The float plane racing rules enabled the use of extremely thin low drag wings as the major forces on them could be taken by wires to the floats ! Unlike a normal monoplane which needed thicker cantilever wings !
The "high gearing" of the fixed pitch props for high speed must have made take off difficult but the drag of the floats on water must be surely worse than lightweight wheels even on the then common old grass airfields !
I suggest the Schneider Trophy races for seaplanes were for max entertainment and thrills over and in lovely settings !
is determined by various witnesses that during a test flight was the maximum speed reached 460 mph dioltre (740 km / h). This was unfortunately not recorded speed since the flight of a Test.
I find it amazing the speed of those things with those cumbersome pontoons along for the ride. That took alot of courage from a pilots view (imho). The British were another participant in the race floatplane with their Supermarine variants. Think of how fast those crazy things would of gone it they could of ditched the pontoons.
the fascists were some idiots, they invented an aircraft like this, that could reach the speed of a jet plane, in 1931, and won't developed it, for military use
??? Hitler did NOT rule Italy, Mussolini did. Hitler did NOT run the military at all in the first few years of WW2. He planned which countries to attack, but his generals were the true geniuses behind the early successes. Without guys like Von Manstein, Guderian and Rommel, where would Hitler be?
And what hell are you smoking? The chauchat was a French light machine gun used in WW1, and the most manafacturered automatic weapon in the entire war.
@munich84ss is an italian typical characteristic. Italians are completely unable to war. But Germans too. IIWW was loose because extreme sophisticated deutsch weapon were extremely fragile. You can see the difference between Merlin and DB: Merlin no maintenance, Db always in reparation. This way continues today: I bought an Audi and I felt that everything could break! ;-) PS: In Italy coexist Macchi MC72, Ferrari and 130 km/h speed limit... Is not that crazy?
I have seen these airplanes at the Italian Air Force Museum north of Rome at Lago Di Bracciano. They look brand new,,,Check out the IAF museum website.
Amazing footage. The Macchi MC-72 remains the ultimate plane both in performance and design. Unfortunately the plane was too late for the Schneider Trophy
Amazing footage. The Macchi MC-72 remains the ultimate sea plane in both performance and design. Unfortunately the plane was not ready in time for the Schneider Trophy.
Amazing footage. The Macchi MC-72 remains the ultimate sea plane in both performance and design. Unfortunately the plane was not ready in time for the Schneider Trophy.
Amazing footage. The Macchi MC-72 is the ultimate sea plane in both design and performance, Unfortunately the plane was not ready in time for the Schneider Trophy.
........no allied plane can touch it and would have been a spitfire killer ......
Wondefull airplane, but a Spitfire was build not only for speed but also for dog fighting with extreem capabilities and a perfect fuel supply system, at positive and negative Gs
Can you help me with a picture of this beautifull aeroplane for my book? An operasinger was in 1934 in Venegono and met some of the constructors. The book shall be published in May 2010..
They were so fast for several reasons, optimization of the very powerful engines, wings, efficient propellers, and excellent streamlining. And, here's an important point: Because they were flying off water, there was no "runway length" or crosswind takeoff issues to contend with. They had high wing loadings - but could still get airborn from a smooth almost limitless length of water to take off from. I get goose bumps hearing these engines & The Italians have such design style!
Twin engines, each with a prop. Props were counter-rotating. Not your typical sea-plane. Built specifically to break the world record. Glide ratio of a brick.
@emforty2- Are you joking? The MC.72 would be worthless as anything but a speed-record plane. Every pound is crucial when trying to get that speed, and the wing loading was already high as hell...what do you think would have happened if you'd added two 100lb 20mm cannon and ammo on to it? The wings would probably snap! Not to mention the tiny fuel capacity+huge engine, limited turning and climb performance, looong take off run, difficult handling...NOT a Spitfire killer. That's a dumb idea.
@Stoneballer91- Italy had THIS ONE excellent plane in '34. The CR.42 was a combat plane, which had to lug a bunch of guns, ammo, fuel, and armor around, be reliable, rugged, easy to fly, with a wing that could actually TURN within a mile radius. The RA put it's faith in maneuverable biplanes. They choose wrong, but THAT'S why they still had 450kmph CR.42's in 1943. They were to work with the 500+kmph C.200 from before1941 and the 600kmph C.202 by '43. Compare with the Gloster Gladiator, etc.
Noi Italiani, nella WW2, per avere un decente motore dovemmo costruire il Daimler-Benz su licenza tedesca; se i 702 Km/h non fossero stati in pratica un bluff, come mai entrammo in guerra con motori da 800-1000 CV quando gli altri li avevano da 1200-1500 ? Ancora una volta, i due motori accoppiati per avere più potenza erano solo una furbata da record, in guerra era tutta una altra cosa !
@nembokiddo come se l'Italia avesse la stessa potenza economica degli altri...cazzo c'entra la guerra...c'è proprio di che essere fieri di quella guerra...eppoi: di che furbata stai parlando?
semplice: il macchi 72 era un pezzo unico, ma l'industria non aveva possibilità di riprodurlo (come tante altre meraviglie nostrane come il campini o il piaggio p108) sia per mancanza di fondi, sia per capriccio di mussolini e del gran consiglio, che non guardavano al futuro (eccetto balbo, ma si sa la fine che ha fatto...)
Sie haben teilweise recht, die Spitfire wurde von Supermarine aus gleichartige wasserflugzeuge der baureihe S.4 und S.5 von Mitchell entwickelt. Die treiber sind eher ein vorteil weil sie als stabilisator-trägerfläche dienen und die extrem hohe geschwindigkeit ist die verwendung mehrere 2 stufen-vergaser mit kompressor zu verdanken. Dazu noch war spritverbrauch usw. kein argument, das heißt, sie wurden nicht runtergedrosselt wie die spätere jäger, soffen dafur aber wie der teufel!
Slight correction. The M.C.72 had 2 separate engines with a common centerline and counter-rotating propellers. As you can see on startup, the first engine starts, while the rear propeller is still stationary, then the second starts. The cooling, while looking like evaporation radiators, are like the inside of a regular radiator, the thin tubes are just exposed to the airstream.
Unfortunately(for we Italians) this airplane was a dead-end, since the two engine configuration never reached a real wide use (also tried during war by British and Germans). Consider that from the Supermarine S.6b plane,winner of Schneider Cup, was derived the Spitfire, from MC72 we got only the record and nothing else.
The reason seaplanes were faster back then was that they could make long takeoff runs which their fixed pitch props needed to get up to speed.
The introduction of the variable pitch prop allowed land planes to accelerate quickly enough to get off the ground within the confines of an aerodrome.
Still, 441mph in a wire braced float plane is a remarkable achievment.
The same problem occurs with any high horsepower engine (cars included)the real problem is heat,the Veyron has 9 radiators(fastest real production car),Schneider Trophy planes have had my interest since I was a little kid and only read about them in books--we all have to love the internet and what it has done to our info-base :)
@TheRealInvaderZim- I'm not positive, but I believe the "9 radiators" in the Veyron include transmission coolers, etc. Most of them are for the engine, but it uses many small radiators, to avoid the packaging problems of a large radiator. But you are right, high-powered engines need to disappate heat, since internal-combustion engines are inefficient (ie no engine makes better than around 50% efficiency, meaning that 50% of the energy turns to heat) for every unit of power, there's 1 of heat.
@ThatMiserableCat- No, the MC.72 didn't use evaporative radiators, just flush-mounted regular radiators. But it is cool that they located them in the floats....there was no room left on the fuselage, so they decided to use the empty pontoons rather than increase the fuselage diameter.
Great video of an outstanding plane. I watched the real plane some days ago in the Italian Air Force museum in Bracciano, north of Rome. It's an amazing plane.
Obviously this a/c has two independent V12 engines each driving there own propeller.
This is shown when one engine starts only one prop turns and like wise when the other starts the second prop turns. Also each engine turned in opposing directions to neutralise the torque. The engines are not mechanically linked in any way.
441 MPH and that wasn't max and with floats that cause severe drag. I'd guess it would of been capable of well over 500MPH in level flight had it been made as a conventional aircraft with retractable landing gear, but probably would of suffered from severe compressibility at over 500MPH
Yes, you are in right. Few months before another pilot died on a MC 72. Italians wanted to send again the Schneider trophy but english worried form the powerful plane refused. Your video is particular interesting...bye!
Hi, I'm an Italian pilot and I live in Desesnzano, a city situated in the south of Garda's lake. The same city were there were the seaplane base of the RAV during 30's. We can say that the MC 72 (Macchi Castoldi 72 had reached more than 709 km\h. But this guinnes was not registered because the fly was not ufficial. That day Agello with his plane reached "only" 709 km\h (440 mph) because the weather was cloudy and was too dangerous fly at this velocity at few meters from the wather. Bye!
I don't get how these all metal aircraft could top 400mph in the early 30's, while the first generation fighters of WWII only hit about 350 (average)?!
Supermarine & other were forced to nose-down trying to compete this bullett. Reaching the point when the Crown itself purveyed funds for the S6B. Damn devilish italian way makin' science & glamour! Ask any H-D enthusiast if any doubt about it.
@SmartSpionem- The MC.72 was faster than early WWII fighters because it was built to do one thing...go fast in a straight line. It was fragile, light, difficult to fly, had twin engines with the frontal surface of a single engine, and had a very high wing loading, as well as only just enough gas to do the job. And no front windshield! A fighter has to be RELIABLE (which the Macchi WASN'T), strong and maneuverable, easy to fly, have dive/climb, range, AND carry guns, armor, sufficient fuel, etc.
Question: This aircraft has only one engine, but if you watch the start-up at 00.54 one propeller is up and running at high revs before the other even starts to turn...how is this possible if they are both driven from the same engine?
Well spotted! I dug these refs for you: "After reading the information from Mr. Lecce and doing further research, I added more information about the engine(s). Yes, there were two Fiat V12 engines linked together driving the MC-72. Their drive shafts rotated in opposite directions. I suppose because the engines were linked, they are referred to as a single engine."
Also: "It was powered by the Fiat AS.6 engine, which consisted of two coupled AS.5 V-12 engines, driving co-axial contra-rotating two-bladed propellers. The AS.6 delivered 2800hp, and for the record attempt the engine was boosted to 3100hp!."
Hi to hall as just write the As.6 was made by two Fiat AS.5 the 3100hp was made by a special fuel : 55% gasoline - 22% benzol - 23 % ethanol and special with 1,5/1000 Tetaetrile lead..copied from the british Supermarine
@denberg2- Yes, it's actually two V-12's, but they are made specifically to fit together, so one has a hole through it's centerline crankshaft, while the other runs ANOTHER shaft through the first. So the rear engine runs the front prop, and the front runs the rear prop. They share a supercharger mounted between them with one big intake manifold. I don't know about radiators, whether they shared coolant. You could say that it was 1 engine built with two crankcases basically.
Hi, in fact this was an experimental plane , it can flying for a few minutes and only with good weather, his floating parts was very sensitive. When the funds for the Schneider Cup ended the plane has benn thrown in a warehouse.
Anyway, the Bearcat and Mustang etc are totally different animals from the MC.72. Basically, they didn't use the Macchi for any military service because it needed ALL that power to reach that speed, and it only made that power by being unreliable...think F1 engine. If you detuned the engine, it would only make 380mph, and they already had much larger, stronger planes with that speed. They had better things to work on than a fragile tiny plane with one use.
The bearcat and mustang both had their own lightened and better performing variants. It'd make a fine Reconnaissance floatplane. And minus the floats i imagine it'd be remarkably faster.
@peepeevagi-I re-read you reply; the Bearcat and Mustang far more capable of carrying camera and other essential recon items, they had far, far more range/endurance than the Macchi and infinitely better altitude performance with their 2-speed, 2-stage superchargers, essential for a recon plane to survive. I don't think the Macchi had more than an hours endurance (if that), and if you read you'll find that they were lucky the engines worked long enough to make the record. It was a SPEED PLANE.
An absolutely great plane!
The float plane racing rules enabled the use of extremely thin low drag wings as the major forces on them could be taken by wires to the floats ! Unlike a normal monoplane which needed thicker cantilever wings !
GSmr666 4 weeks ago
take the floats off that thing and then see what speed they can get to....
gracefulbutterfly 2 months ago
that hitler salute. italians were with nazis back then. thus this plane got forgotten i gues
FrapsYou 4 months ago
midpoint37 s comments are very interesting !
The "high gearing" of the fixed pitch props for high speed must have made take off difficult but the drag of the floats on water must be surely worse than lightweight wheels even on the then common old grass airfields !
I suggest the Schneider Trophy races for seaplanes were for max entertainment and thrills over and in lovely settings !
GSmr666 4 months ago
is determined by various witnesses that during a test flight was the maximum speed reached 460 mph dioltre (740 km / h). This was unfortunately not recorded speed since the flight of a Test.
bf109e4trop 6 months ago
Other Italy, other Italians.
393WR 10 months ago
I think that Reginald Mitchel , If he was still alive , Would contest your statement of fastest seaplane
savoyk1 1 year ago
chi vola vale, chi non vola non vale, chi vale e non vola è un vile
giovmari 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
"chi vola vale, chi non VALE non VOLA, chi vale e non vola è un vile"...
(altrimenti significa poco...) ;-)
charlieoscar2 1 year ago
Does it still exist? I assume the colour pics were of it on display.
Alembic25 1 year ago
I find it amazing the speed of those things with those cumbersome pontoons along for the ride. That took alot of courage from a pilots view (imho). The British were another participant in the race floatplane with their Supermarine variants. Think of how fast those crazy things would of gone it they could of ditched the pontoons.
kolbpilot 1 year ago
the fascists were some idiots, they invented an aircraft like this, that could reach the speed of a jet plane, in 1931, and won't developed it, for military use
munich84ss 1 year ago
@munich84ss they can make 10 but no 1000 pieces for the war. The shoes of the Italian soldier was made in paper, they had the IWW rifle...
isaacrimor 1 year ago
@munich84ss
It's the reason why you don't let idiots like Hitler run the military,and tells how weapons or what weapons were used.
Chauchat....
captinseperoth 1 year ago
@captinseperoth
??? Hitler did NOT rule Italy, Mussolini did. Hitler did NOT run the military at all in the first few years of WW2. He planned which countries to attack, but his generals were the true geniuses behind the early successes. Without guys like Von Manstein, Guderian and Rommel, where would Hitler be?
And what hell are you smoking? The chauchat was a French light machine gun used in WW1, and the most manafacturered automatic weapon in the entire war.
Better get your facts right.
McLarenMercedes 1 year ago
@munich84ss is an italian typical characteristic. Italians are completely unable to war. But Germans too. IIWW was loose because extreme sophisticated deutsch weapon were extremely fragile. You can see the difference between Merlin and DB: Merlin no maintenance, Db always in reparation. This way continues today: I bought an Audi and I felt that everything could break! ;-) PS: In Italy coexist Macchi MC72, Ferrari and 130 km/h speed limit... Is not that crazy?
393WR 10 months ago
I have seen these airplanes at the Italian Air Force Museum north of Rome at Lago Di Bracciano. They look brand new,,,Check out the IAF museum website.
BarryAir 1 year ago 2
Amazing footage. The Macchi MC-72 remains the ultimate plane both in performance and design. Unfortunately the plane was too late for the Schneider Trophy
Peter1648 1 year ago
Amazing footage. The Macchi MC-72 remains the ultimate sea plane in both performance and design. Unfortunately the plane was not ready in time for the Schneider Trophy.
Peter1648 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Amazing footage. The Macchi MC-72 remains the ultimate sea plane in both performance and design. Unfortunately the plane was not ready in time for the Schneider Trophy.
Peter1648 1 year ago
Amazing footage. The Macchi MC-72 is the ultimate sea plane in both design and performance, Unfortunately the plane was not ready in time for the Schneider Trophy.
Peter1648 1 year ago
w agello,
evviva la macchi!!!!
rezzoc91 1 year ago
........no allied plane can touch it and would have been a spitfire killer ......
Wondefull airplane, but a Spitfire was build not only for speed but also for dog fighting with extreem capabilities and a perfect fuel supply system, at positive and negative Gs
ANIKES 2 years ago
Can you help me with a picture of this beautifull aeroplane for my book? An operasinger was in 1934 in Venegono and met some of the constructors. The book shall be published in May 2010..
Thank you for this unexpected video!
AN2XAA 2 years ago
Why were the sea planes so fast?
osgood54 2 years ago
Hi osogood,
They were so fast for several reasons, optimization of the very powerful engines, wings, efficient propellers, and excellent streamlining. And, here's an important point: Because they were flying off water, there was no "runway length" or crosswind takeoff issues to contend with. They had high wing loadings - but could still get airborn from a smooth almost limitless length of water to take off from. I get goose bumps hearing these engines & The Italians have such design style!
ewhlyon 2 years ago
Twin engines, each with a prop. Props were counter-rotating. Not your typical sea-plane. Built specifically to break the world record. Glide ratio of a brick.
Z1Z2Z5Z4 2 years ago
hehe, brick ;)
GerbilEssences 1 year ago
COUNTER - ROTATING PROPS
rentatrip1 2 years ago
remove the pontoon and add a pair of 20mm cannon on each wings
no allied plane can touch it and would have been a spitfire killer
emforty2 2 years ago
@emforty2- Are you joking? The MC.72 would be worthless as anything but a speed-record plane. Every pound is crucial when trying to get that speed, and the wing loading was already high as hell...what do you think would have happened if you'd added two 100lb 20mm cannon and ammo on to it? The wings would probably snap! Not to mention the tiny fuel capacity+huge engine, limited turning and climb performance, looong take off run, difficult handling...NOT a Spitfire killer. That's a dumb idea.
justforever96 1 year ago
Strange that the italians had these excellent planes in 1934 but the old fiat cr 42 was produced until 1943, and its speed was only 450 kmph
Stoneballer91 2 years ago
@Stoneballer91 Lack of money for developing the planes.
fusluc 2 years ago
@Stoneballer91- Italy had THIS ONE excellent plane in '34. The CR.42 was a combat plane, which had to lug a bunch of guns, ammo, fuel, and armor around, be reliable, rugged, easy to fly, with a wing that could actually TURN within a mile radius. The RA put it's faith in maneuverable biplanes. They choose wrong, but THAT'S why they still had 450kmph CR.42's in 1943. They were to work with the 500+kmph C.200 from before1941 and the 600kmph C.202 by '43. Compare with the Gloster Gladiator, etc.
justforever96 1 year ago
Noi Italiani, nella WW2, per avere un decente motore dovemmo costruire il Daimler-Benz su licenza tedesca; se i 702 Km/h non fossero stati in pratica un bluff, come mai entrammo in guerra con motori da 800-1000 CV quando gli altri li avevano da 1200-1500 ? Ancora una volta, i due motori accoppiati per avere più potenza erano solo una furbata da record, in guerra era tutta una altra cosa !
nembokiddo 2 years ago 2
@nembokiddo come se l'Italia avesse la stessa potenza economica degli altri...cazzo c'entra la guerra...c'è proprio di che essere fieri di quella guerra...eppoi: di che furbata stai parlando?
fusluc 2 years ago
semplice: il macchi 72 era un pezzo unico, ma l'industria non aveva possibilità di riprodurlo (come tante altre meraviglie nostrane come il campini o il piaggio p108) sia per mancanza di fondi, sia per capriccio di mussolini e del gran consiglio, che non guardavano al futuro (eccetto balbo, ma si sa la fine che ha fatto...)
rezzoc91 1 year ago
These airplanes are in the Italian Air Force Museum in Lago Di Bracciano....They still look brand new.
BTW Thats just North of Roma....
BarryAir 2 years ago 2
Von vorne sieht die aus wie ne Spitfire .
Wurde die Spitfire eventuell aus so einen
Renn Wasserflugzeug entwickelt ?
Und warum ist die so schnell ?
Jäger um 1944 haben grad ma 420 MPH
geschafft ?
Und das ding hat noch schwimmer untern Rumpf sehr eigenartig?
EXPRESSACTION 2 years ago
Wenn man richtig beobachtet ,sieht man daß beim Motorstart zwei Motoren eingebaut sind! V-24! Normal waren es immer V12 Motoren!
powerheli777 2 years ago
das ding musste auch nicht tonnenweise munition mitschleppen (sonst hätte wohl auch der 2. motor keinen platz gehabt)
pinky3742 2 years ago
Sie haben teilweise recht, die Spitfire wurde von Supermarine aus gleichartige wasserflugzeuge der baureihe S.4 und S.5 von Mitchell entwickelt. Die treiber sind eher ein vorteil weil sie als stabilisator-trägerfläche dienen und die extrem hohe geschwindigkeit ist die verwendung mehrere 2 stufen-vergaser mit kompressor zu verdanken. Dazu noch war spritverbrauch usw. kein argument, das heißt, sie wurden nicht runtergedrosselt wie die spätere jäger, soffen dafur aber wie der teufel!
5311ATB 2 years ago
che cazzo dici noi 702 km h supermmarine na sega.......
pizzamoddi 2 years ago
nice but the supermarine S.6/B was better
dj8work 2 years ago
@dj8work How can you compare a fighting plane with a plane built only in order to break a speed record?
fusluc 2 years ago
@fusluc the Macchi M.C. 72 and the Supermarine S.6B were both built for speed, thats how i can compare.
dj8work 2 years ago
curious as to where the rank of Warrant Officer fit in the Italian Air force? Sounds like an NCO
ricky5424 2 years ago
Another terrific video of incredible aircraft that led the way to understanding aerodynamics. Great job bomberguy...is there more?
bobflys2 2 years ago
Comment removed
1Commodus1 2 years ago
sharp looking plane! was the record set at the altitude we've seen here? all the more of a feat if true
AmericanDemon7 2 years ago
Slight correction. The M.C.72 had 2 separate engines with a common centerline and counter-rotating propellers. As you can see on startup, the first engine starts, while the rear propeller is still stationary, then the second starts. The cooling, while looking like evaporation radiators, are like the inside of a regular radiator, the thin tubes are just exposed to the airstream.
chopperdanny13 3 years ago
Unfortunately(for we Italians) this airplane was a dead-end, since the two engine configuration never reached a real wide use (also tried during war by British and Germans). Consider that from the Supermarine S.6b plane,winner of Schneider Cup, was derived the Spitfire, from MC72 we got only the record and nothing else.
nembokiddo 3 years ago
Well the Spitfire reminds me the Mc. 72 so I don't exclude that it served as inspiration for the Spit.
MobiusDragon89 3 years ago
it was never intended to be a fighter aircraft.
you don't see F1 cars in the road.
the spitfire derived from the I-16 as all cantilever monoplanes after it.
the only thing the spitfire got from the S6B was some tech for the merlin.
oraci 2 years ago
It's even more amazing when you consider the drag those floats produce. . .
mort1369 3 years ago
The reason seaplanes were faster back then was that they could make long takeoff runs which their fixed pitch props needed to get up to speed.
The introduction of the variable pitch prop allowed land planes to accelerate quickly enough to get off the ground within the confines of an aerodrome.
Still, 441mph in a wire braced float plane is a remarkable achievment.
Thanks Bomberguy.
midpoint37 3 years ago 7
Ahh.
GerbilEssences 3 years ago
The same problem occurs with any high horsepower engine (cars included)the real problem is heat,the Veyron has 9 radiators(fastest real production car),Schneider Trophy planes have had my interest since I was a little kid and only read about them in books--we all have to love the internet and what it has done to our info-base :)
TheRealInvaderZim 3 years ago
@TheRealInvaderZim- I'm not positive, but I believe the "9 radiators" in the Veyron include transmission coolers, etc. Most of them are for the engine, but it uses many small radiators, to avoid the packaging problems of a large radiator. But you are right, high-powered engines need to disappate heat, since internal-combustion engines are inefficient (ie no engine makes better than around 50% efficiency, meaning that 50% of the energy turns to heat) for every unit of power, there's 1 of heat.
justforever96 1 year ago
World is like Italians want.
youdubt 3 years ago
Comment removed
1Commodus1 2 years ago
Are those surface-evaporation radiators? Looks like quite a cooling system...on the floats, as well! Outstanding, sir! Thanks!
ThatMiserableCat 3 years ago
@ThatMiserableCat- No, the MC.72 didn't use evaporative radiators, just flush-mounted regular radiators. But it is cool that they located them in the floats....there was no room left on the fuselage, so they decided to use the empty pontoons rather than increase the fuselage diameter.
justforever96 1 year ago
Great video of an outstanding plane. I watched the real plane some days ago in the Italian Air Force museum in Bracciano, north of Rome. It's an amazing plane.
Rickusty 3 years ago
Still holding an aviation record after nearly 75 years!!.Amazing machine
lofi73 3 years ago 11
the ting was also a flying radiator
tinmansunbeam 3 years ago
at the time of the record it was fastest on land and sea
now thats just cool
tinmansunbeam 3 years ago
Obviously this a/c has two independent V12 engines each driving there own propeller.
This is shown when one engine starts only one prop turns and like wise when the other starts the second prop turns. Also each engine turned in opposing directions to neutralise the torque. The engines are not mechanically linked in any way.
fb2800 3 years ago
441 MPH and that wasn't max and with floats that cause severe drag. I'd guess it would of been capable of well over 500MPH in level flight had it been made as a conventional aircraft with retractable landing gear, but probably would of suffered from severe compressibility at over 500MPH
robvlob 4 years ago
ahh
SmiertSpionem 4 years ago
Yes, you are in right. Few months before another pilot died on a MC 72. Italians wanted to send again the Schneider trophy but english worried form the powerful plane refused. Your video is particular interesting...bye!
FolgoreColMoschin 4 years ago
Hi, I'm an Italian pilot and I live in Desesnzano, a city situated in the south of Garda's lake. The same city were there were the seaplane base of the RAV during 30's. We can say that the MC 72 (Macchi Castoldi 72 had reached more than 709 km\h. But this guinnes was not registered because the fly was not ufficial. That day Agello with his plane reached "only" 709 km\h (440 mph) because the weather was cloudy and was too dangerous fly at this velocity at few meters from the wather. Bye!
FolgoreColMoschin 4 years ago 2
Thanks. The MC 72 was an amazing achievement. Too bad it was not ready for the 1931 Schneider Trophy!
Bomberguy 4 years ago
@FolgoreColMoschin maybe it should be revisited and given another run :)
MrGodsend69 7 months ago
I don't get how these all metal aircraft could top 400mph in the early 30's, while the first generation fighters of WWII only hit about 350 (average)?!
SmiertSpionem 4 years ago
Because the fighters carried half a ton of steel armour plating and other military equipment
denberg2 3 years ago
Got you there! Thanks, No-one ever mentions that, makes a lot of sense.
SmiertSpionem 3 years ago
Supermarine & other were forced to nose-down trying to compete this bullett. Reaching the point when the Crown itself purveyed funds for the S6B. Damn devilish italian way makin' science & glamour! Ask any H-D enthusiast if any doubt about it.
mutterschied 3 years ago
@SmartSpionem- The MC.72 was faster than early WWII fighters because it was built to do one thing...go fast in a straight line. It was fragile, light, difficult to fly, had twin engines with the frontal surface of a single engine, and had a very high wing loading, as well as only just enough gas to do the job. And no front windshield! A fighter has to be RELIABLE (which the Macchi WASN'T), strong and maneuverable, easy to fly, have dive/climb, range, AND carry guns, armor, sufficient fuel, etc.
justforever96 1 year ago
That makes a bit more sense now, thanks.
GerbilEssences 1 year ago
Question: This aircraft has only one engine, but if you watch the start-up at 00.54 one propeller is up and running at high revs before the other even starts to turn...how is this possible if they are both driven from the same engine?
denberg2 4 years ago
Well spotted! I dug these refs for you: "After reading the information from Mr. Lecce and doing further research, I added more information about the engine(s). Yes, there were two Fiat V12 engines linked together driving the MC-72. Their drive shafts rotated in opposite directions. I suppose because the engines were linked, they are referred to as a single engine."
Gruntol5 4 years ago
Also: "It was powered by the Fiat AS.6 engine, which consisted of two coupled AS.5 V-12 engines, driving co-axial contra-rotating two-bladed propellers. The AS.6 delivered 2800hp, and for the record attempt the engine was boosted to 3100hp!."
Gruntol5 4 years ago
Thanks, that must be the answer. Every reference book always gives the impression that it's a single engine aircraft, but it's obviously a twin.
denberg2 4 years ago
Fantastic Video Bomberguy!
Hi to hall as just write the As.6 was made by two Fiat AS.5 the 3100hp was made by a special fuel : 55% gasoline - 22% benzol - 23 % ethanol and special with 1,5/1000 Tetaetrile lead..copied from the british Supermarine
Aviazione 4 years ago
@denberg2- Yes, it's actually two V-12's, but they are made specifically to fit together, so one has a hole through it's centerline crankshaft, while the other runs ANOTHER shaft through the first. So the rear engine runs the front prop, and the front runs the rear prop. They share a supercharger mounted between them with one big intake manifold. I don't know about radiators, whether they shared coolant. You could say that it was 1 engine built with two crankcases basically.
justforever96 1 year ago
Keep 'em coming, Bomberguy!
denberg2 4 years ago
My favorite seaplane ever.
I still say it's a damn shame it was never used for reconnaissance, or fitted with six blade, contra rotating propellers.
peepeevagi 4 years ago 2
Hi, in fact this was an experimental plane , it can flying for a few minutes and only with good weather, his floating parts was very sensitive. When the funds for the Schneider Cup ended the plane has benn thrown in a warehouse.
Aviazione 4 years ago
Experimental be it may, modified it could have very well ended the war.
It's a damn shame it was just left to sit, such a gold mine of performance.
Prototype or not, it still deserves to be war worthy. After all, they did the same with the Bearcat and Mustang fighters.
peepeevagi 4 years ago
@peepeevagi- Uh...nice name. (?)
Anyway, the Bearcat and Mustang etc are totally different animals from the MC.72. Basically, they didn't use the Macchi for any military service because it needed ALL that power to reach that speed, and it only made that power by being unreliable...think F1 engine. If you detuned the engine, it would only make 380mph, and they already had much larger, stronger planes with that speed. They had better things to work on than a fragile tiny plane with one use.
justforever96 1 year ago
The bearcat and mustang both had their own lightened and better performing variants. It'd make a fine Reconnaissance floatplane. And minus the floats i imagine it'd be remarkably faster.
peepeevagi 1 year ago
@peepeevagi-I re-read you reply; the Bearcat and Mustang far more capable of carrying camera and other essential recon items, they had far, far more range/endurance than the Macchi and infinitely better altitude performance with their 2-speed, 2-stage superchargers, essential for a recon plane to survive. I don't think the Macchi had more than an hours endurance (if that), and if you read you'll find that they were lucky the engines worked long enough to make the record. It was a SPEED PLANE.
justforever96 1 year ago