One of the most unusual-looking aircraft flying is the Italian Piaggio P180 Avanti. The design uses a small forward wing and a main wing combination that places the wing spars outside of the passenger cabin area. It features a lifting laminar flow fuselage and has engines in pusher configuration.
Developing nation: Italy.
Manufacturer/designer: Piaggio Aero.
Production Lines: Villanova d’Albenga, about 70 kilometers west of Genoa.
Type aircraft: Executive transport.
First flight: 26 September 1986.
First delivery: 30 September 1990.
Produced: 1986-present.
Variants
- P.180 Avanti – First production variant.
- P.180 M – Military version with a combination passenger/freighter configuration for use as a VIP and light utility transport.
- P.180 RM – Variant for use in radio calibration.
- P.180 AMB – Air ambulance variant.
- P.180 APH – Aerial cartography.
- P.180 Avanti II – Variant with improved avionics and engines.
- Maritime Patrol Aircraft – Variant of the Avanti II with larger wing.
Military
- Bulgaria – Bulgarian Air Force
- Italy
- Italian Air Force
- Italian Army
- Italian Navy
- Carabinieri – Former operator.
- United Arab Emirates – United Arab Emirates Air Force
General characteristics
- Crew: one or two pilots
- Capacity: up to nine passengers
- Cabin dimensions: 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) high, 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) wide, 4.45 m (14 ft 7 in) long
- Payload: 907 kg (2,000 lb)
- Length: 14.41 m (47 ft 3½ in)
- Wingspan: 14.03 m (46 ft 0½ in)
- Height: 3.97 m (13 ft 0¾ in)
- Wing area: 16 m² (172.2 ft²)
- Foreplane area: 2.19 m² (23.59 ft²)
- Horizontal stabilizer area: 3.83 m² (41.27 ft²)
- Empty weight: 3,400 kg (7,500 lb)
- Useful load: 1,860 kg (4,100 lb)
- Max. takeoff weight: 5,239 kg (11,550 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66 turboprop, 634 kW (850 shp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 737 km/h (398 kn, 458 mph)
- Cruise speed: 732 km/h(395 kn, 455 mph) cruise at 30,000 ft, 660 km/h (356 kn, 410 mph) economy cruise at 39,000 ft
- Stall speed: 172 km/h (93 kn, 107 mph)
- Range: 2,795 km (1,509 NM, 1,737 mi) at 11,900 m (39,000 ft) IFR
- Service ceiling: 12,500 m (41,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 15 m/s (2,950 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 327 kg/m² (67.1 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.24 kW/kg (6.79 lb/hp
- Fuel economy: 0.84 NM/Lbs @FL410 and 316 KTAS)
All pictures courtesy of Zijde Aviation Photo and Publishing, Rob Vogelaar
