Piaggio

Italian Painter Turns a Private Jet Into a Work of Art

Filed under: Wings, Art

Renowned Italian sculptor and painter Mimmo Paladino has become the first person to turn a private jet into a work of art with the installation of a customized Piaggio P.180 Avanti II aircraft at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan.

Dubbed the "Cacciatore di Stelle" (Star Hunter), Paladino's plane (above) will be on display in the famed luxury shopping mecca through April 28. Paladino decorated the turboprop with ancestral symbols, constellations and geometrical designs in homage to the skies in which it travels.

The plane is part of an exhibition of Paladino's work hosted by Milan's historic Palazzo Reale, including more than 50 of his artworks from the '70s to the present day. The P.180 Avanti was chosen for the project as an expression of "Italian genius in design and engineering."

Tags: art, art jet, artist, Italy, Milan, Mimmi Paladino, Piaggio, private jet

Piaggio Aero P. 180 Avanti II: Are Turboprops The Answer In A Tough Small Plane Market?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

It's been a tough year for small private plane companies with layoffs and plant closures but not everyone is floundering. Piaggio Aero, makers of the P. 180 Avanti II have announced the addition of three new service centers in Ft. Lauderdale, Toronto and Montreal. The announcement came one month after Piaggio's expansion with West Star Aviation at its East Alton, Ill. facility. Since 2008, the Piaggio Aero brand has doubled its North American service network. The success of the P. 180 Avanti II is a combination of its sleek Italian styling (Piaggio Aero Industries' Chairman, Piero Ferrari, son of Enzo Ferrari, is also vice Chairman of Ferrari S.p.A.) and its fuel efficiency. The plane is the fastest turboprop aircraft combine the speed of a light cabin jet with the cabin of a mid-size craft that can hold nine people. It can hit cruising speeds of more than 402 ktas. but requires a third less fuel than most business jets. The new service centers are now open with more planned for 2010.

Gallery: Piaggio Aero P180 Avanti II

Tags: piaggio, piaggio aero, PiaggioAero, private plane, PrivatePlane, turboprop

Piaggio Planning a New Ferrari Jet

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

Piaggio chief executive Alberto Galassi just announced that plans are finally in place for a new Ferrari jet based on the Avanti turboprop plane (above) at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva. Piaggio, which is partly owned by Ferrari and is licensed to use its prancing horse logo, says its shareholders in Abu Dhabi and India are backing the project but declined to release many details. "I promise you one thing, this [will be] a beautiful airplane," Galassi said. "You would not expect anything more from Italian style and Ferrari."

They're not taking orders yet, however. "Who wants to hear about a new airplane, take orders and then wait 10 years for delivery?" Galassi asked. "You don't see Ferrari announcing a new model and then spending years developing it. Ferrari designs the car, builds it and then launches it. I want us to be close to first flight and with the latest technology before we tell people about it." He also joked, "It costs the same to design an ugly aircraft as it does a beautiful one, so we have the beautiful one."

[via JamesList]

Tags: airplane, EBACE, Ferrari, Italian style, ItalianStyle, Italy, jet, Piaggio, turboprop

Piaggio Aero P180 Avanti II

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

I've bandied about the term "Ferrari for the skies" before but this is the real deal. Italian company, Piaggio Aero is owned by the Ferrari family and the the Maranello racing team has been flying the Avanti since 2000. The Avanti is also the preferred choice of President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, general manager Jean Todt and world champion Formula One driver Michael Shumacher.

The P180 Avanti II is the world's fastest turboprop business aircraft. It has a midsize cabin that can hold nine people and is over 6 feet wide and 5 feet 9 inches tall. The plane also uses fuel efficiencies that are nearly 40% less than most business jets and 25% less than the most efficient twin turboprops. The plane sells for around $6.195 million. Check out the interior after the jump.

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Tags: airplane, airport, avanti ii, business plane, ferrari, piaggio, plane, turboprop, wings

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