Piaggio P.166

Design and development

The basic P.166 was a development of the P.136 amphibian and flew for the first time on 26 November 1957. The P.166 had a new fuselage and tail unit but retained the wing and engines from the P.136. Several were purchased for use as executive transports or as feeder and taxi aircraft. The improved P.166B was more powerful and had up to ten seats; a prototype was first flown on 27 March 1962.

A further version, the 12 seater P.166C, with improved undercarriage, first flew on 2 October 1964.

A turboprop-powered variant, the P.166D was developed with Lycoming LTP-101 engines and it first flew on 3 July 1976.

Variants

P.166

Prototypes powered by 340 hp (254 kW) Lycoming GSO-480-B1C6 engines, three built.

P.166AL1

First production version with non-slanted cockpit side windows. Accommodation for two pilots and six–eight passengers. Powered by 340 hp (250 kW) Lycoming GSO-480-B1C6 engines, 29 built.

P.166B Portofino

Revised, more powerful version with longer nose. Powered by two 380 hp (283 kW) Lycoming IGSO-540-A1C engines. Five built.

P.166BL2/APH

Photo survey aircraft for Italian Air Force. Two built.

P.166CL2

Feederliner version of P.166B with external landing gear pods to allow a revised cabin giving room for up to 12 passengers. Two built. or another source gives four built

P.166DL3

Light utility transport version, powered by two 450 kW (600 hp) Lycoming LTP 101-600 turboprop engines. 14 built including sub-variants.

P.166DL3/APH

Photo survey aircraft version of -DL3. Six built for Italian Air Force.

P.166DL3/MAR

Maritime patrol version of DL3. Two built for Somalia.

P.166DL3/SEM

Paramilitary maritime patrol (SEM - Sorveglianza Ecologia e Marittima - Maritime and ecological surveillance) version of DL3. 12 aircraft built for Italian Coast Guard and ten for Guardia di Finanza.

P.166DP1

Re-engined version with 615 shp (459 kW) Pratt & Whitney PT6A-121 turboprops. Eight converted (two from -DL3 and six from -DL3/SEM) for Guardia di Finanza.

P.166M

Military version of P.166A, 49 built for Italian air force.

P.166S Albatross

Coastal patrol, search and rescue version of the South African Air Force with longer P.166B-type nose and larger tip tanks, 20 built.

Operators

 Australia

Ansett-ANA

 Italy

Italian Air Force received 49 P.166M between 1960 and 1968, two P.166BL2/APH photo survey aircraft and six P.166-DL3/APH photo survey aircraft.

Corps of the Port Captaincies - Coast Guard received 12 P.166-DL3/SEM between 1988 and 1990.

Guardia di Finanza received two ex-Alitalia P.166-DL3 as trainers/utility aircraft in 1990 and ten new-built P.166-DL3/SEM between 1991 and 1995. Eight aircraft converted to P.166DP1 standard.

Italian Ministry of Merchant Marine

 Somalia

Somalian Aeronautical Corps purchased two P.166-DL3 utility aircraft and two P.166-DL3/MAR maritime patrol aircraft in 1980.

 South Africa

South African Air Force

27 Squadron SAAF

Specifications (P.166)

Data from Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide

General characteristics

Crew: two pilots plus mission crew

Length: 11.8 m (39 ft 0 in)

Wingspan: 14.6 m (48 ft 2 in)

Height: 5 m (16 ft 5 in)

Empty weight: 2,688 kg (5,926 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 4,300 kg (9,480 lb)

Powerplant: 2 × Lycoming LTP 101-700 turboprops, 895 kW (1,200 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 400 km/h (248 mph)

Range: 2,130 km (1,150 nmi)

Armament

none

Accidents and incidents

On 14 August 2011 two privately owned P.166s (formerly with the South African Air Force) flying in formation crashed near Tzaneen in South Africa when they both flew into a cliff face near the summit of Mamotswiri Peak in dense mist. All thirteen on board the two aircraft were killed.