Rieti, August 21st - 2005
 
 
"HAWK" - THE " RIETI MADE " ACROBATIC AIRCRAFT -
WILL FLY FOR THE FIRST TIME OVER THE XXXVth MEETING.
 
Rieti - Sunday the 28th of August the Rieti IAAF GP Meeting riches the 35th consecutive edition and the anniversary of the most long-lived event of Italian Athletics run into a coincidence, this year, with the baptism of another exclusive creature which is just born in the Sabina's town and is going to move its first step.
"F8AL" is an acronym which can maybe sound meaningless to profanes, but for aviation's fans the "Hawk" of Commander Luigi Aldini symbolizes already - just before its first official roll-out - a little milestone in our aviation history, already able to have mention on pages and pages of the most important specialised magazines. 
Luigi Aldini, originating from Emilia but living in Rieti, is the man that since many years has been greeting the public of "Guidobaldi" with his final exhibition on board of a glider, diving in the notes of  Ennio Morricone's theme from the movie " Once upon a time the West" ; Sunday his exhibition will be enriched, before the beginning of the Meeting, with the on-flight presentation of the F8AL "Hawk" : a little red shining jewel, made for acrobatic flight, which Aldini built rivet after rivet, instrument after instrument, in his house in Rieti together with his wife Gemma and the two sons, Davide and Marco.
The "Hawk"'s adventure started at the end of the '90. "I met at the airport my friend Enzo Marrucci who was just getting out of his F4 - Swift. Few words lead to know that he was in possess of some - still packed - boxes from Aeromere, the Factory in Trento which had started, in the '50ies, the Hawk's production. It was strongly possible, eventually, that the boxes contained hardware of Ing. Stelio Frati masterpiece" says today Aldini.
Just a minute to accept to move the boxes to Rieti. Then, immediately after find, inside them, the original - and readable - projects. This pushed automatically the family - 1998 was the year - to start building up this wooden wonder.
From then, "Hawk" is a celebrity in Rieti and in the Aviation environment : curious, friends and specialists coming from all over Europe were visiting Aldini's house to assist day after day the development of  F8AL , the tail of which have for long time, been visible from the window.
Sandro Giovannelli, patron of the Meeting, was also fascinated by this flying racing machine, that one which is considered by many "the air born Stradivarius": after mandatory "certification" flights, made during the past months, the wooden predator born in Rieti will now show up for the first time in public just in that Meeting which brought fame to Rieti from all over the world.
Concerning the air manoeuvres which will be carried out by the Hawk over the Guidobaldi, Commander Aldini keeps discretion - "to keep the surprise for the public" - but in any case a low level flight will be performed, with a tri-colours wake out of the smokers, fixed under the wings.
Hawk's flight : another amazing page in Rieti IAAF GP Meeting.
 
THE "HAWK"
The project of F8 was designed by Ing. Stelio Frati at the end of the '50 for Aviamilano Factory ; the project was later taken over by Aeromede Factory ( Laverda) which, from 1959 to 1968, built around 60 aircrafts before stopping production. Designed especially for air races and acrobatic flight, entirely wooden, F8 Hawk survived thank Sequoia, the American factory that produces it in kit, but also mainly thank to love and affection that many fans - like Commander Aldini - still have for this little, incredible aircraft.
During the years the F8 has been improved with to a lot of modifications : the F8AL built in Rieti is the first of  5th Series and, specifies Aldini, "put together all previous improvements and some new technical modification carried out by me and my family as, for instance, an extension of  15 cm of the nose, a triple-blade propeller and a renewed line of the capote".
A unique peace in the world, ready to fly in the sky over Rieti Sunday the 28th.
 
THECNICAL DATA
Wing length :   8.00 m
Length     :      6.50 m
Height     :      2,28 m
Wing span  :   9,98 sqm
Weight     :            549 kg
Takeoff Weight :   819 kg
Max Str. Speed :  386 km/h
Max. Speed :    341 km/h
Cruise Speed (75% max.pwr.) :    306 km/h
Stall Speed  :    100 km/h
Takeoff / land space :   250m / 180m
Max. Ceiling :    6.000 m
Max. Range  :    1,400 km