TOP:
A line of MB326Ds
headed by I-ADIE,
which today is
preserved at the
Istituto Tecnico
Malignani in Udine.ABOVE:
The Alitalia
MB326D’s cockpit
differed from that of
the military version
by way of the
equipment required
to facilitate flight in
civilian airspace.ABOVE RIGHT:
Cadet pilot
Chianese prepares
for a training flight
in the second stage
of the syllabus.60 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE SEPTEMBER 2017the Aeronautica. The remaining
instructors, including chief pilot
Comandante Alonzo, were ex-military
pilots who had just been taken on by
Alitalia and posted as instructors on
the MB326 instead of going straight
on to airliners, initially as navigators on
the DC-8 or co-pilots on the Viscount.
There were subsequently a few cases of
instructors who, having finished their
service at Brindisi, preferred to return
to the Aeronautica rather than transfer
for good to Alitalia.
The airline provided all the
technical support personnel, although
Aermacchi detached a respected
engineer to Brindisi, Manlio Flebus.
Similar arrangements were put in
place for Viper engine support, Bristol
Siddeley sending one of its engineers.
The first course followed a
unique format, the 105 cadets being
divided and graded according to the
outcome of the selection tests into
three individual courses of 35 cadets
each. At the end of the first phase
of flying training, which comprised
60 missions, they returned to the
classroom for another theory course.They went back to Brindisi to gain
their third-level pilot’s licence and
their instrument rating, flying a
further 20 sorties. For all subsequent
courses, the theoretical element was
conducted prior to the start of flight
training. It was a rigid regime; to give
an idea, at the end of the first three
courses, of 105 cadets accepted only 48
managed to gain their licences.The average duration of the entire
training procedure was 18 months.
The flying portion comprised both day
and night flying with a couple of land-
away navigation missions, normally
to Lecce Galatina, home of the
Aeronautica Militare jet flying school.
It involved a minimum of 80 one-hour
missions for the student, of which 68
were with an instructor and 12 solo,
as laid down by the requirements for
third-level licence qualification. Some
leeway was permitted, depending
on the capabilities of the individual
student, but this was always fairly
limited. The first solo was scheduled
for the 18th mission.ALITALIA MB326s
A typical day would include
at least one flight preceded by an
hour of briefing, with a debrief to
follow. The dual-control missions
comprised all the manoeuvres typical
of military jet training — stalls, spins,
and even aerobatics, although the
latter element was not included in
the final examination — together
with compressibility, stalls at high
alpha, engine flame-outs and in-
flight relights, simulated engine-out
or flapless landings, and so forth.
These activities were accompanied
by training more specific to airline
operations, with a greater focus on the
precise conduct of the flight, essential
navigation and simulated instrument
flying under the blind flying hood.
Obviously, neither formation flying
nor weapons firing was carried out,
and the practice was not to fly a
classic military run-and-break, but
to join the circuit in standard civilian
fashion. At Brindisi, besides the flying
training, cadets received classroom
lessons in English radio-telephony.
In-flight communications were always
conducted in English.58-61_AM_Sept17_Alitalia_cc C.indd 60 31/07/2017 10:59