J.Davilla Italian Aviation in the First World War. Vol.2: Aircraft A-H (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 74)

Bossi Aircraft

  Bossi Bomber - Bossi, who had a close relationship with the Regia Marina, had proposed to build a three-engine bomber designed by Ing. Alceo which would have “heavier construction, but less drag” than the Caproni bombers. Those aircraft would replace the failed Bossi America as a dedicated long-range bomber for the Navy.
  It was planned as a seaplane but, perhaps to accelerate the flight test, the floats were replaced with a fixed landing gear adapted to the task. The crew chosen for the test flights was test pilot Jerg. maggiore Peter Pettazzi and engineer Giuseppe Maremmani. According to testimonies of the time, after a first flight (according Castoldi, after a simple taxiing) at the second attempt on January 13 there was a crash on take-off either due to the failure of one of the engines, or, more likely, due to pilot error during a low-altitude maneuver. The aircraft collapsed and crashed; it is believed that it may have stalled while making a turn. The shutdown or malfunction of one the engines was believed to have contributed to the crash. Eng. Castoldi stated that: ... the common opinion on the causes of the accident, was the engineer that was in command, was unable to compensate for engine failure. For the two crew members, unfortunately, there was nothing to be done."
  It would seem that the Bossi was counting on the higher power of the Isotta Fraschini V.4s which generated total of 500 hp, compared to the Caproni’s 300-hp. However, the engine power was applied by the engineer seated behind the pilot. This arrangement resulted in an unnecessary delay in any emergency situation. It may have played a role in the accident.
  The accident resulted in the project being cancelled.

  Four Engine Bomber Project - In 1915 Bossi tested a model of a proposed four engine bomber in the Eiffel wind tunnel. The four engines (Isotta Fraschini V.4s or V.6s) were mounted back-to-back in tandem pairs. The Regia Marina expressed no interest in this design.


Postwar Projects

  In the United States Bossi, in 1931, built an amphibious biplane, single-engine, four-seat, designated BB.1. It was the first airplane to be built entirely in stainless steel by the American Aeronautical Corporation.
  In 1936 Vittorio Bonomi, probably aware of Bossi’s previous experience with human powered aircraft prewar, met with Bossi to collaborate on building what was called the Pedaliante Bossi-Bonomi. This was a man-powered aircraft designed by engineer Camillo Silva and built near the aeronautical Bonomi of Cantu. Boss had his plans evaluated by NACA. On 4 September 1937 the Pedaliante Bossi-Bonomi, flown and powered by Emilio Cevasco succeeded in completing a record flight of 862 meters.
  During the Second World War Boss was owner of a firm that produced aeronautical components in California. During the war he began to design a helicopter named Scorpion, It was built in 1946 by the Higgins Company and later flown.


Pedaliante Bossi-Bonomi

  In 1932 Enea Bossi calculated the minimum power needed to fly a human powered aircraft. During a trip to Philadelphia, Bossi, using a spring with a graduated scale attached to ae tow rope, tested the speed at which a glider towed by a bicycle was able to take off. He concluded that 0.94 hp (0.70 kW) would be adequate and that a human being could generate this amount.
  The results obtained by Enea Bossi confirmed that the speed required for the aircraft take-off could be achieved with the only human propulsion.
  A second experiment was conducted during a trip to Paris involving a propeller powered bike that reached a speed of 37 km/h. The problem with this layout was that the torque generated by the propeller was not counterbalanced. Bossi concluded that an aircraft with two counter-rotating propellers would counterbalance the torque effect.
  In 1936 the Italian government offered a reward of Lire 100,000 for the first aircraft able to fly for a 1 km by sheer force of human-power, upon the condition that it was made by an Italian citizen. Bossi was aware that he could not receive the award because of his US citizenship, but he took the challenge and produced the Bossi-Bonomi Pedaliante (Pedal Glider) using the construction drawings of a conventional Bonomi Glider.
  The monoplane had a wingspan of 17.7 m and an area of 23.4 m2. It was characterized by two large propellers made up of balsa wood, each two meters in diameter. The pilot was Italian army maggiore, Emilio Casco, who was also known an athletic cyclist. A bicycle chain conveyed the muscle power from the pedals to a shaft transmission which was oriented towards the two propellers, arranged on the two sides of the fuselage. The empty weight of the aircraft was 97 kg and this was due to the Air Ministry, requiring that the vehicle had the same structural requirements of a motor airplane, while Bossi had a plan for a mere 73 kg aircraft.
  On 18 March 1937, the plane flew at the Cinisello Balsamo Airport near Milan, launched from a height of nine meters and Casco pedaled successfully for a 1 km, as required by the specifications of the Italian competition, thus obtaining the first world record for human-powered flight.
  However due to the catapult used, not provided for in the requirements of the competition, the flight has not been approved and the Bossi-Bonomi Pedaliante for that reason was not awarded the prize.