Falco    The Falco, for very good reason, is known as the "Ferrari of the air". Like a Ferrari, the Falco is fast, nimble, strong, smoothly finished and looks "Right" even at rest. The aircraft was designed by the Italian Mechanical-Aeronautical engineer Stelio Frati. To aviation buffs a Frati design is as distinctive and timeless  as a Ferrari is to a racing fan. Frati designed the Falco as an aerobatic aircraft and it was certified in this difficult category by the Italians and the FAA. Since 1955 it has undergone engine upgrades and minor revisions (usually by ardent homebuilders..this is a homebuilt aircraft!) but the classic lines have not changed The Falco is a wooden aircraft. Wood is ideal for the stresses of the aerobatics. It is light,strong and fatigue resistant. Sitka spruce is used for ribs,spars and fuselage frames while the aircraft is skinned in birch plywood. A very thin coat of fiberglass is then  applied to protect the wood. The laminar flow wings are then buffed to a mirror like finish to complement a sculpted fuselage that has been honed to reduce every possible ounce of drag. The Falco almost screams "Speed!"  Pilot reports invariably mention "Jetlike, Responsive, Sensuous" etc. The cockpit is noisy but the view is fighterlike. The classic report on the Falco was written by James Gilbert in "The Great Planes". "...It is much like the first time you ever drove a Ferrari; a damnation of all lesser vehicles for eternity. For the controls are so light, so delicate, the visibility so like falling free through space, and the airplane's stability even in turbulence so arrow-straight and intransmutable that you feel a fool for not knowing that light planes could be like this." Specs and performance (180 Hp Lycoming)  Weights; Empty 1,212   Gross 1,880  Aerobatic Max 1,650  Fuel; 40 U.S. Gals  Baggage;90lbs   Rate of Climb 1,500fpm  Service ceiling; 19,000 ft  Max speed 220  Vne 240   Cruise at 75% at 6000 ft 198mph  Range economy cruise; 980 miles  Stall(Clean) 75mph  Stall(flaps/gear) 62mph  Take off run 530ft  Landing Run ;750 ft