CVT4 Strale
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The CVT4 Strale () was a one-off, experimental, high performance glider designed and built in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. Completed in 1961, it was a refined version of the earlier CVT2 Veltro.


Design and development

The Strale was a refinement of the pioneering CVT2 Veltro of 1954. The Veltro went from design commencement to completion in eight months; the Strale, started in 1955, was not finished until July 1961, even though the two aircraft had much in common. The main differences between the Veltro and the Strale were in the wing, even though these had a similar straight tapered plan and used the same
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NACA airfoil The NACA airfoil series is a set of standardized airfoil shapes developed by this agency, which became widely used in the design of aircraft wings. Origins NACA initially developed the numbered airfoil system which was further refined by the Un ...
sections. The Starle's wing was constructed, like that of the Veltro, around a forward main box spar and a lighter secondary spar aft but was in two rather than three parts. The outer span washout and the tip bodies were discarded. The span was increased by , which raised the
aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...
from 18 to 19.3. Each
aileron 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 aroun ...
of the Strale was shortened by and
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 ...
covered, and the combined flaps/ airbrakes of the Veltro were discarded, replaced by
spoiler Spoiler or Spoilers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Spoiler (media), something that reveals significant plot elements * The Spoiler, DC Comics superheroine Stephanie Brown Film and television * ''Spoiler'' (film), 1998 American ...
s. These were similar to those used on the CVT M-100S: mounted immediately behind the main spar at about one third span, each set consisted of five plates that rotated about chordwise axes out of the wing, each plate projecting both above and below. The two sets rotated in opposite directions and proved to be very effective. The Strale was a
high wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a r ...
rather than
shoulder wing 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 config ...
design, reducing aerodynamic interference over the upper surface. It had a slightly deeper
cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...
and a single wheeled version of the Veltro's trailing arm, retractable
undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...
, the wheel with its single
shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulics, hydraulic device designed to absorb and Damping ratio, damp shock (mechanics), shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typic ...
now totally within the
fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
after retraction. The slender rear fuselages and low
T-tail A T-tail is an empennage wikt:configuration, configuration in which the tailplane of an aircraft is mounted to the top of the vertical stabilizer, fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs fr ...
s of the two gliders were very similar, though the
dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...
added after flight testing to the Veltro was more smoothly faired into the
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 ...
of the Strale. The double slotted
rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
was increased in area by about 11%, lowering its aspect ratio still further and making the overall fuselage length greater. The Strale made its first flight in July 1961 and after some testing took part in the Italian National Gliding Competition in
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early that August. Like the Veltro, it was seen as an experimental aircraft and only one was built.


Specifications


References

{{Morelli aircraft 1960s Italian sailplanes Aircraft first flown in 1961