Stipa-Caproni

Luigi Stipa, an aeronautical engineer, fulfilled his lifetime dream when he petitioned the Italian Fascist government in the 1930’s to produce a prototype experimental aircraft. The government approved and contracted the Caproni Company to construct a rather unusual aircraft.

- Cesare de Villiers

After a great deal of brainstorming Luigi Stipa and Gianni Caproni came up with one of the smallest and strangest looking aircraft in the world and decided to call it “Stipa-Caproni”. The name derived by using the surname of the engineer (Stipa) and the name of the manufacturer (Caproni).

Although the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) was not interested in pursuing development of the Stipa-Caproni, its design was an important step in the development of jet propulsion.

Stipa's design

Stipa thoroughly researched Bernoulli’s concepts of fluid dynamics to determine how to shape the plane’s components. He found that for the propeller to work optimally, the ratio between the tube and the propeller had to be precise for the propeller to rotate. Stipa developed a tapered Venturi tube to integrate into the fuselage. For maximum efficiency, the internal surface of the Venturi tube had to be moulded like an airfoil. The barrel-shaped fuselage contained the propeller, engine, and single ducted fan. This design was most definitely a step toward catapulting the concept and research of jet propulsion used when passing other jets while in motion.