The Piaggio P.149 was an 1950s Italian utility or liaison aircraft designed and built by Piaggio. The aircraft was built under licence by Focke-Wulf in West Germany as the FWP.149D.

Development

The P.149 was developed as a four-seat touring variant of the earlier P.148. The P.149 is an all-metal, low-wing cantilever monoplane with a retractable tricycle landing gear with room for four or five occupants. The prototype first flew on 19 June 1953.

Only a few were sold, until the Luftwaffe selected the aircraft for a training and utility role. Piaggio delivered 72 aircraft to Germany, and another 190 were built in Germany by Focke-Wulf as the FWP.149D.

Operational history

The aircraft was operated by the Luftwaffe between 1957 and 1984.

Operators

• Austria
  Austrian Air Force - One aircraft.
• Germany
  German Air Force
  German Navy
• Israel
  Israeli Air Force
• Italy
  Italian Air Force
• Nigeria
  Nigerian Air Force
• Switzerland
  Swissair
• Tanzania
  Tanzanian Air Force
• Uganda
  Ugandan Air Force

Specifications (P.149D)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 3 or 4 passengers or 1 trainee
Length: 8.80 m (28 ft 10½ in)
Wingspan: 11.12 m (36 ft 5¾ in)
Height: 2.90 m (9 ft 6¼ in)
Wing area: 18.85 m2 (202.91 ft2)
Empty weight: 1,160 kg (2,557 lb)
Gross weight: 1,680 kg (3,704 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming GO-435-A flat-six geared piston engine, 142 kW (190 hp) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 234 km/h (145 mph)
Range: 925 km (575 miles)
Service ceiling: 5,000 m (16,404 ft)