, and analighting test, in which points were awarded. A system of awards was also used for classifying the machinesaccording to certain practical qualities, comfort, para- first and second place, with a Caproni Ca 100 (Alfa-Romeoengine) third in the general class, while in the heavier class a British and an Italian pilot were first and secondon " Puss Moths " (Gipsy III), with Broad, also on a " Puss Moth," third. The Circuit of Italy Following the technical tests, the competing machineswere required to cover a very criss-cross circuit of Italy, the actual route followed being shown in our small sketchmap. The start took place on the Littorio aerodrome, chutes, etc., while such features as weight, cylinder capa- Rome, on July 17, the order of starting being decided incity and wing loading were taken into account and awards accordance with the points gained in the technical tests, of points made. The subsequent Circuit of Italy was a and the relative starting times being shown in the secondhandicap race in which the handicap allowances werebased upon the number of points obtained by competi-tors in the preliminary tech- nical tests. The accompanying tablesets out the number of points scored in the varioustechnical tests by the differ- ent competitors, and showsthe classification which de- termined the order of start-ing on the Circuit of Italy. The table, it will be ob-served, is divided into two sections, according towhether the weight brought the machine into the normaltouring class or into the heavier class designated bythe Italians " Categoria Gran Turismo." The latter classis that established, largely as a result of the goodoliices of Colonel Bitossi, the Italian Air Attache inLondon, to bring in the " Puss Moths," which couldnot, except by stripping them, be brought within the weight limit imposed in the MINISTERIAL INTEREST: General Balbo, Italy's Airgeneral class. Minister, examining one of the " Breda 33 " machines. 816 column of our table. Thefirst man to get away was Colombo on a Breda 33(Gipsy III), with Meleri, on a similar machine, startingat the same time, they hav- ing scored the same numberof points in the technical tests. The first day's stage wasfrom Rome to Palermo, in Sicily, with six compulsorylandings and six turning points on the way. Thedistance was one of 700 miles, and the first to arrivewas Colombo, who was fol- lowed by Meleri as second.By the time the Palermo control closed at 8 p.m., 21machines had arrived, 17 of the normal class and all thefour " Puss Moths " of the heavier class. Colombo hadcovered the first stage at an average speed of 118 m.p.h.Many competitors fell by the wayside during this firststage, the reasons being varied. Mr. John Carberryhad to retire early owing to a broken pipe.A worse fate befell some
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