The Adaro 1.E.7 Chirta was a Spanish military trainer aircraft built shortly before the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

Design and development

Designed in 1934 in response to a

Spanish Air Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Al ...

requirement as part of its modernisation programme, the Chirta was a conventional

sesquiplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

, constructed of wood and metal and seating the student and instructor in tandem open cockpits. Slightly tapered wings had

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

only on the upper wings; unusually, these covered the full span. Fuel was carried in an upper wing tank. There was a cut-out in the trailing edge of the upper wing for better upward visibility from the rear seat; the front seat was under the wing. A triangular

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

carried a slightly rounded, unbalanced rudder. The tailskid undercarriage had faired wheels on V-form main legs. The Chirta was intended to undertake fighter training and to be fully aerobatic. Though the exact date of the first flight of the Chirta is not known, by early July 1935 it was flying and sufficiently developed to have taken part in competitive trials for the trainer contract. It was evaluated against the Gil-Pazó GP-1 and Hispano E-34 but was ranked third, so no production contract was awarded. No further examples were built, though the prototype survived undamaged until at least November 1936, when Francoist forces captured

Cuatro Vientos Cuatro Vientos is an administrative neighborhood () of Madrid belonging to the district of Latina. Geography Cuatro Vientos is situated in the south-western area of central Madrid, close to the motorways A5 and M40 and to the homonymous airpor ...

, where the trials had taken place.

Specifications

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , title= Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War, last=Howson, first=Gerald, year=1990, publisher=Putnam Aeronautical Books, location=London , isbn=0-85177-842-9, page=35 {{cite journal , date=23 May 1935, title=L'avions-école de Adaro "1.E-7", journal=Les Ailes , issue=727, pages=3, url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6553882b/f3 {{cite journal , date=18 July 1935, title=Un concours d'avion-école , journal=Les Ailes , issue=735, pages=9, url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6553890w/f9 1930s Spanish military trainer aircraft Sesquiplanes