- Ambrosini S.7
__NOTOC__ Infobox Aircraft
name=S.7
caption=
type=Racing aircraft
manufacturer=Ambrosini
designer=Sergio Stefanutti
first flight=July 1939
introduced=
retired=
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variants with their own articles=The Ambrosini SAI.7 was an Italian racing
aircraft flown beforeWorld War II that entered production as a military trainer (designated simply S.7) after the war. It was of conventional configuration, constructed of wood, with a tail wheelundercarriage . Power was provided by an air-cooled invertedinline engine , the Alfa-Romeo model 115 with 225 horsepower.Development
The SAI.7 was built to compete in the "IV
Avioraduno del Littorio " rally, which departedRimini on 15 July 1939. As equipped for the race, the two SAI.7s were fitted with special glazed fairings extending from the canopy to the nose of the aircraft, to provide extra streamlining. The aircraft began their proving flights too late, and were disqualified from the competition, but on August 27, one of them set a new world airspeed record for a 100 km closed loop, which it completed at 403.9 km/h (252 mph) powered by aHirth HM 508 D.During the war, the
Regia Aeronautica expressed interest in the aircraft as a trainer for fighter pilots, and a slightly revised version entered limited production in 1943 as the SAI.7T. Only 10 of these were built, but in 1949, a modernised version powered by an Alfa Romeo engine was produced. 145 of these were built for the re-formed Italian Air Force, including some single-seat examples. in one of them, Leonardo Bonzi set new airspeed records on 100 km and 1000 km to 367,36 km/h and 358,63 km/h respectively on 21 December, 1951.The final stage in the S.7's development was the "Supersette" (Super 7), which were two standard S.7s, one re-engined with a
de Havilland Gipsy Queen , the other with anAlfa Romeo 121 . Both were modified and refined several times, and in the latter aircraft, Guidantonio Ferrari increased the international airspeed record for this category of aircraft to 419,482 km/h atRome on December 3, 1952. Despite this, the air force was no longer interested in buying piston-engined trainers, and no further Supersettes were built. Both are preserved in museums.Variants
* SAI.7 - original racing aircraft
* SAI.7T - World War II trainer.
* S.7 - Post-war trainer, touring aircraft.
* Super S.7 Supersette - Two prototypes of an improved, armed trainer.Operators
*
**Regia Aeronautica - (Wartime)
*
**Aeronautica Militare Italiana - (Postwar)pecifications (S.7)
aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= prop
ref=
crew= two, pilot and instructor
capacity=
length main= 8.17 m
length alt= 17 ft 10 in
span main= 8.79 m
span alt= 28 ft 10 in
height main= 2.8 m
height alt= 9 ft 2 in
area main= 12.8 m²
area alt= 138 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 1,105 kg
empty weight alt= 2,436 lb
loaded weight main= 1,317 kg
loaded weight alt= 2,903 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
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engine (prop)=Alfa Romeo 115 -ter
type of prop=
number of props=1
power main= 168 kW
power alt= 225 hp
power original=
max speed main= 358 km/h
max speed alt= 193 knots, 223 mph
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
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range main= 1,000 km
range alt= 540 nm, 620 miles
ceiling main= 5,250 m
ceiling alt= 17,220 ft
climb rate main=
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avionics=References
* "Flight", 24 August 1951, pp. 224-227
* "The Aeroplane", August 8, 1952, pp. 188-191
*
* [http://avia.russian.ee/air/italy/ambrosini_s-7.php Virtual Aircraft Museum]ee also
aircontent
related=
Ambrosini Sagittario -Aerfer Sagittario 2 -Aerfer Leone similar aircraft=
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