The CVV 8 Bonaventura () was a two-seat competition glider designed and built in Italy during the 1950s. Fifteen were produced.

Design and development

The Bonaventura was designed at the Centro Volo a Vela (CVV), or Experimental Soaring Centre, of the Royal Polytechnic of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

by Gildo Preti; though construction was started in 1952, the prototype was not completed until 1957. The first flight took place on 14 December that year. It was named after the fortunate eponymous protagonist of an Italian children's comic strip, Signor Bonaventura. The Bonaventura is an all wood aircraft with a 19 m (62 ft 4 in) span, shoulder mounted wing, built around a single spar. Its airfoil section is from the NACA laminar flow 6-series. Ahead of the spar, the wing is skinned with

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 ...

laid with its grain at 45° to the centre line for strength; this goes around the nose of the wing, forming a torsion resisting D-box. Behind the spar the wing is fabric covered. The plan is essentially double straight tapered, though a short centre section has a

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

normal to 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 ...

centre line, and a

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

slightly more forward sweep than outboard. Long, narrow chord

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 ...

s occupy about half the span; airbrakes are placed immediately inboard of the ailerons at mid-chord. These consist of seven rotating blades on each side which project both above and below the wing when deployed, counter-rotating away on chord-wise axes. The fuselage is a ply shell,

ovoid An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas of mathematics (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.), it is given a more precise definition, which may inc ...

in cross section and built around a series of frames and

stringer Stringer may refer to: Structural elements * Stringer (aircraft), or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened * Stringer (slag), an inclusion, possibly leading to a defect, in cast metal * Stringer (stairs), ...

s. The

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

seats are enclosed ahead of the wing leading edge under a

starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

hinged, continuous

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

. The Bonaventura has no wheeled undercarriage, but took off from a wheeled, drop-off dolly and landed on a simple, rubber sprung skid extending from nose to mid chord, aided by a sprung tail skid. The fuselage becomes slim towards the tail, where the double straight tapered horizontal tail is mounted on top of it, far enough forward that its trailing edge is at the

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 ...

hinge. The

elevators An elevator (American English) or lift (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive tracti ...

are fabric covered and the starboard one carries a

trim tab Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger Flight control surfaces, control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise 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 ...

and rudder are also straight tapered and the tall, fabric covered, unbalanced rudder reaches down to the keel.

Operational history

Two Bonaventura prototypes were built by CVV, followed by a short production run of thirteen from Avionautica Rio. These went to Italian gliding clubs. Three Bonaventuras survive in museum collections, though none were on public display in 2010.

Specifications

References

External links

NACA 65₃618 airfoil
{{CVV aircraft 1950s Italian sailplanes Aircraft first flown in 1957