Gabardini G.8
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name=Gabardini G.8 |image=Gabardini G.8.jpg |caption=Gabardini G.8 }}{{Infobox aircraft type |type=Fighter and trainer |national origin=Italy |manufacturer=Gabardini |designer= |first flight=1923 |introduced= |retired= |status= |primary user= |more users= |produced= |number built= |variants with their own articles= }} |
The Gabardini G.8 was an Italian single-seat aircraft produced in both fighter and trainer versions by Gabardini in 1923.
Design and development
=G.8=
Until 1923, the Gabardini company had produced only instructional aircraft for use by flight training schools, but in 1923 it offered a new aircraft, the G.8, in both advanced trainer and fighter versions. It was the company{{'}}s first venture into military trainer or fighter production.Green and Swanborough, p. 236.
The G.8 was a metal single-bay biplane with fabric covering, a frontal radiator, and a two-bladed propeller. The wings were of unequal span, with the upper wing of greater span than the lower, and the aircraft had ailerons only on its upper wing. The trainer version was unarmed and powered by a Hispano-Suiza 8A V8 engine rated at 104 kilowatts (140 horsepower), while the fighter was armed with two 7.7-millimeter (0.303-inch) Vickers machine guns synchronized to fire through the propeller and had a 149-kilowatt (200-horsepower) Hispano Suiza V8.Green and Swanborough, p. 236.
File:Gabardini G.8bis.jpg mounted on either side of the fuselage, replacing the frontal radiator of the G.8.]]
The G.8 was designed in parallel with the Gabardini G.9 and had a similar wing cellule, but differed from the G.9 in having more cabane bracing and a longer-span upper wing.Green and Swanborough, p. 236.
=G.8''bis''=
Gabardini further developed the G.8 in the G.8bis model. The G.8bis had a 134-kilowatt (180-horsepower) Hispano-Suiza HS 34 engine driving a two-bladed propeller, and differed from the G.8 in having a longer-span lower wing and radiators attached to the sides of its fuselage over the wing leading edges instead of a frontal radiator.Green and Swanborough, p. 236.
Operational history
The Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) did not place a production order for either model of the G.8 or for the G.8bis. Gabardini retained all the G.8 aircraft for instructional use at its flight training school at Cameri.Green and Swanborough, p. 236.
Variants
;G.8 trainer
:Unarmed version with lower-rated engine
;G.8 fighter
:Armed version with more powerful engine
;G.8bis
:Modified version with different engine and radiator and lower wing of greater span
Operators
;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}
Specifications (G.8 fighter)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=
|prime units?=met
|crew=one
|length m=5.55
|span m=8.34
|height m=2.8
|wing area sqm=22.06
|empty weight kg=580
|gross weight kg=780
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Hispano-Suiza 8A
|eng1 type=V-8 water-cooled piston engine
|eng1 kw=149
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=206
|climb rate ms=5.2
|time to altitude={{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}} in 3 minutes 12 seconds
|guns= 2 × fixed forward-firing 7.7-mm (0.303-in) Vickers machine guns
}}
See also
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
{{commons category|Gabardini G.8}}
- Green, William, and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Every Fighter Aircraft Built and Flown. New York: SMITHMARK Publishers, 1994. {{ISBN|0-8317-3939-8}}.
{{Gabardini/CANSA aircraft}}
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Category:1920s Italian fighter aircraft
Category:1920s Italian military trainer aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear