The Piaggio PD.808 was an Italian business jet built by Piaggio. It was designed as a joint venture between Piaggio and

Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States.

Design and development

Originally named the PD.808 Vespa Jet the business jet was designed in a joint venture between Piaggio and the Douglas Aircraft Company. The basic design work was carried out by Douglas and the prototype was built at the Piaggio factory at Finale Ligure.Simpson 1991, pp. 232–233 The PD.808 was a low-wing cantilever cabin-monoplane with tip-tanks and powered by two rear-mounted Bristol Siddeley Viper 525 turbojets. It has retractable

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

and was originally designed with a cabin for a pilot and six-passengers. The first Viper 525-powered

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

(with Italian Serial Number ''MM577'') first flew on 29 August 1965, this was followed by a second Viper 525 powered prototype and two civil demonstrators. The company tried to interest commercial operators (including offering a

General Electric CJ610 The General Electric CJ610 is a non-afterburning turbojet engine derived from the military J85, and is used on a number of civilian business jets. The model has logged over 16.5 million hours of operation. Civilian versions have powered busines ...

variant) but the only interest was from the

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

as a liaison, training and radar calibration aircraft with an order for 25. The Italian Air Force aircraft were powered by Viper 526 turbojets.

Variants

*PD-808VIP: VIP transport. *PD-808TA: navigation trainer. *PD-808RM (''radiomisure''): radio calibration, four-built *PD-808GE (''guerra elettronica''): aircraft modified for

Electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

, PD-808GE1 entered service in 1972, the PD-808GE2 in 1977. *PD-808TF: Proposed

turbofan The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...

-powered version. Not built.

Operators

; *

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

operated 22 Piaggio PD.808 from 1970 until 2003

Accidents and incidents

On 18 June 1968 one of the demonstration aircraft ''I-PIAI'' crashed in bad-weather when it flew into the side of Mount Jaizkibel, near San Sebastian, Spain, all six on-board including the Italian businessman

Lino Zanussi Lino Zanussi (Pordenone, February 15, 1920 - San Sebastián, June 18, 1968) was an Italian businessman and Home appliance, appliance manufacturer. Company history Beginnings Antonio Zanussi (Lino's father) was the son of a blacksmith. At the age ...

and the Piaggio chief test pilot Davide Albertazzi were killed.

Aircraft on display

;Italy * MM62015 – PD-808GE on static display in Lucca, Tuscany. It was previously operated by the Italian Air Force. * MM61961 - PD-808GE on static display outside the Museo Storico dell'Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di Valle (

Italian Air Force Museum The Italian Air Force Museum is an aircraft museum at Vigna di Valle, on Lake Bracciano (Lazio), in central Italy. It is operated by the . The museum's collection has an emphasis on Italian machines and seaplanes. While maintaining the technical a ...

Vigna di Valle ''Vigna'' is a genus of plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution.Aitawade, M. M., et al. (2012)Section ''Ceratotropis'' of subgenus ''Ceratotropis'' of ''Vigna'' (Leguminosae–Papilionoideae) in India with a new ...

), with "Ultimo Volo 17.5.03 (Final Flight 17-5-'03)" titles.

Specifications (PD.808)

References

External links

{{Douglas aircraft Douglas aircraft 1960s Italian business aircraft 1960s Italian military utility aircraft PD.808 Twinjets Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1964 Cruciform tail aircraft