P.180 Avanti

Piaggio flew the first of two P.180 prototypes on September 23 1986, the second flew in May 1987. Italian certification was granted in March 1990, the first production Avanti flew that May and the first customer delivery took place in September 1990.

The unorthodox Avanti remains unique for a corporate aircraft in that it features three flying surfaces - the canard foreplane, wing and tail. This arrangement not only offers the benefits of the canard, but meant the wing could be positioned in the rear of the fuselage, so that it didn't intrude on available interior cabin space. The small natural laminar flow wing was designed by the Ohio State University. The pusher engine configuration was chosen to reduce cabin noise.

Mahogany Wood. Scale: 1/32. Wingspan 18 1/2 inches, Length 18 1/2 inches.