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Francesco Agello
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francesco Agello (27 December 1902 - 26 November 1942) was an Italian test pilot.
Born at Casalpusterlengo, Lombardy, Agello graduated from pilot school in 1924 and soon became a test pilot. He was the forth of four test pilots who tried to set a speed record with the Macchi M.C.72. However, one after the other, the test pilots ahead of Agello died (first Monti and then Bellini flying the M.C. 72, Neri died flying a CR-20 in 1933). Agello became famous when he succeeded in piloting the plane to a new speed record (over water) on April 10, 1933. He attained an average speed of 683 km/h (424 mph). More than a year later he flew the M.C. 72 to a new speed record of more than 700 km/h (709 km/h or 440 mph) on 23 October 1934. No one has ever flown a piston-engine seaplane faster since that date.
He was awarded the De la Vaulx Medal twice for his speed records, once in 1933 and again in 1934.
In 1935 he joined the Italian government's airplane test center. He died during World War II in an aircraft crash while testing a new Italian fighter plane at Bresso, near Milan. He was almost 40 years old.