The Fiat C.29 was an Italian racing seaplane designed by

Celestino Rosatelli Celestino Rosatelli (8 April 1885 – 23 September 1945) was an Italian aeronautics engineer. Celestino Rosatelli was born in Belmonte in Sabina, close to Rieti Rieti (; , Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a ...

and built in the late-1920s by

Fiat Aviazione Fiat Aviazione was an Italian aircraft manufacturer, at one time part of the Fiat S.p.A., Fiat group, focused mainly on military aviation. After World War I, Fiat consolidated several Italian small aircraft manufacturers, like Fabbrica Aeroplani I ...

especially for the 1929

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded first annually, and later biennially, to the winner of a race for seaplanes and ...

air race. Unused in the race, of the three aircraft built, two were destroyed in flying accidents while the third is on display in a museum.

Design and development

First flown by

Francesco Agello Francesco Agello (27 December 1902 – 24 November 1942) was an Italian test pilot. Biography and flight achievements Born at Casalpusterlengo, Lombardy, Italy, Agello graduated from pilot school in 1924 and soon became a test pilot. He was ...

Desenzano del Garda Desenzano del Garda () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy, on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda. It borders the communes of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Lonato, Padenghe sul Garda, and Sirmione. History T ...

in early June 1929, this twin-float

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 ...

racer was noted to be laterally unstable. Unusually, the wing structure featured a wooden spar but was skinned with

aluminium alloy An aluminium alloy ( UK/IUPAC) or aluminum alloy ( NA; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There ...

sheeting. The aircraft used the Fiat AS.5 V-12 engine, specifically designed for this aircraft to minimise frontal area. On 12 June 1929, Agello hit the wash of a boat on landing which caused the first prototype, works number ''129,'' to bounce in the air, stall and dive vertically into the water. Agello was rescued unharmed after being thrown out of the

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 ...

. The second prototype, ''130,'' was quickly completed, this aircraft having larger tail surfaces to correct the stability problems. On 12 August 1929, whilst demonstrating the aircraft to a British aviation magazine representative, the second prototype was written off after sinking back onto the water on its third attempt at a takeoff, again Agello was relatively unscathed but the aircraft was destroyed, the engine sinking 300 ft (90 m) to the bottom of

Lake Garda Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...

and was never recovered.

Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Italian Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian ...

ordered a third aircraft to be built, ''130bis,'' and sent directly to England without being test-flown for the approaching Schneider Trophy competition. The C.29 did appear at

RAF Calshot Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hamps ...

but did not fly during the competition, the Italian team placing second, fourth and sixth using Macchi M.52 and M.67 racers.

Aircraft on display

The third and sole remaining C.29 is on display at the

Italian Air Force Museum The Italian Air Force Museum is an aircraft museum at Vigna di Valle, on Lake Bracciano (Lazio), in central Italy. It is operated by the . The museum's collection has an emphasis on Italian machines and seaplanes. While maintaining the technical ...

.Fiat C.29, Italian Air Force Museum (Italian language)
www.aeronautica.difesa.it. Retrieved: 30 October 2009.

Operators

; *

Regia Aeronautica The Royal Italian Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') (RAI) was the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Regio Esercito, Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was ...

Specifications (C.29)

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Eves, Edward ''The Schneider Trophy Story''. Shrewsbury. Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2001. . {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation C.029 1920s Italian sport aircraft Floatplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929 Schneider Trophy Single-engined piston aircraft