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unusual facts about Piaggio P.180 Avanti


Piaggio P.180 Avanti

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.


P23

The Piaggio P.23R, an Italian transport aircraft prototype of 1936 of a design unrelated to that of the Piaggio P.23

Piaggio P.108

This weapon has only been superseded in calibre, on aircraft, by the low velocity 105 mm (4 in) modified M102 howitzer (23 calibres in length) carried on a mobile mounting in the flanks of the AC-130's 3.2 m (10.5 ft) wide fuselage.

Nonetheless, in Algeria they struck targets in Bône (now called Annaba), Algiers, Blinda, Philippeville (now called Skikda), Maison Blanche and Oran.

The first operation to Gibraltar was almost a disaster; out of five aircraft which set out from Decimomannu in Sardinia, one (MM.22004) was forced to return due to engine trouble while the other four bombed with 66 100 kg (220 lb) and six 250 kg (550 lb) bombs.

Alfa Romeo also lacked a powerful, modern engine, and its 1,010 kW (1,350 hp) AR.132s were two Bristol Mercurys in tandem.

Piaggio P.32

The prototype first flew in 1936, and was tested at Guidonia, leading to an order for 12 aircraft, followed by a second order for five.

; Caproni Ca.405 Procellaria: A version built by Caproni specifically for the Istres-Damascus-Paris Air Race of 1937, but not completed in time.

Piaggio P.7

Seeking to avoid the aerodynamic drag induced by floats in seaplanes of floatplane design, Ing Giovanni Pegna of the Piaggio company designed a very unusual seaplane to represent Italy in the 1929 Schneider Trophy race.

The Wrong Side of the Sky

While in Athens, Greece he has a chance encounter with an old wartime friend and rival pilot, Ken Kitson, when the latter lands in a luxurious private Piaggio P.166.


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