Piaggio Aerospace P.180 Avanti

Twin Turboprop

The Piaggio P.180 Avanti is one of the most aerodynamically unconventional business aircraft ever certified, instantly recognizable by its canard forewing, mid-mounted main wing, and twin pusher turboprops mounted aft on a slender fuselage. Designed by Italian aerospace engineer Rinaldo Piaggio and first flown in 1986, the Avanti combines jet-like speed and altitude capability with turboprop fuel efficiency — cruising at 402 knots true airspeed and reaching 41,000 feet, performance that rivals many light jets while burning 30 percent less fuel. The three-lifting-surface configuration distributes lift across the canard, main wing, and tailplane, reducing induced drag and enabling the remarkably clean fuselage that gives the Avanti its speed advantage. The pusher propeller arrangement places the engines behind the cabin, making the Avanti one of the quietest turboprops in its class and earning it the nickname "the Ferrari of the sky" in aviation circles. Certified under FAR Part 23 and later upgraded to the Avanti EVO variant with Hartzell five-blade composite scimitar propellers and improved avionics, the type serves corporate flight departments, air ambulance operators, and fractional ownership fleets worldwide. Its combination of 1,470 nautical mile range, stand-up cabin, and near-jet cruise speeds carved out a unique niche between conventional turboprops and entry-level jets, though production has been intermittent due to Piaggio Aerospace's financial restructuring in recent years. SkyMeter has tracked 2 flights across 1 airframes and 1 operators, covering routes.