Friday, July 2, 2010

Italian Giant

The Caproni Ca.90 was a prototype Italian heavy bomber designed and built by Caproni. When it first flew in 1929 it was the largest aircraft in the world.
A six-engined inverted sesquiplane the Caproni Ca.90 was designed as a heavy bomber and first flew in 1929. It had two tandem pairs of 1,000 hp (746 kW) Isotta-Fraschini Asso inline piston engines mounted above the lower wing, each pair drove a four-bladed pusher and a two-bladed tractor propeller. Another pair of engines was mounted above the fuselage.
Only one Ca.90 was built. Although the Dornier Do X flying boat that flew later in 1929 had a larger wingspan and weight it remained the largest landplane until the arrival of the Tupolev ANT-20 in 1934.
General characteristics
  • Length: 26.95 m (88 ft 5 in)
  • Upper wingspan: 34.90 m (114 ft 6 in)
  • Lower wingspan: 46.60 m (152 ft 11 in)
  • Height: 10.80 m (35 ft 5 in)
  • Wing area: 496.60 m2 (5,345.4 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 15,000 kg (33,069 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 30,000 kg (66,139 lb)
  • Powerplant: 6 × 1,000 hp Isotta-Fraschini Asso inline piston engine
Performance
  • Maximum speed: 205 km/h (127 mph; 111 kn)
  • Endurance: 7 hours
  • Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,764 ft)
Armament
  • Guns: defensive machine-guns
  • Bombs: 8000kg
Source: Wiki (EN)

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