AEROMEDIA

Aeromedia
corso Giambone 46/18
10135 Torino (Italy)

Piaggio Improves its P.180 and P.166

In a strong drive to fully restore its production levels, Piaggio has decided significant improvements for its two aircraft models, built at its Genoa and Finale Ligure plants.
The costs of the P.180 three winged twin-turboprop will be cut, mainly by replacing US built carbon-fibre parts with corresponding metal items produced in Italy. The consequent price reduction is aimed to boost sales in the near future.
Meanwhile, a single P.180 is on delivery to AVES, the Italian Army aviation component, and two more are to be handed over to the Italian Civil Protection authority.
The other aircraft is the P.166-DL3, the turboprop version of the gull-winged light transport, which suffers the lack of development of its Textron Lycoming LTP101-700 engines, resulting in a mere 1,200 hours TBO.
The 30 or so P.166-DL3s used in Italy by the Air Force, the Customs Police and the Coast Guard, will be re-engined with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6A-121 turboprops and will be upgraded in the systems and avionics area. The resulting configuration offers better sales perspectives to the aircraft.

In the picture: Piaggio P.180M MM62164 of the Italian Air Force Flight Test Unit.

(Aeromedia, April 1997)