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Z.506 AironeMulti-Purpose SeaplaneCANTThe history of the Z.506 began when CANT ("Cantieri navali Trieste" - "Shipyards in Trieste"), the aviation department of CRdA (Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico - "United Shipyards of the Adriatic") moved from building flying boats to float devices ... In 1935, the "postman" Z.505 appeared with three in-line engines "Isotta Fraschini" "Asso" XI RC.15. The letter Z in the designation of the aircraft indicates the authorship of Philippe Zappata, the chief engineer of CANT, who transferred from the French company Bleriot at the invitation of the fascist minister I. Bapbo. "Five hundred and fifth" was overtaken in construction by the "twin brother", the prototype of the passenger CANT Z.506. At the "Shipyards in Trieste" several pre-production "five hundred and sixths" were laid down at once - an urgent order of the state airline "Ala Littoria" was fulfilled. A prototype with FIAT A.59RC air-cooled engines took to the skies in August 1935, piloted by the famous test pilot M. Stoppani. Comparative tests of both prototypes with different types of power plants quickly showed that the "505th" develops 368 km / h at an altitude of 2900 m, against 356 km / h at an altitude of 3480 m, issued by the "506". Another advantage of the CANT Z.505A was its large payload, due, again, to a significant superiority in the power of its engines. Indeed, on tests, the "505" took off with a flight weight of up to 12.820 kg, while the "506" was able to lift off the water, having a mass of only 10.500 kg. But this was seen as a temporary advantage, since the power of its power plant exceeded that of a competitor by more than 25%. A much more significant role in choosing the type of power plant was played by "emergency" statistics. Six failures on serial liquid-cooled engines with one fire versus one emergency for air-cooled motors quickly persuaded the developers to install the latter on serial machines, showing that air-cooled "stars" are easier and cheaper to operate, and also noticeably lighter in weight. It should also be remembered that the aircraft was intended for operation over the sea, where the requirements for the reliability of the power plant were significantly higher, since even a successful forced landing did not guarantee a safe completion of the flight for passengers, crew and cargo. As a result, CANT Z.505A remained in the singular. Although in Europe most of the multi-engine aircraft at this time were already built from duralumin, aircraft designers proposed to build the future aircraft from wood. There were two reasons: firstly, the Italian metallurgical industry could not provide aircraft factories with the required amount of duralumin rolled products, and secondly, the company's technologists had very extensive experience in developing protective compositions that significantly reduced the aggressive effect of salty sea water on wooden products. The company was also very successful in the production of special plywood, which was used for the manufacture of boats and small-tonnage vessels for the navy, and also enjoyed a steady demand in the foreign market. Structurally, the machine was a two-float three-engine cantilever monoplane of an all-wood construction with a low wing. The exterior cladding, made of high quality tulip plywood, resulted in an excellent exterior finish. The trapezoidal wing of a three-spar design with elliptical tips is also made entirely of wood with plywood sheathing, some of the ribs had solid walls and divided the wing into a number of watertight compartments. On the trailing edge of the wing there are controllable surfaces: two-section flaps and ailerons, also of an all-wood construction, covered with canvas. Inner flap sections are trimmed, statically and dynamically balanced. In the places where the wing is attached to the fuselage, there are fairly developed fairings. The fuselage is an elliptical monocoque, it is based on one main spar, according to tradition (the aircraft was still built at the former shipyards) called the keel, and four auxiliary ones. The fuselage has three main bulkheads at the spar attachment points. In the front part of the fuselage, immediately behind the engine compartment, there is a pilot's cabin with dual control, behind it is the cabin of the radio operator and flight mechanic, then the cabin for passengers, premises for mail and luggage, and a toilet. The common floor of the cockpit and passengers is also traditionally called the deck. Under the floor of the cockpit there is mooring equipment, which includes a winch and an anchor. The crew and passengers board the aircraft through an oval door located on the left side behind the wing, from a float on a ladder. The sides of the fuselage have seven rectangular windows on each side. The horizontal tail is attached to the keel and is equipped with struts and counter-braces and is similar in design to the wing. On the first prototype, the rudder had significant horn compensation, which was quickly abandoned after rebalancing. Vertical and horizontal rudders - wooden, covered with canvas and equipped with trimmers, statically and dynamically balanced. All-metal single-ribbed floats are made of duralumin and are attached with N-shaped struts to the wing, and a pair of parallel struts with braces - from the inside to the fuselage. Each float is divided into two isolated compartments, the aircraft retains the possibility of a normal landing if one compartment is flooded in each float. Eight duralumin tanks with a total capacity of 5200 liters are placed in the center section in pairs between the side members and are closed from above with reinforced duralumin panels, on which you can walk without fear of damaging the casing or breaking the tightness of the tank. In the leading edge - tanks for oil, their front surfaces served as radiators. At the design stage, three nine-cylinder radial air-cooled Piaggio Stella XIRC engines with a rated power of 610 hp were considered as a power plant. and Alfa Romeo variable pitch propellers. However, it soon became clear that their capabilities for such a large car were clearly not enough, and for the first prototype they chose nine-cylinder radial engines "Fiat A59RC" with a capacity of 700 hp, which were licensed "Hornets" of the American company "Pratt & Whitney". which rotated three-blade variable pitch propellers "Hamilton-Standard". Later, the Z.506A was equipped with the 126-series Alfa-Romeo engines. The engines were attached to a steel tube-welded engine mount, which in turn was attached to a wooden wing or fuselage structure at four points.
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