PUSH ME, PULL ME- PART 2

While having dinner last night, I saw this strange looking plane pass my line of sight on approach to the airport. It was similar to the Piaggio aircraft I showed you several days ago. It has rear facing propellors and it's rudder is underneath the fuselage. It is called The Starship. So far, I can see you nodding off. It was the first aircraft to employ all-graphite composite in the airframe. It employed many other "firsts" but are way to technical for this blogger. Commercially, the plane was a failure;only 53 were ever built. They were too expensive and introduced during a down cycle in the economy. As of last fall, only 6 were still in service. I'm not an aviation junkie, but I think it is kind of neat to see something that is the last of it's kind when just a few years ago it was so ahead of it's time. Look up, you may see one of the last ones yourself. They are pretty hard to miss.

PUSH ME, PULL ME

On first glance, this appears to be just another small private airplane. That's what I thought also. On further examination, there is something that is very wrong. The propellors are on backwards. The plane is made by Piaggio Aero of Italy. The main wing is in the rear and the engines are in a push configuration. Most of the other information can be found at Piaggio's web site. If you are at all interested you can check it out here. Just a little something different for today.

MAVERICK & GOOSE

Many people are aware of our world-wide reputation as a marine center and hub for all things nautical. Most of the larger yachts and super-yachts put in here for repairs and service. Fewer are aware that we play a very large role in private aviation. The above plane, as an example, could be available for sale or charter. How much, you might ask? Well if you are like me and have to ask, we can't afford it.