The Piaggio P.150 was a 1950s
Italian two-seat
trainer 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. Its ...
to meet an
Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
requirement to replace the
North American T-6.
Development
The P.150 was designed and built to compete as an Italian Air Force T-6 replacement against the
Fiat G.49 and
Macchi MB.323. The P.150 was 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 canti ...
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 confi ...
with a wide-track retractable
tailwheel landing gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms ...
. The pilot and instructor were seated in tandem under one glazed
canopy. It was originally powered by a
Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
and later an
Alvis Leonides
The Alvis Leonides was a British air-cooled nine-cylinder radial aero engine first developed by Alvis Car and Engineering Company in 1936.
Design and development
Development of the nine-cylinder engine was led by Capt. George Thomas Smith-Cla ...
engine. The aircraft was not chosen and did not go into production.
Operators
;
*
Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
operated only one aircraft for test evaluation from 1952 until 1954
Specifications (P.150)
See also
References
*
* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2714
{{Portal bar, Italy, Companies, Aviation
P.150
1950s Italian military trainer aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1952