Man-Powered Airplane to ID

hesham

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Hi,

I can't ID this glider or a motor glider airplane,who can does ?.

http://www.avia-it.com/act/biblioteca/periodici/PDF%20Riviste/Ala%20d'Italia/L'ALA%20D'ITALIA%201939%2009.pdf
 

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Re: Glider to ID

From what I am able to glean, it appears that it's actually neither a glider nor a motor airplane, but a design for human powered flight, potentially connected to a managing director of SPA (an Ansaldo company) named Mollino in Turin, see http://www.aeroclubtorino.it/en/monographs/60-carlo-mollino-pilota.html. Hopefully someone who actually speaks Italian can shed more light on this story.

Martin
 
VUM (Volo Muscolare Umano or Flight by Human Muscle) is the generic Italian phrase for Man-Powered Flight. The rather unpromising-looking VUM design in this Keystone photo is attributed to a Sig. Bianchi of Milan.

Martin: I'm not sure about the Mollino connection with this design. The man in question was engineer and architect Eugenio Mollino (1873-1953) ... and he was linked with Turin where this competition was taking place.

All mentions of Eugenio Mollino as being a Director of SPA seem to spring from articles about his son -- designer and all-around odd-ball, Carlo Mollino. But I can't find any confirmation of Eugenio being involved with SPA (or Ansaldo). The father was best-known as a hospital designer ... which doesn't completely rule out an extracurricular interest in man-powered flight.
 

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