Fratelli Pascale Story: from the 30s onward - Tecnam.com

Fratelli Pascale Story: from the 30s onward
The problem was solved by Gino that called a friend of his, Captain of the Army Aviation Renato Tango in
Bracciano. After the call, Gino left immediately for Bracciano where Tango, who became some years after Director
of the Naples’s RAI, gave us a Piper L21 radiator that was perfect.
The 15 th of April the aircraft was still in the garage of Via Tasso but by then everything was ready. During the last
days we worked also at night, the atmosphere was heated. The plane was completely assembled in the garage, except
the direction rudder; otherwise there was no place for the length. The undercarriages were completely assembled and
the retraction was working. The propeller was missing as it had to be built in wood. The problem was serious. On
such a speedy aircraft it was not possible to suit an existing propeller so it was compulsory to draw it and built it.
The last parts were finished in a few days. The engine covering was realized in aluminum with the help of a good
hammer plate of the 5°RTA, Mr. Cammarota.
On the 26 th of April the P55 Tornado was transferred at the airport‘s Aero Club hangar ready to be assembled. In less
than one week the assembly was completed. Finally we could see the aircraft fully assembled, which had been
impossible in the garage of Via Tasso. The P55 was very beautiful; everybody admired it and congratulated us.
Everybody liked his unique style in his kind.
The assembly completed and the undercarriage retraction tried, we left the hangar for the engine test. Unfortunately
the propellers that we built were not good so we decided to inform Ceschina who in a few days gave us a metal
propeller installed on the engine A54 or the aircraft Caproncino. Obviously the propeller was not usable the way it
was. We had to fully modify the blades, job that we made in the garage of Via Tasso. The diameter had been reduced
of many centimeters and the base and the profile of the blades modified. This job was enormous. We bought some
cutter files and in turn Gino and Salvatore Montuoro completed the blades in two days time. For the propeller boss,
the Cav. Di Maglie of the 5°RTA helped us and managed to adapt it to the Lycoming engine. Another miracle was
done: the propeller went perfectly well during the ground test and the aircraft was ready for the flight.
The 4 th of May the P55 took off the wheels from the ground. Giordano Serena, a good friend of Ceschina, took the
lead. The first flight had the duration of 30 minutes, the results were satisfying. The second flight was planned for the
day after, but for an inexplicable quarrel between Serena and Ceschina, the flights were interrupted. They started
again after a few days and De Bernardi took the lead of the P55, once again, our very good friend and yet test pilot of
our planes. Within a few days he completed all the tests also showing off with fantastic aerobatic figures.
Unfortunately an upsetting fact occurred. While we were working at the airport, they informed us that our father had
died. The pain was enormous; we left everything and hurried at home. The day after the funerals and the body
transportation in Faicchio, we stayed with our mother full of sadness.
The interruption of our activity compromised the completion of the planning to obtain the Certification of
navigability and so we lost the possibility of participating to the Sicilian tour. Ceschina discouraged left for Sicily
with his Aero 45, disappointed for the missing result. Only on the 6 th of July (1955) he participated for the first time
to an airplane race, the Pescara Circuit, D’Annunzio Trophy, where the P55 with De Bernardi pilot and Gino copilot,
they won with a remarkable gap.
The 30 th of July, De Bernardi and I we left with the Tornado for Venice to participate to the International Exhibition.
Departure at 9.00 o’ clock, the aircraft was very fast, we got to Venice Lido in one hour and a half and speeded on
the Lido hotels at 350 km/h, making a series of tonnaux at a very low height. We stayed in Venice for six days, guest
of the Hotel des Bains, making daily demonstrative flights and ending the exhibition with an aerobatic demonstration
made by De Bernardi: absolutely fantastic. The name Partenavia was imposing itself and was by now well known.
The Tornado was the symbol of this little big company.
I profited of this presence in Venice to start calming down Ceschina, convincing him that we had to head to the next
Sicilian Tour and that we had to make some tuning up works and improvements on the aircraft that the flights had
pointed out. At the end he convinced himself. He would have sponsored the necessary works that began after the
summer. We dismantled the aircraft for the transportation in Via Tasso. The most important modifications were
concerning the undercarriage to improve his retraction, the gas exhaust ejector improvement, the engine nosing up
and wing paneling, so much that during the test we went over the previous speed of more than 20 km/h.
In those days Capodichino’s airport was closed to the traffic for some works on the ground, so we had to move on
the Capua’s airport with inconvenience for everyone.
We stayed in a military hangar that the command luckily gave us and there we made the other works of tuning up.
Three days before the departure the Ing. Mossa from the RAI came from Rome. After having made the first test
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