SAIMAN LB.2
SAIMAN · Italy · first flew 1937 · light aircraft
The SAIMAN LB.2 was an unconventional Italian two-seat side-by-side cabin sport aircraft designed around 1937. It had a single pusher engine, twin tail booms and an early tricycle undercarriage.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 6.9 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Twin fin |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Central nacelle with the seating well ahead of the wing leading edge and the engine at the trailing edge
- Two parallel rectangular-section tail booms mounted at the wing centre-section and outer-panel junctions
- Non-retractable tricycle undercarriage with a steerable nosewheel
The central nacelle puts the enclosed side-by-side seating well ahead of the wing and the pusher engine at the trailing edge. Two parallel tail booms carry the tail surfaces.
Specifications
- The SAIMAN LB.2 has a length of 6.9 m (23 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 11.7 m (38 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 210 km/h (130 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was designed by Francis Lombardi, who was well known for his Avia FL.3 trainer, and built by SAIMAN, which also constructed other people's designs. It was a cantilever mid-wing monoplane with a three-section wing and slotted flaps.
Variants
It was powered by an 82 kW Alfa-Romeo 110-I four-cylinder inverted air-cooled inline engine in pusher configuration.
Where you'll see it
The LB.2 appeared at the Milan show of 1937, where Flight dismissed it as a freak. It was one of the first Italian aircraft with a tricycle undercarriage.
Related aircraft
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