Head turner

Piaggio Aerospace is one of the world’s oldest aircraft manufacturers. Founded in 1882 as a manufacturer of locomotives and railway cars, the manufacturer entered the aviation industry during World War I, initially building and repairing seaplanes. Fast-forwarding to the 1980s sees the company designing the P.180 with its distinguishing features that set it apart from other aircraft.

So, who wants such a unique aircraft? What does a pilot, aircraft buyer, or flying enthusiast see in the Piaggio that makes them say, “That’s my airplane!”?

Meet the owner

Jim Costello, 77-year-old California businessman and pilot since 1969, is the owner of Piaggio P.180 Avanti N33MC. About 20 years ago, Costello fell in love at first sight at the McClellan-Palomar Airport (CRQ) in San Diego county.

“In a tiedown next to my Piper Cheyenne at transient parking, the Piaggio’s unique look caught my eye,” said Costello. “It was so unusual.”

But just like all great loves, the Piaggio isn’t just about good looks; it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

“I poked my head in the door, and oh-my-God, I was sold. I love the speed, the looks, and the performance of the plane,” said Costello. “But it was the size of the cabin that won me over.”

Spacious and quiet, the Piaggio Avanti can accommodate up to seven passengers, comparable to a mid-size jet. It can soar at speeds of 460 mph while being fuel-efficient compared to other aircraft in its category and performs well on short runways. Costello could imagine the Avanti as providing the perfect, nonstop pleasure and business flights for what had been his typical trips from Santa Rosa, California, to his golf resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

According to Costello, there are two types of pilots. The first type of pilot loves to be in the air; it is all about the joy of flying. The second type of pilot wants to get from here to there as quickly, safely, and comfortably as possible. “I fall into that second category,” said Costello.

You can begin to get a picture of why the sleek Piaggio, sitting in his beautiful, sparse, sparkling clean Santa Rosa hangar, is one of his pride and joys. Costello is a man with many passions, and when he finds what he loves, he becomes fully committed and is its biggest cheerleader. He’s been married to his high school sweetheart, Pat, for 58 years. He has grown his businesses through the economic highs and lows, including self-storage facilities, commercial land development, a winery, that five-star golf course in Cabo San Lucas, their century-old family apple farm in Northern California, and his brand of yerba mate, Drink Katu.

But first, he had to figure out how to buy a Piaggio. The price of the P.180 Avanti in the early 2000s was $6.5 million.

“There was no chance,” said Costello, “it was beyond my budget.”

But Costello is a man who usually finds a way to get what he wants.

“I was exploring the option of fractional ownership with Avantair,” said Costello, “but a friend and financial adviser suggested that I just wait.... Something was in the air about the company.”

Meet Avantair

Once a high-flyer in the world of fractional aircraft ownership, Avantair operated a fleet of 56 Piaggio P.180 Avantis. When it was founded in 2003, no other fractional ownership operation had ever had a business model that operated with a single type of aircraft. Avantair owned 25 percent of all the Avantis flying, which maintained a high market value for the airplanes. In just 10 years, however, worries about the company’s financial records, improper tracking of parts, and lack of compliance with regulations led a judge to order the company to liquidate in 2013.

The selloff of the Avantair fleet flooded the market with Avantis, which became the buying opportunity that Costello needed to secure a bargain on his dream airplane: $1.8 million. After selling his Piper Cheyenne in just one day for $800,000, Costello finally had his Piaggio.

Costello has a theory about airplanes and business: Yes, it takes him from here to there, but, “When I take a potential client, investor, business associate, team member, or friend for a flight, it builds trust.”

“I got them there safely in a beautiful and impressive airplane,” said Costello. “And when you take them in the Piaggio, they’ve never seen anything like it, and they will never forget it.”

Love does not always come in a perfect package, however. “Piaggio N33MC is not a new plane,” admits Costello. It is more than 20 years old, and in the eight years it has been in Costello’s hands, he has ensured it is the best it can be. Costello invested in a beautiful new interior at a cost exceeding $200,000.

“I could have paid less, but I wanted the best,” said Costello.

The interior evokes Italian elegance, design, and style, featuring buttery-soft leather upholstery in a rich cream and deep-pile navy and cream patterned carpet. But he also added some personal touches to the airplane. The beautiful redwood burl trim throughout the Piaggio’s cabin comes from a tree on his property. A redwood on their farm next to Costello’s father-in-law’s old farmhouse was falling and needed to be removed before it damaged the family home.

“We saved the wood and have used it for furniture in our home, and it turned out to be a complementary match for the existing laminate in the cabin’s dividers and other flat surfaces.”

The redwood is a rich and tangible reminder of Costello’s father-in-law, Haven Best, who was a pilot and a World War II flight instructor with the Army Air Corps.

“Seeing the wood each time we fly is a happy reminder of another pilot in our family,” said Costello, “and it’s like he is flying with us now.”

And while Costello can wax poetic about the airplane, the Piaggio also comes with an unexpected and frustrating problem. “There is no support for the onboard computer,” said Costello. With the closure and subsequent sale of Piaggio to drone manufacturer Baykar, he hopes the new ownership will provide the necessary maintenance and parts support to keep his and all Piaggio Avantis flying far into the future.

Even with mostly pure admiration and appreciation for the Piaggio, Costello no longer feels the need to be its pilot in command. A pilot for 56 years, he is satisfied now to sit back and enjoy the ride. “I have not flown the Piaggio for even one minute,” said Costello. At this stage in his life, he chooses to let his corporate pilot do the flying.

Meet the pilot

Matt Woodruff, 41, has been flying since he earned his wings at 17. He has served as a U.S. Air Force pilot for 12 years, flying the T–6 as an instructor pilot, the F–15E, and the MC–12. After separating from the Air Force as a major, he worked as an instructor and demo pilot for Icon Aircraft in the A5 amphibious light sport. He’s flown charter on Beechcraft King Air 350s, then a Gulfstream 200. Next, he took a stint flying F–5s with Tactical Air Support, a military contractor, supporting training for both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy as an aggressor pilot.

Woodruff’s substantial resume found its way to a headhunter looking for a pilot to fly Costello’s Piaggio. “I really didn’t think I would take the job when I went and interviewed with him,” said Woodruff, “but Jim was pretty convincing.”

Since August 2021, Woodruff (as of this writing) has logged 810 hours in the Piaggio.

“I love that it’s pretty simple, there aren’t a whole lot of systems to have failures and muck things up,” Woodruff said. “I can get in the airplane, start it up, and be taxiing within two to three minutes.”

Woodruff describes the cockpit as very thoughtfully arrayed.

“It is designed to be flown single pilot, as long as you approach the airplane more like a slow jet than a turboprop,” he said.

“The key to grasp is that it doesn’t slow down as fast as most turboprops do; you can’t descend quite as fast and have quite as short a final. I find that landing more like a jet with a flatter flare setup helps with having a softer touchdown…especially if you aren’t worried about landing roll. But it’s responsive, it has get-up-and-go, and I feel like most of the critical controls are easily accessible.”

Woodruff said the Piaggio’s distinctive canard and rear-mounted engines provide several advantages. “The rear engines make it way quieter, which is a huge benefit, to the point where I don’t even use my noise-canceling headsets,” he said.

“The front wing is excellent in terms of enhancing stability and reducing turbulence. And the aircraft has a really benign stall that looks more like a slow controlled descent than a true, hard break. In cruise, I constantly hear airliners talking about light chop, when our ride is totally smooth, and I think that is primarily due to the additional wing.”

“The rear engines make us a lot faster in cruise because of the reduction in drag, so that side of it is good,” he added, “but with that lack of additional airflow over the wing it can drive up runway required, especially when heavy, high, and hot.”

“We plan around that, using airports with long runways when we are going through the mountains in the summer and/or limiting ourselves to taking off in the morning as opposed to the hottest parts of the day or being very light when doing so.”

He added he likes that the airplane is comparatively fast and climbs out of the terminal area quickly. “It all boils down to the fact that it’s really comfortable to fly.”

Because of the issues with the factory and ownership, as well as the closure of Piaggio America, parts and logistics related to maintenance have been difficult.

“If this were a different plane where stuff was breaking all the time, it would be impossible to fly it,” said Woodruff.

“It is also a bit quirky with CG,” adds Woodruff, “I can’t take off with full fuel weight by myself in the airplane unless I bring forward ballast. But with more than four passengers in the airplane, it is front-loaded and can easily go out of CG forward if you’re not careful. So, it’s always a little bit of a balancing act.”

And there’s one more thing about the Piaggio: “I have never flown an airplane where almost everywhere I go, people are curious about it, they ask if they can see it, and they want to know how it flies.”

So, if you’re lucky enough to see a strange sight in the sky or parked at your airport, there’s no need for the Superman mantra, “It’s a bird, it’s a plane.” Yeah, it’s a plane, a really cool airplane.

Julie Belanger is an aerial photographer and private pilot. She has been flying for more than 50 years, has logged more than 1,100 flight hours, and owns a 1969 Cessna 182.