Ducted fan with three rotors, of which two are rotating, and one is fixed (a "fixed rotor" is a contradiction within itself, RT); burners provide 700 kg thrust; engine of the compressor, 900 hp Isotta Fraschini L. 121/R.C. 40; length, 12.10 m; height, 4.70 m; span, 14.63 m; wing area, 36 sq m; weight empty, 3,640 kg; total weight, 4,217 kg; useful load, 577 kg; maximum speed at an altitude of 3,000 m without burner, 325 km/h; maximum speed at an altitude of 3,000 m with burner, 359.5 km/h; climb, 1,000 m in 9 min. (with burner); maximum altitude attained in the course of acceptance flight tests, 4,000 m.
The Engine of the CC-2 Aircraft
Like a gun, which 'reacts' with a quick backward movement (i.e. the recoil) when a projectile is shot forward at high speed, a jet engine derives its thrust by reaction to its high-speed ejection of combustion products, and by the expansion of heated air, which is pushed out at a higher speed than when the air is drawn in. (After all, ordinary propellers work in a similar way. They accelerate backwards the air mass that moves through their rotating blades.) These introductory remarks are meant to help our visitors gain an insight into the workings of Ing. Campini's thermojet. It is, in effect, to be considered more as a hybrid than as a jet engine proper. An internal combustion engine characterized by reciprocating motion of pistons in its cylinder - in our case, a 900 hp Isotta Fraschini L. 121/R.C. 40 engine - drove a compressor incorporating 2 ducted propellers and a propeller designed to direct the flow and minimize the breakdown of the smooth airflow. A ring of injectors (i.e. the burners) introduced kerosine, whose combustion increased the volume of the thermojet and the exhaust velocity.
A ducted propeller worked as an air compressor pumping fresh air in a Venturi duct: the injection of fuel worked as the first afterburners used on F-100 Super Sabre during 1950#8217;s. There were not annular combustion chambers and the ducted propeller was unable to change hydraulically the inclination of the blades (pitch). Also the jet exhaust had no flux adjustment by changing the outer diameter of the outlet, like it happens on modern jets. These were the reasons of the too long venturi duct crossing the fuselage.