FlyPast 12.2018

70 FLYPAST December 2018

Spotlight

Schneider

Trophy

328.64328.64

Stalli

S

chneider Trophy

competitions of the early

1920s garnered great

prestige. Not just for the

aeronautical manufacturers of

the period, but also for European

air arms, including Italy’s Regia

Aeronautica (air force).

Nevertheless, before the creation

of the Scuola di Alta Velocità (High

Speed School) in 1928, which

placed this Italian Air Force unit in

charge of training Italy’s Schneider

Italian

Trophy pilots, preparations for the

contest were very different, as it

was the manufacturers themselves

who made their pilots and aircraft

available to the national aero clubs.

Victory for the Americans in 1923,

at Cowes, Isle of Wight, gave a

significant boost to the event’s

popularity. The fact that it was a US

Navy Pilot that won encouraged

the Regia Aeronautica to make

an official approach to the Italian

government. Between 1925 and

Below

The Savoia S.12 fl own by Luigi Bologna, who won the 1920 Schneider

Trophy in Venice. ALL VIA LUIGINO CALIARO