Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia


Piaggio P.136L-2 at Tamiami Airport near Miami in 1989
Role	Amphibious aircraft
National origin	Italy
Manufacturer	Piaggio Aero
First flight	29 August 1948
Introduction	1949
Status	examples still flying in 2018
Produced	1948-1961
Number built	63^[]
Developed into	Piaggio P.166

The Piaggio P.136 was an Italian twin-engine amphibian flying boat designed and manufactured by aircraft company Piaggio Aero. It is furnished with an all-metal hull, pusher propellers, a gull wing, and retractable landing gear. During late 1948, the P.136 prototype performed its maiden flight; roughly six months later, it reportedly completed certification tests, clearing the type's entry into service. The aircraft was marketed in the United States as the Royal Gull by American distributor Kearney and Trecker. During the late 1950s, a land-based utility aircraft, the Piaggio P.166, was developed from the P.136 and shares many design similarities, despite the deletion of the hull in favour of a conventional fuselage

During the 1940s, barely a year following the end of the Second World War, Italian aircraft manufacturer Piaggio Aero, being keen to rebuild itself and its customer base in the post-war era, embarked upon the development of a new amphibian design. As noted by Aviation periodical Flight International, this was no simple choice, as many aviation companies had been defeated in their ambitions to develop efficient flying watercraft and required ingenuity to achieve.[1] The design produced by Piaggio was of a relatively large aircraft, yet still being capable of operations from both relatively rough waters and fairly compact grass air strips. Furthermore, large portions of the aircraft, such as its three-bladed constant-speed propellers, was internally designed by the company

Design

The Piaggio P.136 was a twin-engine pusher-type amphibian, being capable of carrying a maximum of five people with baggage, or a pair of stretchers and an accompanying medical attendant. While the general configuration and systems remained largely the same across different models, there were some customisations present in the cabin to suit its customer and intended purpose; while military aircraft would often be fitted with alternative instrumentation and radio sets, as well as additional transparent panels in locations like the doors for greater external visibility, civil P.136s would be furnished with more comfortable seating and additional panelling for sound exclusion and heat retention purposes.^[2] The aircraft's fuel is stowed in two large metal tanks housed within the hull.

Piaggio Aerospace i

Piaggio Aerospace
Piaggio P.136 Amphibian "Gull"

General Info

Crew: 2

Capacity: 3
Length: 10.8 m (35 ft 5 in)
Wingspan: 13.53 m (44 ft 5 in)
Height: 3.83 m (12 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 25.1 m² (270 sq ft)

Powerplant

Empty weight: 2,110 kg (4,652 lb) Gross weight: 2,994 kg (6,601 lb) Fuel capacity: 730 L (193 US gal; 161 imp gal) in two hull tanks Powerplant: 2 × Lycoming GSO-480 6-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engines, 250 kW (340 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 335 km/h 2,994 kg
Cruise speed: 268 km/h
Stall speed: 110 km/h (68 mph, 59 kn) flaps down
Range: 1,450 km (900 mi, 780 nmi) 50% power at 4,300 m (14,100 ft)
Service ceiling: 7,800 m (25,600 ft)

3,600 m (11,800 ft) on one engine

Armament

Short Sealand

Related development

Piaggio P.166

Special Links Piaggio Aerospace Piaggio P.P.136 Amphibian "Gull"i

Links to Youtube & Others

American aircraft manufacturer Kearney and Trecker was appointed as a wholesaler for the type, received three Italian-built P.136s along with the partially-assembled fuselages and components for the productions of another 29 examples of the type under a licensing arrangement. The company produced a handful of examples under the Royal Gull brand.[

Piaggio Aerospace Piaggio P.136 Gull

During the 1940s, barely a year following the end of the Second World War, Italian aircraft manufacturer Piaggio Aero,

Youtube Link

During 1954, Francis K. Trecker, president of Kearney & Trecker Corporation, was impressed when he witnessed a P.136 in flight, and offered to bring the type to the North American market.

Piaggio Aerospace
Piaggio P.136 Gull