Romeo Ro.35

Nicola Romeo was a 20th-century industrialist, remembered mostly through the Alfa-Romeo marque. In the early 1930s his aircraft were manufactured by Meridionali / IMAM - Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridonali, the aeronautical branch of Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali (English: Railway Workshops Meridionali) in Naples;[1] the Ro.35 was constructed by the Officine Mecchaniche Romeo (Mechanical Workshops Romeo).[2]

The Ro.35 was a cantilever high-wing monoplane with the wing mounted on top of the fuselage without dihedral. The one piece wing was built around a single spar and was plywood skinned forward of the spar forming a torsion-resistant D-box. The rest was fabric-covered. In plan the wing was straight-tapered and had rounded tips.[2]

The Ro.35 had a simple rectangular cross-section, wooden framed fuselage, skinned with plywood forward and fabric aft. At the nose the sides curved around but the upper and lower surfaces did not meet, giving the Roma a square nosed side view. The open cockpit was set into the wing leading edge, the pilot protected by a small windscreen. Its rear fuselage tapered in plan to the tail, where a short, narrow fin supported a very curved, tall rudder. The tailplane was mounted on the fuselage at the foot of the fin. It too was narrow and with its elevator was straight-tapered and round tipped. The horizontal surfaces were fabric-covered; all the control surfaces were unbalanced. The curved lower rudder edge left clearance for elevator movement.[2]

The glider was unusual in having the option of a fixed, narrow track wheeled undercarriage, with a steel axle passing through the lower fuselage. This could be discarded in favour of a more conventional skid. There was a small tail skid for use with either option.[2]

The Ro.35 first flew in 1933 and the sole example was used by the Naples gliding club, operating from Capodichino. It also visited Poggio Renatico near Bologna.[2]

Data from Pedrielli (2011) p.183[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Length: 6.40 m (21 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 14.50 m (47 ft 7 in)
• Height: 1.20 m (3 ft 11 in) [3]
• Wing area: 15.80 m² (170.1 sq ft)
• Aspect ratio: 13.3
• Empty weight: 100 kg (220 lb)
• Gross weight: 170 kg (375 lb)

Performance

• Minimum control speed: 35 km/h (22 mph, 19 kn) [3]
• Maximum glide ratio: estimated 11.2:1
• Wing loading: 10.8 kg/m² (2.2 lb/sq ft)