The 1934 CNIAR IAR-22 was a wooden construction, fabric-covered two-seat dual-control trainer/tourer. It has two seats in tandem and a fixed conventional undercarriage.

The wings were built around two spruce box spars, with plywood webs; plywood covered the whole wing except for the fabric trailing edges. In plan, the wings were straight-tapered, with most of the taper on the trailing edge, but with rounded tips. The wing trailing edge carried ailerons but no flaps. The tailplane was also straight-tapered, though with the taper more equally distributed between leading and trailing edges. The elevators were split, with a cut-out for rudder movement, and were horn balanced. The fin was also straight-edged but the broad rudder, also horn balanced, had a curved trailing edge.

The fuselage of the IAR.22 was flat sided, tapering to the rear. It was a Warren truss structure with duralumin gussets; the forward fuselage was plywood covered, the remain fabric clad. Rounded decking, together with a head fairing behind the rear cockpit, gave the aircraft a slightly humped profile. The front cockpit was just behind the leading edge of the wing and the rear one at mid-chord. The nose line dropped slightly over the cowling of the 97 kW (130 hp) de Havilland Gipsy Major engine, an inverted air-cooled inline engine carried on a steel mounting and which drove a two-bladed propeller. The undercarriage had a wide track of over 2.5 m (100 in), with near perpendicular IAR-made shock absorber legs, split axles hinged at the fuselage centre line and trailing struts. The wheels had independent brakes but were not faired in.

It was reported that the IAR.22 “gave very satisfactory results in tests” conducted by the Romanian Air Ministry’s Acceptance Commission but there is no record of its adoption by the Romanian Air Force. The design allowed for engines of up to 225 kW (300 hp) to be fitted: the intention was that it should be suitable for wireless, camera and gunnery training.

Engine: 1 × de Havilland Gipsy Major, 97 kW (130 hp)
Propeller: 2-bladed fixed-pitch
Wingspan: 11.53 m (37 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 20.8 m2 (224 sq ft)
Length: 7.52 m (24 ft 8 in)
Height: 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)
Empty weight: 647 kg (1,426 lb)
Gross weight: 880 kg (1,940 lb)
Maximum speed: 193 km/h (120 mph, 104 kn) at sea level
Stall speed: 73.73 km/h (45.81 mph, 39.81 kn)
Range: 550 km (340 mi, 300 nmi)
Service ceiling: 5,200 m (17,100 ft)
Absolute ceiling: 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 3.3 m/s (650 ft/min)
Time to 1,000 m (3,300 ft): 5 minutes 7 seconds
Time to 2,000 m (6,600 ft): 11 minutes 6 seconds
Time to 3,000 m (9,800 ft): 19 minutes 56 seconds
Wing loading: 42.3 kg/m2 (8.7 lb/sq ft)
Power/mass: 0.1103 kW/kg (0.0671 hp/lb)
Crew: 2

Although evolved in parallel with the I.A.R.15, the I.A.R.16, which flew for the first time in 1934, was the first of Carafoli’s fighters to feature an all-metal structure, this having plywood, fabric and duralumin skinning. It was powered by a 560hp Bristol Mercury IVS.2 nine-cylinder radial enclosed by a Townend ring and carried an armament of two 7.7mm Vickers guns. The I.A.R.16 was not developed further than a single prototype.

Engine: 560hp Bristol Mercury IVS.2 nine-cylinder radial
Take-off weight: 1650 kg
Empty weight: 1224 kg / 2698 lb
Wingspan: 11.70 m / 38 ft 5 in
Length: 7.37 m / 24 ft 2 in
Height: 2.80 m / 9 ft 2 in
Wing area: 20.30 sq.m / 218.51 sq ft
Max. speed: 342 km/h / 213 mph
Armament: two 7.7mm Vickers guns

The I.A.R.15 flew for the first time late in 1933, powered by a 600hp Gnome-Rhone 9Krse nine cylinder radial and carring an armament of two 7.7mm Vickers machine guns. It had a welded steel-tube fuselage covered by duralumin sheet forward and fabric aft, this being mated with a three-piece wing with two duralumin spars, pine and plywood ribs and duralumin sheet skinning for the centre section with fabric covering for the outer panels. A series of five I.A.R.15s was ordered for the Aeronautica Militara, these differing from the prototype primarily in having three-bladed metal propellers in place of the two-bladed wooden unit. The I.A.R.15 established a national altitude record of 11631m in 1936. It was considered inferior to the P.Z.L. P.11 in manoeuvrability, and no further examples were ordered.

Engine: 600hp Gnome-Rhone 9Krse nine cylinder radial
Take-off weight: 1650 kg
Empty weight: 1215 kg / 2679 lb
Wingspan: 11.00 m / 36 ft 1 in
Length: 7.76 m / 25 ft 6 in
Height: 2.70 m / 8 ft 10 in
Wing area: 19.00 sq.m / 204.51 sq ft
Max. speed: 375 km/h / 233 mph
Range: 600 km / 373 miles
Armament: two 7.7mm Vickers machine guns

Retaining the wings and horizontal tail surfaces of the I.A.R.12, the I.A.R.13, which made its debut in 1933, achieved an aerodynamically cleaner fuselage by replacing the W-configuration Lorraine engine of the earlier prototype with a Vee-twelve type Hispano-Suiza 12Mc of 500hp. The I.A.R.13 was of similar construction to preceding Carafoli-designed fighters, with a wooden fuselage and wing of mixed construction, and proved under test to have a very good performance. However, the Romanian Aeronautica Militara preferred the gulled shoulder-wing arrangement of the P.Z.L. P.11 fighter to the low-wing configuration of the I.A.R. fighters. In 1934, the Polish aircraft was selected for the re-equipment of its fighter element, with licence manufacture to be undertaken by I.A.R. Nevertheless, the Romanian company was to continue with its own fighter development.

Engine: Hispano-Suiza 12Mc, 500hp
Take-off weight: 1530 kg
Wingspan: 11.70 m / 38 ft 5 in
Length: 7.34 m / 24 ft 1 in
Height: 3.50 m / 11 ft 6 in
Wing area: 19.80 sq.m / 213.13 sq ft
Max. speed: 330 km/h / 205 mph

Of similar configuration as the CV-11 and mixed construction, the I.A.R.12, designed by Elie Carafoli, was aerodynamically more advanced than its predecessor, even though heavier and with a lower-powered engine. Flown for the first time in 1932, the I.A.R.12 had a mixed structure of duralumin and Romanian pine. The fuselage was covered by light alloy panels forward and fabric aft of the cockpit, the wings being fabric skinned. The engine was a 450hp Lorraine 12Eb of W type, and armament consisted of two 7.7mm Vickers machine guns. Only one prototype of the I.A.R.12 was built, development continuing with an improved model, the I.A.R.13.

Take-off weight: 1540 kg / 3395 lb
Empty weight: 1150 kg / 2535 lb
Wingspan: 11.70 m / 38 ft 5 in
Length: 7.20 m / 23 ft 7 in
Height: 3.50 m / 11 ft 6 in
Wing area: 19.80 sq.m / 213.13 sq ft
Max. speed: 294 km/h / 183 mph

The first original aircraft design produced by the Industria Aeronautica Romana (I.A.R), established in 1925, was the CV-11 single-seat fighter completed and flown, in 1930. Designed by Elie Carafoli and a French engineer, M Virmoux, the CV-11 was of mixed construction and powered by a 600hp 12-cylinder W-type Lorraine 12Fa Courlis engine. Armament was two 7.7mm Vickers machine guns.
After completion of the initial flight test programme, the Lorraine engine was replaced by a 500hp Hispano-Suiza 12Mc 12-cylinder Vee-type and it was tested at Jstres during the first quarter of 1931. It then returned to Romania, where, on 9 December 1931, the CV-11 made an attempt on the 500km closed-circuit speed record. An engine failure necessitated a forced landing in which the pilot, Capt Romeo Popescu, was killed. Further development of the basic design by Carafoli led to the I.A.R.12.

Take-off weight: 1510 kg / 3329 lb
Empty weight: 1100 kg / 2425 lb
Wingspan: 11.50 m / 37 ft 9 in
Length: 6.98 m / 22 ft 11 in
Height: 2.46 m / 8 ft 1 in
Wing area: 18.20 sq.m / 195.90 sq ft
Max. speed: 329 km/h / 204 mph

The PM.1 was designed by students at the Instituto di Construzioni Aeronautische del Regio Politecnico di Milano in a 1938 competition for a modern, two seat light private training and sports aircraft. The name came from Polytechnic Milano. The prototype was built by CNA, first flying on 25 October 1939.

The PM.1 was a cantilever high wing monoplane. Its wing was straight tapered, with rounded tips and long span ailerons, built of wood with a plywood skin. The tailplane had a similar plan, placed on top of the fuselage with the trailing edge of the elevators in line with the rudder hinge so the rudder, which extended to the base of the fuselage, could move unimpeded. The fin and rudder were rounded and pointed; the rudder carried a trim tab.

The fuselage, also wooden and plywood covered, was flat sided, with car type doors giving access to the side-by-side seats in the cabin which was placed under the leading edge of the wing. In front, a compactly cowled, 40 kW (60 hp) CNA D.4 flat four engine drove a 2-blade propeller. The PM.1 had a conventional undercarriage with mainwheels on centrally mounted, faired V-form half axles and with vertical legs to the bottom longerons, assisted by a tailskid.

The outbreak of war and the need to concentrate on front-line aircraft delayed production of the PM.1 but an order for 10 was placed in August 1942. The partially completed aircraft were destroyed in an Allied bombing raid on Rome in July 1943; though the prototype avoided this event, it was destroyed later in the war. Its design influenced that of the post-war Macchi MB.308, though the latter has a tricycle undercarriage and a markedly revised tail.

Engine: 1 × CNA D.4 air-cooled flat four, 45 kW (60 hp)
Propeller: 2-bladed
Wingspan: 10.60 m (34 ft 9 in)
Length: 7.07 m (23 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 14.0 sq.m (151 sq ft)
Empty weight: 360 kg (794 lb)
Gross weight: 580 kg (1,279 lb)
Maximum speed: 180 km/h; 97 kn (112 mph)
Cruise speed: 154 km/h; 83 kn (96 mph)
Range: 600 km; 324 nmi (373 mi)
Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,123 ft)
Time to altitude: 6 min to 1,000 m (3,280 ft)
Landing speed: 68 kmh; 36 kn (42 mph)
Crew: 2

During the 1920s the Compagnia Nazionale Aeronautica (CNA) were best known for their flying school in Rome, though they also manufactured experimental aircraft for the government. When they moved their Roman base from Cerveteri to Littorio in 1928, they built a factory in which they could produce both aircraft and aircraft engines; some were designed by other companies, some by themselves. The Eta was both CNA designed and powered.

The Eta was a conventional parasol wing light aircraft that could be configured as a single seater or with two seats in tandem; it could also be fitted with either a fixed conventional undercarriage or floats. It was originally powered by an uncowled, 9-cylinder CNA C-7 supercharged radial engine but later flew with an inverted 6-cylinder air-cooled supercharged inline, the CNA C.VI. The slightly tapered wing was mounted on tall faired parallel struts from the mid-fuselage, assisted by lighter diagonal struts and shorter, forward leaning supports from the upper fuselage. The single seat model placed the open cockpit just behind the wing trailing edge. The tail was conventional, with the tailplane on top of the fuselage and braced from below. The vertical surfaces were rounded. In keeping with the rest of the design, the fixed wheeled undercarriage was very simple, with unfaired wheels mounted on slender V-form struts attached to the lower fuselage.

The Eta was chiefly distinguished by setting three lightplane world records. At the time the FAI divided the lightest aircraft between to categories: C.II, single seats with empty weights less than 200 kg (41 lb) and C.I, two seaters weighing less than 400 kg (882 lb). These categories were then each sub-divided into landplane and seaplane. A 130 kW (170 hp) CNA C-7 engine had enabled a Fiat AS.1 to gain the Category I altitude record in December 1932 and on 6 November 1933 the single seat Eta, with the same motor and fitted with floats, set a new C.II record of 8,411 m (27.595 ft). It was then fitted with its wheeled undercarriage and flown to a new C.II landplane record of 10,008 m (32,835 ft) on December 1933. On both occasions the Eta was flown by Furio Niclot Doglio.

By 1936 the Eta was flying as a two seat seaplane. It is not known if these were different aircraft or the same one modified. Powered by the in-line, 112 kW (150 hp) CNA C-VI engine, on 15 May it set a new world C.I 100 km (62 mi) circuit speed record of 192.62 km/h (119.7 mph), flown by Gian Giacomo Chiesi with Domenico Rossetti.

Variants:

Category II
single seat, CNA C-7 engine, both landplane and seaplane.

Category I
two seat, CNA C.VI engine, both landplane seaplane.

Specifications:
tandem dual control, landplane
Engine: 1 × CNA C-7 9-cylinder supercharged radial, 130 kW (170 hp)
Propeller: 2-bladed
Wingspan: 10.0 m (32 ft 10 in)
Length: 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
Height: 2.49 m (8 ft 2 in)
Empty weight: 410 kg (904 lb)
Gross weight: 500 kg (1,102 lb)
Maximum speed: 219 km/h; 118 kn (136 mph)
Time to altitude: 25 min to 6,457 m (19,680 ft)
Landing speed: 65 km/h; 35 kn (40 mph)
Crew: 2