Ambrosini S.1001

SAI Ambrosini

Industry	Aerospace
Headquarters	Italy
Products	Aircraft

Template:Infobox aircraft

The Ambrosini S.1001 Grifo ("Griffin") was an Italian light aircraft developed soon after the conclusion of World War II. As the initial postwar model constructed by SAI Ambrosini, its prototype took flight in 1947 and was based on the earlier pre-war SAI.2S design. This four-seat monoplane featured fixed landing gear with streamlined fairings (spats). A limited production run served Italian aeroclubs, utilizing a 97 kW (130 hp) Alfa Romeo 110-ter piston engine. The Italian Aeronautica Militare (AMI) acquired three units, operating them between 1948 and 1950.

Distance record

Between April 28 and 29, 1948, aviators Leonardo Bonzi and Maner Lualdi set a distance record for aircraft of this category by flying nonstop from Campoformido, Italy to Massawa, Eritrea—a journey covering 4,650 km (2,890 mi). On January 10, 1949, aboard the same plane—renamed Angelo dei Bimbi—they embarked toward Dakar aiming to reach South America. After overcoming restrictions imposed by the French authorities, they departed from Yoff on January 29, 1949, having removed radio equipment and parachutes to accommodate 800 litres (176 imp gal, 211 US gal) of fuel. Seventeen hours later, they arrived in Parnaiba, Brazil.

Following a successful tour across Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, they raised 500 million lire from Italian expatriates residing in those nations to support Italy’s postwar economic recovery. The aircraft I-ASSI is currently exhibited at the Museo Romeo Esparto in Milan-Arese.

Variants

File:Ambrosini S.1002.jpg

S.1002 Trasimeno

A two-seat variant equipped with a de Havilland Gipsy Major engine delivering 120 kW (160 hp) was proposed to the AMI as a trainer model. Although the AMI declined interest, several units were manufactured as the S.1002 Trasimeno for use by aeroclubs.

Operators

Template:ITA

• Italian Air Force operated three units until the 1950s