The purposes of the Associazione Mario Calderara are to collect, preserve and disseminate historical material and heirloom concerning aviation pioneer Mario Calderara, Italian pilot license n. 1, aviator and inventor.
In addition to this page, the website is structured in three main areas:
- page dedicated to Mario Calderara‘s biography. The content of this page dates back to 1999, and the same, in the past years (over 20!), has become widespread (various websites have copied and pasted such content without changing a single word). Some of the pictures contained in that page have been, however, over time replaced.
- the Web Library contains information on the memorabilia of Mario Calderara (original of pilot license No. 1, Wright engine, list of the existing films of the time and indication of where they are kept) as well as information on the official publications concerning Mario Calderara.
- the Events page reports initiatives regarding Mario Calderara: commemoration and inauguration events, newspaper articles, television services and other multimedia material published. Please note that this section might have different content depending on the language (Italian/English/French).
The website is trilingual, however some of the articles (both concerning events and anectdotes (“stories“) may be published only in one language: the complete list of articles in each language may be obtained on the page of articles.
The calderara.com website has been, ever since 1999, an authoritative source to obtain information about Mario Calderara and the official website of his descendants. All information published on this website is verified and based on reliable, published sources, possibly official as well. We also wish this page, to provide verifiabilty of sourcing in relation to some salient facts that have characterized his life, and for this reason we are reproducing a table of “Fact sheets on Mario Calderara“, aimed at allowing the visitors to carry out fact checking.
| Section being developped – February 2021 |
FACTS
| Why is Mario Calderara defined as Italy’s first pilot. | Mario obtained license no.1, see copy of license, on the web library |
| Mario Calderara has been the first pupil of the Wright Brothers in Italy in 1909 but had been flying even before, having started his first fly experiments since 1902 | Early fly experiments |
| The first airplane to having a “tractor” configuration was designed by Mario Calderara. When it was constructed, it was the fastest airplane in existence. | [under construction] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Tractor_configuration |
| The Calderara hydroplane, in 1912, was the biggest airplane existing |
Lieutenant M. Calderara of the Italian Navy, who was the first military pilot in the world, and is still a leader of Italian aviation
(Financial Times, 18 July 1913)
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(C) 2021 calderara.com – last update to English version: May 31, 2021 – Associazione Mario Calderara – Sede legale: Via Girolamo da Carpi, 1 – 00196 Roma – email: associazione(at)calderara.com