The very unique design of the extremely fast 3-lifting-surface Piaggio P.180 Avanti
I was just finishing up high school back in 1979 when the initial design work was being done on the Piaggio P.180 Avanti, and thanks to Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine I was able to follow along with the development of the airplane. I admit that I loved the airplane way back then and I still do today. The 3-lifting-surface configuration makes this flying machine pretty easy to pick out of a line up! And the updated Avanti II, certified in 2005, injected new life into this design and truly made the airplane a success.
The exotic and very unique (maybe too unique?) Piaggio Avanti turboprop
There so much about this airplane that's different than your typical business class turboprop, and interestingly, the max cruise speed that tickles 400 knots means that there aren't any other turboprops that can compete with the Avanti. The P.180 offers jet speeds with a roomy and comfortable cabin with overall enhanced efficiency. And the Avanti fleet passed the 500,000 flight hours mark back in 2010... it's just a really unique and very good airplane.
But the big question of the day: is the Piaggio P.180 Avanti/Avanti II Awesome or Ugly?