Caproni Ca 100 I-ABOU has returned to the water of Lake Como, and the skies, after a three-year overhaul. But what’s this utterly delightful machine like to fly and operate?
It’s not easy to describe the emotion of flying a 1935 Caproni Ca 100 as pilot in command. It is akin to a violinist playing a Stradivarius, or to sit in one’s own armchair and leaf through Da Vinci’s Codex Leicester — a pleasure reserved only for Bill Gates, who purchased the work.
But when we find ourselves at the controls, the emotion suddenly passes. It’s just about piloting an aircraft, with its peculiarities and its plusses and minuses, to the best of our capability. Safe piloting requires cold objectivity, no matter if it’s a replica of the Curtiss America, the Caproni, or the Space Shuttle. The only hope when aboard such a strange and rare craft is for an event-free flight. All our efforts must go towards making it event-free, even though our ego might push us to demonstrate how clever we are in getting out of the machine everything she can give.
Pre-flight involves the typical checks as for any aeroplane, including external inspections of the integrity and functionality of all components. The fuel level is controlled using a wooden dipstick and a …
