Caproni Vizzola Calif
Encyclopedia
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The Caproni Vizzola Calif was a family of sailplane
s produced in Italy
in the 1970s and 1980s. Of typical sailplane configuration with T-tail
s, they featured distinctive wings with centre sections of constant chord
and trapezoidal outer panels. The forward fuselage
was constructed of fibreglass
over an alloy frame, while the rear fuselage, wings, and empennage
were metal-covered.
The most significant member of the family, and the only one produced in quantity (around 150 by the early 1980s) was the A-21S, a two-seat version that accommodated the pilot and passenger side-by-side. At one time this aircraft concurrently held four world records for two-seat sailplanes, including:
The Caproni Vizzola Calif was a family of sailplane
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
s produced in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in the 1970s and 1980s. Of typical sailplane configuration with T-tail
T-tail
thumb|right|Grob motor gliderA T-tail is an aircraft tail stabilizer configuration in which the horizontal surfaces are mounted to the top of the vertical stabilizer. Traditionally, the horizontal control surfaces are mounted to the fuselage at the base of the vertical stabilizer...
s, they featured distinctive wings with centre sections of constant chord
Chord (aircraft)
In aeronautics, chord refers to the imaginary straight line joining the trailing edge and the center of curvature of the leading edge of the cross-section of an airfoil...
and trapezoidal outer panels. The forward fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
was constructed of fibreglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
over an alloy frame, while the rear fuselage, wings, and empennage
Empennage
The empennage , also known as the tail or tail assembly, of most aircraft gives stability to the aircraft, in a similar way to the feathers on an arrow...
were metal-covered.
The most significant member of the family, and the only one produced in quantity (around 150 by the early 1980s) was the A-21S, a two-seat version that accommodated the pilot and passenger side-by-side. At one time this aircraft concurrently held four world records for two-seat sailplanes, including:
- the women's closed-circuit speed record set by Adele Orsi and Franca Bellengeri in August 1974
- straight distance of 970.4 km by Ingo RennerIngo RennerIngo Renner OAM is an Australian glider pilot who has won the World Gliding Championships four times.He started gliding in 1954 at the LSV Hude of which he is now an honorary member. In 1967 he moved to Australia and was granted Australian citizenship in 1971...
and Hilmer Geissler in Australia in 1975
Variants
- A-10 (1 built)
- A-12 (2 built)
- A-14 (1 built)
- A-15 (1 built)
- A-20
- A-21S - two-seat version of A-20
- A-21 - two-seat development of A-14
- A-21S - refined production version of A-21
- A-21SJ - jet-powered version of A-21