Piaggio (Trecker) P.166 N7650E
(c/n 342)
This
was actually the second P.166 built. First flown in 1957, the
P.166 and its derivatives went
on to become a
fairly populous feeder liner, especially in Australia. The
Trecker Corporation of
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin were the U.S. agents and assembled later imports from
kits supplied from
Italy (they already
had been assembling the P.136 amphibian, known locally as the Royal
Gull),
although N7650E was completed in
Italy. After serving as the Trecker promotional machine it
went on to become a
company hack for Northrop aircraft. It is still on the register,
giving support
to its
durability claims. My shot shows it at Long Beach in January of
1960. The registration (tail
number for you US
wags) is on the fin and rudder below the "Trecker....166" legend.
Typically, for
the period, in
numbers so small one could hardly see them. Incidentally, the
B-25 in the background
was N201L. "OIL"....get it?