Piaggio P.180 Avanti
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| P.180 Avanti | |
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| Type | Executive transport |
| Manufacturer | Piaggio Aero |
| Maiden flight | 26 September 1986 |
| Primary users | Italian Armed Force Avantair |
| Number built | 150 delivered to May 2008 |
The Piaggio P.180 Avanti is an unusual yet remarkably efficient twin-engine business aircraft produced by Piaggio Aero. It seats up to nine passengers in a pressurized cabin, and may be flown by one or two pilots.
The radical design includes the main wing placed behind and above the horizontal stabiliser similar to a canard, engines which face backwards and a Blended Wing Body.
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[edit] Configuration
The Avanti has turboprop engines in a pusher configuration, placed on a mid-fuselage, high aspect ratio wing, located behind the cabin. The design utilizes both a T-tail and a small fixed canard which lacks control surfaces. The arrangement of the wing surfaces allows all three to provide lift, as opposed to a conventional configuration where the horizontal stabilizer creates a downward force to counteract the nose-down moment that a conventional main wing generates.
Distinctive design features include a non-constant cross section cabin, the revolutionary shape of which approximates a NACA airfoil section. Piaggio claims the fuselage contributes up to 20% of the Avanti's total lift, with horizontal stabilizer, wing and canard providing the remaining 80%. Because of the fuselage's unusual shape, the mid cabin is considerably wider than the cockpit, and the entire cabin sits ahead of the main wing spar. The wing and canard airfoils are custom sections designed by Dr. Jerry Gregorek of Ohio State University to achieve a drag-reducing 50% laminar flow at cruise.
The company claims the overall design of the P180 Avanti II enables the wing to be 34% smaller than on conventional aircraft and a specific range of 0.84 nm per pound of fuel.[1] This is significantly better than the 0.31 to 0.48 nm/pound of similar small jets. [2]
[edit] History
The P.180 was wind tunnel tested in Italy and the U.S. in 1980 and 1981. A collaboration with Learjet to develop the aircraft was begun in 1982, ending in 1986, when the prototype first flew. U.S. certification was obtained in 1990. Learjet's influence is seen in the two "Delta Fins", mounted on the bottom of the tail. Seen on most Learjets, these devices provide aerodynamic recovery force in the event of an aerodynamic stall. The first 12 fuselages were built in Wichita, with H & H Parts and Plessey Midwest, then flown to Italy for assembly. Avanti Aviation Wichita ran out of money in 1994; the project languished until a group of investors led by Piero Ferrari became involved in 1998. The 100th aircraft was delivered in October 2005 and the 150th in May 2008.
The P.180 makes a distinctive square wave noise when passing overhead, similar to the Beech Starship, due to wing wake and engine exhaust effects on the propeller. It is relatively noisy compared to most turboprop aircraft.
Piaggio pilots remark that exterior noise is odd sounding although not appreciably noisier than comparable turboprop aircraft. Indeed, interior noise is the lowest of nearly any aircraft turboprop or jet.
An improved Avanti II obtained European and US certification in Novembe 2005. Six months later, seventy planes were already ordered (36 by Avantair). The Avanti II features uprated PT 6 engines and flies about 11 mph faster, with better fuel economy, and an all-new "glass panel" avionics suite reduces cockpit clutter. In addition to heading, attitude and navigation information, flat panel color LCD displays add collision avoidance (TCAS), ground proximity (TAWS) and real-time graphic weather depiction.
[edit] Variants
- P.180 Avanti
- First production version.
- P.180 Avanti II
- Improved version: uprated PT 6 engines, glass cockpit, collision avoidance, ground proximity and real-time graphic weather depiction.
- P.180 M
- P.180 Avanti military version. Combi configuration for VIP and light utility transport. FLIR, SAR radar and surveillance systems predisposition.
- P.180 RM
- Radio calibration. Chaff and flares predisposition.
- P.180 AMB
- Ambulance Service.
- P.180 APH
- Aerial cartography.
[edit] Operators
- Italian Air Force
- Italian Navy
- Italian Army
- Italian State Forestry Department
- Corpo Nazionale dei Vigili del fuoco - Italian Firefighters
- Italian Civil defense
- Polizia di Stato
- Carabinieri
- Guardia di Finanza
- Ambulance Service
[edit] Specifications (P.180 Avanti)
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 6 in) long
- Payload: 907 kg (2,000 lb)
- Length: 14.40 m (47 ft 2 in)
- Wingspan: 14.03 m (46 ft)
- Height: 3.98 m (13 ft 1 in)
- Wing area: 16 m² (172.2 ft²)
- Empty weight: 3,400 kg (7,500 lb)
- Useful load: 1,862 kg (4,105 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 5,262 kg (12,100 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66 turboprops, 634 kW (850 shp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 737 km/h (398 kt or 458 mph)
- Cruise speed: 644 km/h (348 kt or 400 mph)
- Range: 2,595 km (1,400 nm or 1613 mi) with one pilot, six passengers and IFR reserves
- Service ceiling 12,500 m (41,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 14.98 m/s (2,950 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 327.4 kg/m² (67.07 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 4.13 kg/kW (6.79 lb/hp)
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Piaggio Aero's page concerning efficiency
- ^ http://www.spectrum.aero/media/Spectrum_Independence_Specs.pdf
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
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