Stelio Frati and his F-22

Carl Miller

Thursday, September 09, 2010 at 06:59 PM ET

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Stelio Frati's F-22 Pinguino Jim Winn

Key Takeaways:

The author's 1998 attempt to bring Stelio Frati's F-22 Pinguino aircraft to America failed due to General Avia's financial troubles and a prohibitive $2 million license fee, despite the plane's high quality.
Stelio Frati, the F-22's designer, prioritized aesthetics and flight experience over commercial success, creating a beautiful aircraft known for docile handling, full aerobatic capability, and precise control.
Despite its commercial failure, the article suggests the F-22, like other underappreciated products, could still charm enthusiasts who value its design and flight characteristics, aligning with Frati's artistic vision.

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I may have been the last person to consider bringing the late Stelio Frati’s F-22 Pinguino to America. Mooney apparently looked at the program, and Roy LoPresti, who also sought to produce the SwiftFury, was interested. By the time I arrived at the General Avia factory in Perugia, Italy, on a frigid January day in 1998, the company was on life support, and shortly thereafter was bankrupt.

I never met Frati, who was a designer, not a manufacturing engineer or marketer. So I know him only through his aircraft, some of which enjoyed commercial success, notably the agile and lovely Siai Marchetti SF.260. But I surmise that Frati’s motives had more to do with the aesthetic and experiential aspects of flight than the commercial ones.