Piero Magni (
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
, December 22, 1898 – April 17, 1988) was an Italian aeronautical engineer. He was heavily involved with the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its ...
later in his career.
Magni contributed to the development of variable incidence and
canard wings. His work extended beyond design, as he also became an entrepreneur. He founded a company focused on the licensed production of
gliders, and later took on the responsibility of aircraft auditing for the
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 ...
. He designed the Vittoria 1924 sport plane.
[ ]
Magni also succeeded in manufacturing some designs and patented a
cowling
A cowling (or cowl) is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings ...
for
radial engines
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is cal ...
that improved the aircraft's aerodynamics efficiency. This innovative cowling not only enhanced aerodynamic penetration but also provided an effective system for regulating the engine's temperature. This project, known as
Anello Magni, was later further developed by the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its ...
, and become widely known as
NACA cowling
The NACA cowling is a type of aerodynamic Aircraft fairing, fairing used to streamliner, streamline radial engines installed on airplanes. It was developed by Fred Weick of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1927. It was a ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magni, Pietro
1898 births
1988 deaths
Engineers from Genoa
History of aviation
20th-century Italian engineers