Hmm, its well past that serial cut-off but I don't see them so perhaps all my photos are just missing the right angle. If I get an updated picture, I'll posted it for future reference.

We replaced one of our clocks with the Mid-Continent MD93 unit. It's a much better setup if all you need is USB power.

I wish I had known that. I had to replace both my clocks and did with what was OEM.

I think Piaggio in many ways misunderstood their own market.

And to understand why, you have to understand that they come from a distinctively European point of view. The reality is that in Europe, the owner-flown private aircraft owner that uses it for business is a very rare thing. This was never designed for that. Piaggio designed this to be an alternative to 2-crew flown jets in commercial/official capacities. The fact that it was certified as single pilot is almost by accident and not something that would become as important as it did (in fact, this type is almost always crewed with 2 pilots in European capacities, showing you that they were not clued in to its USP).

I think they thought the market was twofold: as a more efficient alternative to 2-crew business jets in the US, and as a government/military/medevac planes in Europe. On paper that looks like a substantial market.

But.


They didn't account for these facts:

1. Optics. Rich people spending $7 mill, would rather not turn up in "the little propeller plane" when their competition turns up in a jet. It may seem silly, but these things matter for that clientele.

2. It was over-priced when you take point 1 into account. Piaggio's point of view was always: "well, it's as fast as a jet, so should be priced as one". No, because the optics are different.

3. It had a maintenance schedule clearly designed for institutional users or big fleets - once again showing its European provenance.

If Piaggio would simply have targeted the owner-flown market or the SP business plane owners from the get-go, I believe they would have been very successful. That's where this plane belongs. And now after 30 years on the market and compressed used prices, that's where its finding its market. They just didn't know what they had on their hands - they were trying to sell something it wasn't.

Like Anthony said, if I was CEO for Piaggio, I'd implement a swift re-certification with a Garmin G3000 panel for the EVO, get rid of most calendar items, push even harder on the "Ferrari of the Sky" marketing and target only owner-flown or smaller business owners that would otherwise be looking at SETP's and VLJ's etc. That's its market.

Doh! We've been colleagues for about one year...

Doh! We've been colleagues for about one year...

A great product cannot be held down. I have been I involved in aviation since the age of 15 flying everything under the sun from single engine pistons to transport category airliners for American to helicopters to warbirds to aerobatic airplanes.... the gamut of aviation...

I can say without hesitation that this underproduced badly marketed funny looking turboprop is easily AVIATIONS BEST KEPT SECRET.

What it does, and how it does it through it’s superior aerodynamics and forward thinking design is unreplicated in aviation even today.

A great product cannot be held down. I have been I involved in aviation since the age of 15 flying everything under the sun from single engine pistons to transport category airliners for American to helicopters to warbirds to aerobatic airplanes.... the gamut of aviation...

I can say without hesitation that this underproduced badly marketed funny looking turboprop is easily AVIATIONS BEST KEPT SECRET.

What it does, and how it does it through it’s superior aerodynamics and forward thinking design is unreplicated in aviation even today.

A great product cannot be held down. I have been I involved in aviation since the age of 15 flying everything under the sun from single engine pistons to transport category airliners for American to helicopters to warbirds to aerobatic airplanes.... the gamut of aviation...

I can say without hesitation that this underproduced badly marketed funny looking turboprop is easily AVIATIONS BEST KEPT SECRET.

What it does, and how it does it through it’s superior aerodynamics and forward thinking design is unreplicated in aviation even today.

A great product cannot be held down. I have been I involved in aviation since the age of 15 flying everything under the sun from single engine pistons to transport category airliners for American to helicopters to warbirds to aerobatic airplanes.... the gamut of aviation...

I can say without hesitation that this underproduced badly marketed funny looking turboprop is easily AVIATIONS BEST KEPT SECRET.

What it does, and how it does it through it’s superior aerodynamics and forward thinking design is unreplicated in aviation even today.

Agree fully, if it only didn’t have that whiney noise signature.