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aircraft engine. They found a propeller from a US Army Piper L4 and soon had the com- bination running in their garage. Of course, they needed an airplane on which to mount it, so they designed one. Thus, the P48 Astore project was born in their garage in Napoli. With persistence, the brothers completed it in 1950.
Luigi and Giovanni were designers and builders, not pilots, so they began to look for a test pilot for the P48. The first pilot damaged the plane during a taxi run, however, they were not deterred. While looking for a more suit- able test pilot, they started their own aviation training, soloing in only four hours. Finally, in April 1951 the P48 Astore took flight with Mario De Bernardi, an ace of the Italian Air Force, at the controls. The following year, with type certificate approval, the Pascales entered their first air race, The Fourth Air Tour of Sicily. Early the next year they designed the P52 Tigrotto (Tiger) a mid-wing design for a Naples businessman. The Tigrotto was fol- lowed by the P55 Tornado for air racing.
In 1957 their new company, Partenavia, became the springboard for production air- craft, starting with the P57 Fachiro, a 4-place high-wing airplane. The company mostly pro- duced aircraft for the local Italian market until the 1960s when Partenavia adventured into
international markets. Partenavia also expanded its product line to include two new singles and the development of its firstmulti-engineairplane,theP68twinin1968. Thebroth- ers and their team were prolific designers, simultaneously designing and flying a variety of other aircraft including an autogyro and gliders, even one with floats.
In 1981, with pressure from the Italian government, ex- ternal investors, including the government, took majority ownership shares in the company. It didn’t take long to lose the entrepreneurial spirit of the company. In 1986 Luigi and Giovanni left Partenavia and formed Tecnam Aircraft. Initially, they manufactured components for Partenavia, but shortly thereafter Partenavia entered bankruptcy. Vulcan Air bought the bankrupt Partenavia and still pro- vides support and parts for these fine aircraft.
Tecnam expanded its capabilities and produced tradi- tional sheet metal and composite components for other aircraft companies; horizontal tails for ATR, structural parts for Augusta, and even the fuselage panels for Boe- ing jets. Not satisfied with only building components, they embarked on another aircraft design, the P92 Echo, an ultralight powered by a new lightweight Rotax aircraft engine. The P92 Mentor, updated with the latest advances, is still produced today and ships around the world.
While the first Tecnam aircraft was the ultralight P92, the company’s extensive capabilities in designing other aircraft became the basis to expand their offerings with
August 2023 / TWIN & TURBINE • 5