Preparations come as Italian company ramps up production of P180 Avanti turboprop
Piaggio Aero is close to launching a new family of jet aircraft as it ramps up production of the P180 Avanti twin pusher turboprop.
Piaggio president José di Mase says the company had initially considered a small personal jet, as well as a large cabin jet, and now favours launching a family of aircraft based on all-new designs.
"The Avanti is very accessible, has great performance and is now beginning to be seen as an established product, so we will not tamper with that," he says.
The clean sheet design will use some of the aerodynamic principles applied to the P180, but will be powered by a turbofan, he says. "It will not be a me-too aircraft but something different in the market," he adds. The new family is likely to be announced before the end of the year and the Genoa, Italy-based company estimates a five-year development period followed by one-year of certification work, leading to production by the end of the decade.
Di Mase says the company has access to further investment from venture capitalists who unsuccessfully competed with Italian state investment agency Sviluppo Italia for a 20% stake in the company last month. Piaggio will use the €20 million ($23 million) investment by Sviluppo Italia to increase production of the P180 from the current 18 a year to around 30 by 2005.
Piaggio has received 42 orders since NBAA 2002, with New York-based Avantair and Calgary, Canada-based AviaAviation becoming the first fractional operators of the type. Italian charter airline Blue Panorama is also to take two P180s, and will become the first scheduled carrier to own Avantis.
Source: Flight International
