page_title: Caproni Ca.1 (1910)
section_title: Test flights
hierarchical_section_title: Caproni Ca.1 (1910) / Test flights
caption_attribution_description: English: The wreck of Gianni Caproni's Caproni Ca.1 experimental biplane after the crash landing that ended its first flight. Malpensa, Varese, May 27, 1910. Italiano: Il relitto del biplano sperimentale Caproni Ca.1 di Gianni Caproni dopo il duro atterraggio che pone fine al suo primo volo. Malpensa, Varese, 27 maggio 1910.
context_page_description: The Caproni Ca.1 was an experimental biplane built in Italy in 1910. It was the first aircraft to be designed and built by aviation pioneer Gianni Caproni, although he had previously collaborated with Henri Coandă on sailplane designs.
  The Ca.1 had an uncovered rectangular truss as a fuselage; its two-bay wing cellule featured unstaggered mainplanes of equal span. Although the engine was mounted in the nose, it drove propellers mounted in front of the wings on long struts. The landing gear consisted of a dual mainwheel and skid arrangement, with outrigger wheels at each wingtip and a tailwheel.
  The Ca.1 flew for the first time on 27 May 1910; although the flight was rather successful, the aircraft crashed while landing and was heavily damaged; it was repaired, but never flew again. The Ca.1 is now on display at the Volandia aviation museum in Italy.
context_section_description: The prairie around Malpensa was a moorland covered with heather, bushes and small trees, and it was not clear enough to allow an aircraft to take off and land. The nearest surface sufficiently clear and level was close to Gallarate. The Ca.1 had to be towed there by a donkey, the trip taking around 30 minutes.
  When the final assembly of the aircraft was completed, several days of bad weather conditions prevented the flight trials to be undertaken. On 27 May, however, the weather was fair and Caproni decided to make an attempt to fly the Ca.1. Tabacchi managed to have the aircraft take off at the first attempt; it then flew straight and level for a while, but, when the pilot tried to land the aircraft, his lack of experience caused a violent impact with the ground which heavily damaged the aircraft, even though Tabacchi was unscathed. The flight was considered a success, and it proved the worthiness of Caproni's first design.
  Caproni immediately started repairing the Ca.1 and, at the same time, he started building the Ca.2. The Ca.1 would not fly again, but Tabacchi used it to gain some familiarity with taxiing and other ground maneuvers while waiting for the next aircraft to be ready to fly.
caption: The Ca.1 was heavily damaged at the end of its first flight.
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