Ciani Spillo
SSVV · Italy · first flew 1954 · glider
The Ciani Spillo was a single-seat competition glider designed and built in Italy in the 1950s.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × none, embedded-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Tailplane mounted on top of the fuselage with strongly swept leading edges |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Very long slender wing with an aspect ratio of almost 30
- High wing set immediately behind the short single-piece canopy
- Tailplane mounted on top of the fuselage with strongly swept leading edges
Spillo means pin in Italian, after the slender wing, which has straight-tapered plan and a thickness of only 15 percent of chord at the root.
Specifications
- The Ciani Spillo has a length of 7.7 m (25 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 18 m (59 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 200 km/h (124 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Edgardo Ciani designed it to perform well at the high speeds flown between thermals. It first flew in 1954 and had the highest aspect ratio wing of any wooden glider.
Variants
Only one was built. In 1958 camber-changing flaps were added inboard of the ailerons and the wing area was increased by 3.5 percent.
Where you'll see it
It had the highest wing loading of any glider of its time. For take-off it used a jettisonable wheel.
Related aircraft
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