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

Fratelli Pascale Story: from the 30s onward
was announced. After a few minutes they saw it, at the peak of enthusiasm, breast the tape, winner of the Tour while
the speakers were talking about the two Neapolitans brother’s airplane.
At evening there was the traditional awarding of prizes ceremony. A special prize with a nice silver cup was given to
the designer of the P55.
We went back to Naples with the Aero 45 of Ceschina while Serena with the Tornado left directly to Venice. We
were very happy and excited for the big technical and sportive success, more than ever convinced that we had to
exploit the positive moment to go forward and consolidate the name Partenavia.
After almost one week Ceschina called us enthusiast of the P55 that in Venice had a big success and proposed us to
prepare the P55 to win the world speed record for that weight class aircraft. Actually the P55 during the Sicilian Tour
had broken all speed records. Naturally enthusiast we accepted with pleasure and after one week Serena took back
the P55 to Naples to prepare it to beat the record at the presence of inspectors of the F.A.I. (Federazione
Internazionale Aeronautica, Italian Aeronautical fedration).
We worked with will, the available time was limited. The aircraft was prepared and started the tests with Serena
taking the lead. Unfortunately this time things did not work properly; the P55 in a trial flight got to the final and from
the hangar where we were waiting it I realized that the front undercarriage’s leg had not gone out completely. I
screamed to Gino “undercarriage --- undercarriage”. The aircraft touch the ground and at the contact with the front
leg, re-entered completely. The propeller broke and the engine soft top and the front side of the fuselage were
damaged. No harms to the occupants. The trial for the records had failed. At this point Ceschina decided to sell the
Tornado to commission us the Super Tornado. With Gino we started the study of the new aircraft and sent the
general views to Ceschina that immediately was convinced about it.
We were quite perplexed to continue on the realizations of sportive aircrafts that unlikely could have a commercial
development. Moreover the relations with Ceschina, not easy, did not attracted in venturing in a new realization so
demanding.
Meanwhile Caracciolo called us suggesting an agreement with the aeronautical company SACA from Brindisi for the
realization of an airplane four-seater. It was the time when in America the Piper Pacer were all the rage and the Ing.
Marlia responsible of the SACA thought of launching himself in the field. After the visit of Gino and Caracciolo to
the establishment in Brindisi we decided to plan a pre-project in order to be able to evaluate the possibilities of the
venture.
We got down to the planning of the P57, four-seater aircraft with high wing, suitable to a reproduction industrially
cheap. This step would have let us pass from the testing construction of prototypes to the realization of current
aircrafts.
In the following days with lot of regret we sent the P55 to the Monfalcone’s Meteor, charged by the buyer Ing.
Peruzzi.
We were very skeptical that others could get down to a complex prototype aircraft as the P55 but unfortunately we
could do nothing to avoid it. At this stage, in spite of the persistent requests of Serena we renounced definitely to the
construction of the Super-Tornado thinking it was more useful to devote ourselves to the planning of the aircraft P57
more commercial that could constitute the launching pad for the Partenavia, yet ready to progress and develop.
With the days passing by the new project became more and more consistent. Gino, Montuoro and Sessa worked
continuously to the new realization. We built the wooden model for the aerodynamic tunnel trials, realized by Gino
at the university. The trials were satisfying and so everything was ready to start the planning. We had to find a
sponsor that the luck once more introduced to us. The Ing. Franco D’Agostino, industrial in the ceramics sector, pilot
among the Naples’s Aero Club, was enthusiast to participate to the exploit. He engaged himself in financing the
project that started immediately. The garage of Via Tasso came to life again; the P57 was a four-seat aircraft bigger
than the one until now constructed. The experience matured in many years of work permitted us to work very
rapidly. The fuselage made with steels tubes welded was realized in a short time meanwhile the wing and the
wooden tail unit have been finished and tried together with the fuselage in a series of static trials with the presence of
the Ing. Mossa and De Giorgi of RAI.
In the same time D’Agostino ventured, stimulated by the Captain Bronzone that will become later our test pilot, in
the work area aerial agriculture. He stipulated in fact with the Turkish government a contract for the agriculture
disinfestations in that country. He bought three English Auster aircrafts to execute these works; one had to be
modified to allow the installation of the petrol tanks. Naturally we had to this job so with our disappointment we
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