The Ansaldo A.1 “Balilla” biplane is of great historical interest, because it illustrates the level of development reached by the Italian aircraft industry during the last stages of World War I. To date, the airplane is kept in its original state, and it has never been restored. The aircraft is essentially made of wood and fabric. Wood in particular has been used in a very skilful way, making the airplane lightweight, yet elastic and resistant. In this work, the entire wooden structure of the aircraft was analysed, and the tree species were microscopically identified. Species belonging to six different genera have been identified. We found spruce in the frame, elm in the wing ribs, walnut in the propeller, alder in various plywood layers, rosewood in the outer layer of the decorative plywood, and pine in the tail rudder. The main structure of the aircraft was made of spruce, most likely a Sitka spruce, which was widely used for aircraft construction. The Ansaldo A.1 “Balilla” biplane is an excellent example of the wise use of wood before the revolution upon the boost in synthetic materials and represents an important historical and cultural heritage.

中文翻译：

---

在木材和织物上飞行：用于建造 Ansaldo A.1 “Balilla”双翼飞机的树种（1918 年）

Ansaldo A.1 “Balilla” 双翼飞机具有重大的历史意义，因为它展示了意大利飞机工业在第一次世界大战最后阶段达到的发展水平。迄今为止，这架飞机仍保持原始状态，并且它从未恢复过。这架飞机基本上是由木头和织物制成的。特别是木材以非常巧妙的方式使用，使飞机重量轻，但有弹性和耐用性。在这项工作中，对飞机的整个木结构进行了分析，并对树种进行了显微镜鉴定。已经确定了属于六个不同属的物种。我们在框架中发现了云杉，在翼肋中发现了榆木，在螺旋桨中发现了胡桃木，在各种胶合板层中发现了桤木，在装饰胶合板的外层中发现了红木，在尾舵中发现了松木。飞机的主体结构由云杉制成，最有可能是锡特卡云杉，广泛用于飞机制造。Ansaldo A.1 “Balilla” 双翼飞机是革命前在合成材料的推动下明智地使用木材的一个很好的例子，代表了重要的历史和文化遗产。