Mantelli Parma
| Parma | |
|---|---|
| Role | Single seat glider |
| National origin | Italy |
| Manufacturer | Emilio Pastorelle |
| Designer | Adriano Mantelli |
| First flight | 1947 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Mantelli Parma was a simple, light weight, single seat glider built in Italy and first flown in 1947. Only one was constructed.
Development[edit]
The single example of the Parma glider, one of many glider designs from Adriano Mantelli, was built in 1947 in the workshops of Mantelli's Alaparma SpA[1] by Emilio Pastorelli during his spare time.[2] It was intended to be light, simple and cheap to build and easy to transport, whilst flying well in thermals. It had a cantilever high wing mounted on top of its fuselage and constructed in one piece to keep the weight very low. The wing had a single spar, with plywood skin forward around the leading edge forming a torsion-resistant D-box. In plan the wing was rectangular with rounded tips.[2]
The Parma had an smoothly plywood skinned, oval cross-section fuselage, with its cockpit under the wing leading edge and enclosed by a single piece transparency. The fuselage tapered rearwards, where a straight edged, round tipped tailplane mounted on top of the fuselage carried elevators with a cut-out for rudder movement. The fin and rudder were rounded, the latter of broad chord and reaching down to the keel. The glider landed on a sprung skid reaching from the nose almost to the wing trailing edge, assisted by a small tail bumper.[2]
Mantelli flew his glider on its first flight in 1947, aerotowed by the AM-9, a two-seat motor-glider[1] and another of his designs.[2] The Parma proved to be a useful trainer and could use weak thermals; it could also, despite its single piece wing, be transported behind a bicycle. To remove the wing for transport required the removal of just three bolts.[2]
Specifications[edit]
Data from Pedrielli (2011) p.217[2]
General characteristics
- Capacity: One
- Length: 4.80 m (15 ft 9 in)
- Wingspan: 11.30 m (37 ft 1 in)
- Wing area: 11 m2 (120 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 11
- Empty weight: 65 kg (143 lb)
- Gross weight: 145 kg (320 lb)
Performance
- Maximum glide ratio: estimated 20:1
- Rate of sink: 0.80 m/s (157 ft/min) minimum[3]
- Wing loading: 15 kg/m2 (3.1 lb/sq ft)
References[edit]
- ^ a b Simpson, Rod (2005). The General Aviation Handbook. Hinkley, UK: Midland (Ian Allan Publishing). p. 26. ISBN 978-1-85780-222-1.
- ^ a b c d e f Pedrielli, Vincenzo; Camastra, Francesco (2011). Italian Vintage Sailplanes. Königswinter: EQIP Werbung & Verlag GmbH. pp. 216–7. ISBN 978-3-9808838-9-4.
- ^ "Notes on the Situation of Gliding in Italy". The Sailplane. 18 (5): 107–8. May 1950.
