Roberto Crippa (b. Monza, 17 May 1921; d. Milan, 19 March 1972) was a famous Italian painter and sculptor. Crippa was also an acrobatic pilot who competed at the international level. In 1972 during a routine practice flight in preparation for the World Championships his plane crashed nearby Mila and the artist died in the accident.
In November 2012 after 45 years in the backyard of the artist’s villa located near Milan, Italy, a well preserved Fiat G.46-4A was moved to the shops of the Volandia Aeropark located near the Malpensa International Airport thanks to the efforts of Franco Zanaboni, an aviation enthusiast from Milan, Italy.
The G.46 was developed in Italy shortly after World War II. It was a conventional, low-wing monoplane with tailwheel undercarriage that was used as a military trainer developed in Italy shortly after World War II.
This particular G-46t was built by Fiat in 1959 and was flown first by the Italian Air Force (MM 53284), after its decommission from military duties it was flown under civilian marks I-AEHQ. After its certificate of Airworthiness expired, in October 1966 it was moved to the backyard of Roberto Crippa’s villa.
The museum’s restoration group AREA (Associazione Restauri Aeronautici), which has already completed several restorations of vintage aircraft, including the restoration of an IMAM Ro.37 that was found in Afghanistan by the Italian Army, plans to restore this G.46 to its original condition.
