Piaggio P.166

P.166
Piaggio P.166 DL3, Italian Coast Guard
Role Civil utility aircraft
National origin Italy
Manufacturer Piaggio Aero
First flight 26 November 1957
Developed from Piaggio P.136

The Piaggio P.166 is a twin-engine pusher-type utility aircraft developed by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Piaggio Aero. The aircraft is known as Albatross in South African military service.

Design and development

The basic P.166 was a development of the P.136 amphibian and flew for the first time on 26 November 1957.[1] The P.166 had a new fuselage and tail unit but retained the wing and engines from the P.136. Several were purchased for use as executive transports or as feeder and taxi aircraft. The improved P.166B was more powerful and had up to 10 seats; a prototype was first flown on 27 March 1962.

A further version, the 12 seater P.166C, with improved undercarriage, first flew on 2 October 1964.

A turboprop-powered variant, the P.166D was developed with Lycoming LTP-101 engines and it first flew on 3 July 1976.

Variants

Piaggio P.166C registered in Italy as I-FENI waiting to depart from 2014 Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, England
P.166
Prototypes powered by 340 hp (254 kW) Lycoming GSO-480-B1C6 engines, three built.[2]
P.166AL1
First production version with non-slanted cockpit side windows. Accommodation for two pilots and 6–8 passengers. Powered by 340 hp (250 kW) Lycoming GSO-480-B1C6 engines,[3] 29 built.[2]
P.166B Portofino
Revised, more powerful version with longer nose. Powered by two 380 hp (283 kW) Lycoming IGSO-540-A1C engines.[4] Five built.[5]
P.166BL2/APH
Photo survey aircraft for Italian Air Force. Two built.[6]
P.166CL2
Feederliner version of P.166B with external landing gear pods to allow a revised cabin giving room for up to 12 passengers.[7] Two built.[5] or another source gives four built[2]
P.166DL3
Light utility transport version, powered by two 450 kW (600 hp) Lycoming LTP 101-600 turboprop engines.[8] 14 built including sub-variants.[2]
P.166DL3/APH
Photo survey aircraft version of -DL3. Six built for Italian Air Force.[9]
P.166DL3/MAR
Maritime patrol version of DL3. Two built for Somalia.[10]
P.166DL3/SEM
Paramilitary maritime patrol (SEM - Sorveglianza Ecologia e Marittima - Maritime and ecological surveillance) version of DL3. 12 aircraft built for Italian Coast Guard and 10 for Guardia di Finanza.[11]
P.166DP1
Re-engined version with 615 shp (459 kW) Pratt & Whitney PT6A-121 turboprops. Eight converted (two from -DL3 and six from -DL3/SEM) for Guardia di Finanza.[12]
P.166M
Military version of P.166A, 49 built for Italian air force.[6]
P.166S Albatross
Coastal patrol, search and rescue version of the South African Air Force with longer P.166B type nose and larger tip tanks, 20 built.[10]

Operators

P.166 of the Ansett Airlines of Papua New Guinea in the early 1970s
 Australia
 Italy
 Somalia
 South Africa

Specifications (P.166)

Data from Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide [14]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

none

Accidents and incidents

References

  1. Taylor 1961, p. 105.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Simpson 1991, pp.232-233
  3. Taylor 1961, p. 106.
  4. Taylor 1965, p. 97.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Taylor 1976, p. 114.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Nicolli 2012, p. 88.
  7. Stroud 1994, p. 66.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Nicolli 2012, p. 89.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Nicolli 2012, pp. 88–90.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Nicolli 2012, pp. 88–89.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Nicolli 2012, p. 90.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Nicolli 2012, pp. 90–91.
  13. Nicolli 2012, pp. 87–88.
  14. Rendall, David (1995). Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide. Glasgow, UK: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 505. ISBN 0-00-470980-2.
  15. news24.com
  16. Aviation-safety.net

External links

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