The Aviamilano F.14 Nibbio (, as in the bird) is a four-seat, single engine cabin

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

built in Italy in the late 1950s. Only ten production

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

were completed.

Design and development

Stelio Frati Stelio Frati (born in Milan Italy in 1919, died 14 May 2010) was an Italian mechanical engineer and aeroplane designer. He graduated from the Politecnico di Milano as a mechanical engineer in 1943, participating in the design of the Aeronautica Lom ...

, the Nibbio is a conventionally laid out,

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

low wing monoplane, seating four in two rows. It is a scaled-up version of Frati's successful two seat F.8 Falco. The Nibbio has a wooden structure and is mostly

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

skinned with

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

overall, though the rear control surfaces have only fabric covering. The single spar wing, which is straight tapered and square tipped carries electrically operated split flaps and has 5° of dihedral. The fuselage is a two-part

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

structure, bolted together. The rear surfaces are tapered and straight edged; the

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

has a flight adjustable trim tab. Forward, the upper fuselage line merges into that of the cabin glazing over a baggage space behind the rear bench seat. The front seats have dual control. Cabin access is via a starboard side door. The Nibbio is powered by a 180 hp (134 kW) Lycoming O-360 air-cooled four cylinder horizontally opposed engine, fed fuel from one fuselage and two wing tanks. It has an electrically retractable tricycle undercarriage with hydraulic brakes and a steerable nosewheel. The main legs are wing mounted and retract inwards. The Nibbio flew for the first time on 16 January 1958.

Operational history

After the prototype, Aviamilano built ten production Nibbios. By 2010 only two Nibbios remained on the European civil aircraft registers, one in Italy and one in the UK.

Specifications

References

{{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation 1950s Italian sport aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1958