Dubai 2011: Royal reveal for Italian flying work of art

With the tug of a red ribbon, HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces and chairman of Mubadala, released the drapes to reveal the Italian designer style of the P180 Avanti II 'Cacciatore di Stelle' (Star Hunter), from Piaggio Aero.
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The striking graffiti style of the aircraft was designed by contemporary artist Mimmo Paladino, who was inspired by its unique design, and was last seen on display in an art gallery in Milan. 

John Bingham, president and CEO of Piaggio Americas, said: “We shipped the aircraft here from Milan. We had to go through all kinds of requests to bring it in through Jebel Ali but the port operator was fantastic. Our biggest issue was covering it with 300sqm of material before the reveal. That took some manpower.”

The aircraft is currently produced at two plants in North West Italy, with a new manufacturing plant at Villa Nova D’albegna under construction. Bingham said: “The new facility broke ground this year, is progressing on time and is due to open in 2013.”

Piaggio, in which Mubadala Aerospace is a 31.5% shareholder, is the only company in the world that is active in the design, construction and maintenance of both aircraft and aircraft engines.

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