Billy Thorpe and the Piaggios

[Fris B. Fairing]

No, not the Aztecs. In this instance it was a Piaggio, although the Aztecs travelled on it. Thorpie describes the Piaggio in his second book stating only that it was owned by a Melbourne operator and flown by a Jim Davidson. The aeroplane was used to transport the band to several gigs in the outback. One such flight is described in the book as having culminated in a wire strike on approach to a town in north-west NSW identified only by the mythical name "Redville". Apparently damage to the aircraft was minor. Can anyone identify the Piaggio in question? I'm guessing that I would be wasting my time looking for an incident report on the wire strike ;)

Rgds

[chimbu warrior]

Interesting tale.

From memory, operators of the P166 Portofino were -

Forrester Stephen out of Essendon
General Aviation Air Freighters of Mascot
Comalco from Cairns (corporate shuttle to Weipa)
Snowy Mountains Authority out of Cooma

I know that Airlines of South Australia, MMA and Papuan Airlines also operated them at some stage, but I doubt it would have been them.

I have memories of "Blackjack" Walker flying the GAAF machines.

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

Didn't DCA have one or more as well? I seem to recall the characteristic sound of one flying over the Brisbane suburbs.

Dr :8

[mendi63]

In the mid 70's Blackjack arrived at Scone in a "Pig" for fuel with a load of one day old chicks bound for somewhere out west and asked if we could look at one of his engines which had low oil pressure.

On pulling the filter it was found to contain lots of "sparklies" (no part numbers tho) at which he opted to carry on saying that if the engine failed he would get his pax to all start flapping their wings.

[Aye Ess]

Fris B, I have a vision of many gen Y readers google searching 'Piaggio' aircraft & seeing images of a sleek,modern business turboprop. Maybe if you have at hand a piccy of the QAM one,to show them the less than elegant aeroplane that we oldies know as the 'pig'.

[VH-XXX]

Please do, we know not what you speak of. For example, this is a Piaggio.

http://comandosupremo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Piaggio108.jpg

[tail wheel]

The younger generation........ :ugh:

http://www.p166.com/gallery/photos/6776.jpg

VH-FSA and VH-PGA at Essendon.

And no, they are not jets - GSO480's with the props on backwards..... :}

I well remember the PatAir machines. Apart from the geared engines, they served quite well in PNG.

[Fris B. Fairing]

Aye Ess

Here is the Queensland Airlines P-166B VH-PQA

http://www.qam.com.au/aircraft/piaggio/VH-PQA-2.jpg

Rgds

[tail wheel]

Useful Paiggio P166 web site (http://www.p166.com/).

Fris, looking at that photo, for the first time I notice a similarity to the larger Aerocommander of the same era, which I think also had geared engines?

[harrowing]

QAM AIRCRAFT COLLECTION (http://www.qam.com.au/aircraft/piaggio/VH-BHK-7.htm)

I was in Weipa from 75-79 and hitched out to Cairns in this a couple of times with Les Nind. It was replaced with BSS a 690 Aero Commander respectfully, or otherwise, called the super pig.

PS Does anyone know where Les is these days? He was a great influence in my aspiring aviator days when I was an apprentice sparky in Weipa.

[SIUYA]

Fris...

I think PQA was a P166C Portofino. Same as ASA, which was ex-airlines South Australia. I flew it when it was at Forrestair Essendon in the 70's.

It had the same engines as those on the Aero Commander 680F and FLs. IGSO-540's I seem to recall.

Despite its looks, it was pretty good to fly, and a very stable instrument platform. Solid as a brick ****house!

[Fris B. Fairing]

harrowing

Les Nind came into the museum in Aug 92 but I've not heard from him since.

SIUYA

PQA was a P-166B Portofino. Only the P-166B carried this name. Sadly PQA met her end on the fire dump at Tullamarine.

Sorry, I should have made it clear from the outset what Piaggio product I was talking about but I assumed everyone would be familiar with the other Pig.

So does anyone know which one Thorpie used? He claimed in the book that it had a six pipe, whiskey-filtered hookah bolted to the floor of the cabin. You'd remember that if you saw it!

Rgds

[PA39]

Someone operated one out of YSBK years ago........yep, they were a PIG!

[sms777]

The one that was operating out of Bankstown years ago now parked at the northern end of Wollongong airport. Sad sight, spar corrosion saw the end of it.
Friend of mine used to operate it, still can't get over it since it has a colourful history.

[Frank Arouet]

One such flight is described in the book as having culminated in a wire strike on approach to a town in north-west NSW

That was probably the HF wire with plastic cup on the boundary fence.

[Air Tourer]

I'll bite, if it had a geared engine why did the prop sound as if it was doing 3000 rpm going down hill. Also there is/was one displayed on a pole out side some N.S.W. country town. Maybe in Mill colours, maybe Uralla?

[cowl flaps]

In the later 1970's a 'Pig' used to come through Camden. It always had day old chooks, and from memory was going to Tassie. It always struck me as an old, noisy and un-economical machine. But then again ....

[Frank Arouet]

Black Jack himself.

[tinpis]

The P166 flew like it looked and sounded.
Lonely nights over the GAFA grinding along the cockpit eerily lit up by the exhaust flare...eyes peeled for Ju 88's...:hmm:

[Dogimed]

VH-MMP was the Bankstown one. Circa 1989-1990

Dog

[CharlieLimaX-Ray]

Bob Hussey operated the ex-DCA Piaggio for a while in the 70's, used to come and go out of Moorabbin and Essendon on charter work.

Didn't Captain Jack Ellis operate one of the ex-Ansett Piaggios for a while?

Tinnpis did you fly the one that was based out of Tennant Creek?

[Slasher]

I recall seeing one of Forrestair's Pigs (that's what everyone called
a Piaggio Fuctifino back then - probably get arrested by the Oz PC
police if you called it one now) at Essendon and blast off from 17.

Does that thing have the curvature of the Earth built in its P-charts?
I think its the only way it eventually got off the deck!

Billy Thorpe and the Aztrucks - haven't heard them in yonks. They
still doing gigs? Mr Thorpe must be a bloody old geezer by now....

[Allan L]

Thorpie passed away a few years ago:(

[Animalclub]

Tinnpis did you fly the one that was based out of Tennant Creek?

Didn't Mal Shannon, of Yellow Bird fame, fly a Pig around the Northern Territory after he left PNG?

[tinpis]

Negative on the Tennant Creek
Part time flights, offsider, for large gentleman carrying nuts and bolts to Gove in the early 70's

[Stationair8]

Did Ansett operate a Piaggio out of Alice Springs to Ayers Rock in the mid 1960's in competition with Connellan Airways?

[Stationair8]

Was the Piaggio P-166 better or worse than say a Beech Queenair, Cessna 402 or Aerocommander 685?

Was it certified in transport category?

[xxkimmy_007xx]

Harrowing:
I am Les' grandaughter (Stephen's daughter), sadly he passed away in January 2008. It's nice to see people talking about him and what he loved the most.
Kimberley

[harrowing]

Thanks Kimberly
I sent you a pm.

[fencehopper]

I have a photo somewhere of the one at YBK taken around 92/3, white red and black, outside Biritex's hanger. Ex Av Centre, the guys that operated Aerostars. Never liked being around it when the engines were running. Seemed to easy to forget that the props were on butt first. Pretty sure it is the same one rotting at Illawarra.

I also had the chance to see Thorpie at probably his last concert in the Hunter Vineyards two weeks before he passed away. It seemed that his carreer was really starting to fire again. Shame as i think his final two albums were brilliant. 'Solo' and 'Tangiers'.
I read his books quite some time back and they were great reading. It's a wonder he made it to sixty.
"we'll never see their likes again".
On'ya Thorpie

FH

[StallsandSpins]

Interesting machine. there used to be one slowly rotting next to the run up bay at YMMB years ago. did the pusher engine make much of a difference performance wise? what were they like compared to other GA twins of the time?
definitely looks Italian:)

[tinpis]

The survived for many years in all kinds of operatons/ operators including PNG.
They just did'nt look much good doing it :uhoh:

[TBM-Legend]

Winrye had one for some time at YSBK. Looked good for an oldie ...

[FourStar]

I operated VH-CAC and VH-PGA out of Bankstown And Mascot for a while in the early 80's. Carried Day old chicks to Murray Bridge among other places, loaded them at Camden, and car parts and overnight bags plus general freight from Mascot to Melbourne, Brisbane, And Launceston. Also flew Greyhounds to country race meetings. Pilots that flew them were mainly airforce guys. High maintenance aircraft but did the work required of them

[Mr Milk]

Cap'n jack certainly had one down at mooraduc.... Unsure of the rego though

[KRUSTY 34]

Poor old PIG'.

I reckon the WWII bomber looked much better.

Peace and progress I suppose? :E

[Wunwing]

The "pig" at Albion Park is being repainted in Ansett ANA colours as a static exhibit by HARS.
I think the plan is to have most of it completed before Wings Over the Illawarra on the 6th of May.
With the flying that the Connie has been doing, there has been some indoor sheltered workspace on weekends so its not been so weather dependent and progress has been a bit quicker recently
Wunwing