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by Aeromedia - corso Giambone 46/18 - 10135 Torino (Italy)

Codirosso: the Mini-Zero Flying over Piedmont

In the small airfields and landing sites across Italy it is not unusual to find examples of true aviation passion coupled with outstanding craftsmanship. With due proportions, some accomplishments of the amateur aviation bear comparison with those of the first tier national industry, although, unlike them, without being implicated in judicial cases.

The “I Rondoni” (The Swifts) landing site – better known as “Carolina” from the the name of the nearby village – is located in the countryside near Caluso, few kilometers North of Turin. Here, in the past weeks, Carlo Gritella began to test-fly his most original aircraft, the diminutive homebuilt Codirosso (redstart), now sporting a more powerful 50 HP engine.

Despite being based on the Hummel Bird drawings, substantial modifications, such as tapered wings and tail units (inspired by the Mitsubishi Zero WW2 fighter, Carlo’s favourite aircraft), make the Codirosso an almost completely new type. The inception of this beautiful homebuilt deserves fuller details.

Carlo Gritella, an early aviation enthusiast, started as an aero modeller, that same teenage hobby of many other future homebuilders. In mid ‘Nineties, he took the opportunity to collaborate with his friend Antonio Roselli to build a Bagalini Colombo (pigeon) two-seater from plans. This original “parasol”, built with total craftsmanship in every detail, was awarded the “Trofeo Rotondi” at the 2004 CAP Meeting (Club Aviazione Popolare, the Italian Amateur Aircraft Builder Association), as the best new homebuilt.

After this accomplishment, in mid 2004, Carlo Gritella began to help another friend at Carolina, Marco Campagnol, to complete the manufacture of his diminutive Hummel Bird homebuilt arcraft. This low-wing, metal single-seater, powered by a DAF car engine, was manufactured with minor modifications to the original U.S. drawings, like the other similar machine now flying in Italy. When finished, Campagnol’s Hummel Bird was displayed at the 2007 CAP Meeting, where it ranked second in the yearly “Trofeo Rotondi” contest.

In December, 2009, having built up comprehensive experience in the field, and encouraged by many friends, Carlo Gritella decided to build his own Hummel Bird. However he introduced a number of substantial modifications inspired by the shape of the “Zero” fighter. The wing and the tail unit were completely redesigned, and some solutions were extracted from the BK Fliers BK1 plans (another Hummel Bird derivate), in particular the central wing spar and the main wheel strut attachments. Notwithstanding these modifications, the construction phase was surprisingly short, in comparison to that of average homebuilts.

While it was taking shape, the aircraft was becoming less and less similar to the original Hummel Aviation project, becoming so different that a new name needed to be found for the aircraft. It so happened that at the time, a breeding family of redstarts nested under the roof of the Carlo’s house. This was a sign of destiny not to be ignored! It was decided that the new aircraft would be named “Codirosso” (Redstart). This rare bird (“Phoenicurus phoenicurus”) had also the considerable advantage to be one of the few whose name had not been associated with another aircraft.

On February 6, 2011, the “Codirosso” made its maiden flight at the Carolina landing site. It was initially powered by a 35 HP, 650 cc, two-cylinder Citroën Visa avionized automotive engine. This drove a two-blade wooden propeller manufactured by Carlo himself, a demanding task which most homebuilders prefer to avoid.

The “Codirosso” satisfied normal technical requirements and received its official identification number I-A694, and type designation “Gritella Carlo Codirosso”. However, the original engine, while being sufficient for the development requirements, was underpowered from various performance aspects. To add more HPs, Carlo returned to his shop to develop a new and more powerful version of the Citroën Visa 650, this time able to deliver some 50 HP.

In October, 2012, the re-engined “Codirosso” began a further phase of test flights at the Carolina airfield. The pilot-builder has declared he is very impressed by the advantages of having 15 more horse power, in particular for take-off acceleration and climb rate. In general, the extra power will also improve safety margins in critical aspects of the flight envelope.

In the picture: Gritella Codirosso homebuilt I-A694, powered by a new 50 HP Citroën engine, over “I Rondoni” landing site (Caluso, Turin, Italy) in October 2012. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, October 2012)