The first glider flights in Somalia

The first (and probably last) glider flights in Somalia by Alberto Alpozzi Towards the end of the 1920s, Guido Corni , Governor of Italian Somalia, looking at the vultures and at the marabou storks who took off from the ground with a few wing beats, had the intuition that, in those regions, the constant and strong rising currents could be used to practice soaring in the best conditions; and maybe, after studying the air currents, sailplanes could be even employed to carry light loads within the Colony. An Italian colonial map of Somalia Therefore, on the “Petrella” Italian Royal Air Force base near Mogadishu, an experimental glider was built for the purpose of training the pilots of the colonial air squadriglia . After a few test launches, the trials demonstrated the good handling qualities of the aircraft and, once the fairing of the cockpit was improved, the a...