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Bomberguy
— August 25, 2007 — Count Gianni
Caproni, builder of some fine aircraft, chose for some reason to build
a giant flying boat (1921) with no fewer than nine wings and eight
engines.
With this, or an even bigger version, he hoped to fly over 100
passengers across the Atlantic. Amidst all the struts and wings, the
absence of any tail surfaces could easily be overlooked. Reportedly
making a short hop without incident, the official first flight was less
successful. Rising to about 18m above Lake Maggiore, the Ca.60 suddenly
nosed down and dived into the water. Some said that testing had shown
the need for a lot of lead ballast and that this had shifted in flight.
Test pilot Semprini crawled out of the wreck unscathed. Later a
mysterious fire destroyed the remains and ended the Count's
transatlantic dream. |
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