Caproni Ca.100

The Caproni Ca.100 was the standard trainer aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica in the 1930s, built in large numbers as a tandem two-seat biplane powered by different engines. Nicknamed Caproncino, little Caproni, it was based on the de Havilland DH.60 Moth, for which Caproni held a production licence, with a slightly smaller upper wing and a redesigned tailplane. It had a wooden frame covered with fabric, a square-section fuselage built around four longerons, open tandem cockpits, a fixed conventional undercarriage and, in Moth style, a streamlined fuel tank on the upper wing centre section. It first flew in late 1928 at Milan-Taliedo, piloted by Domenico Antonini. The Regia Aeronautica received two prototypes and 675 production aircraft, built by several firms, some on floats as the Ca.100 Idro, and at least eight were built as civilian tourers.