The Piaggio P.149 is a 1950s

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosoph ...

and liaison aircraft designed and built by

Piaggio Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo ...

. The aircraft was built under licence by Focke-Wulf in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

as the FWP.149D.

Development

The P.149 was developed as a four-seat touring variant of the earlier P.148. The P.149 is an all-metal, low-wing

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

with a 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 ...

with room for four or five occupants. The prototype first flew on 19 June 1953. Only a few were sold, until the German Air Force selected the aircraft for a

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

and utility role. Piaggio delivered 72 aircraft to Germany, and another 190 were built in Germany by Focke-Wulf as the FWP.149D.

Operational history

The aircraft was operated by the German Air Force between 1957 and 1990. Swissair's Flying School based at Bern (Belp) airfield used a small fleet of the type to provide primary instruction to trainee pilots.Gandet 2001, pp. 42–43.

Operators

; * German Air ForceWheeler 1980, p. 1339. *

Marineflieger The ''Marinefliegerkommando'' (Naval Aviation Command) is the naval air arm of the German Navy. History During the First World War, naval aviators were part of the . After the war Germany was no longer allowed to maintain a military aviation ca ...

; *

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...

; *

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

operated two Piaggio P.149Ds from 1953 until 1955 ; *

Nigerian Air Force The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is one of the largest in Africa, consisting of about 15,000 personnel and aircraft including eight Chinese ...

operated 12 Piaggo P.149D in 1967 ; * Swissair Flying School ; * Tanzanian Air ForceDonald 1997, p. 735. ; :

Ugandan Air Force Ugandan People's Defence Force Air Force, more commonly known as Ugandan Air Force, is the branch of the Uganda People's Defence Force that deals with the air warfare. It headquarters is located at Entebbe, Uganda. The current air force commander ...

Wheeler 1980, p. 1374.

Specifications (P.149D)

Citations

References

* Donald, David. ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. Leicester, UK: Blitz Editions, 1997. . * Gandet, Erich. "'Wulf' in Sheep's Clothing: Farewell to Swissair's P.149s". ''

Air Enthusiast ''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' maga ...

''. No. 92. March/April 2001. pp. 42–43. . * The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2714. * Wheeler, Barry C
"World's Air Forces 1980"
''

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's old ...

'', 4 October 1980. pp. 1323–1378.

External links

* Stevens, James Hay
"Fully Aerobatic Four-Seater"
''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'', 18 July 1958, p. 73. {{Piaggio aircraft 1950s Italian military trainer aircraft 1950s Italian military utility aircraft P.149 Aircraft first flown in 1953 Focke-Wulf aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft