Fiat G-59
The Fiat G.59 paired the airframe of Italy's wartime G.55 Centauro fighter with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, first flying in this hybrid form in 1948. The resulting 1,660-horsepower trainer reached over 600 km/h, making it one of the last and fastest piston-engined aircraft built anywhere for training rather than combat. Fewer than 200 were built between 1950 and 1954, mostly single- and two-seat versions for the Italian Air Force, which flew them as advanced and aerobatic trainers until 1965. Smaller numbers went to Syria, Egypt and Argentina, giving this obscure Anglo-Italian hybrid a surprisingly wide operational reach.
_Formazione_Legend_(21902939898).jpg){kind=link}
Did you know?
A G.55 Centauro airframe given a Rolls-Royce Merlin, making this fast Anglo-Italian hybrid one of the last and quickest piston trainers ever built.
Specifications
| Length | 9.4 m (31 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 11.8 m (39 ft) |
| Height | 3.7 m (12 ft) |
| Persons on board | 2 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 3.4 t |
| Range | 340 NM (630 km) |
| Service ceiling | 38,000 ft (11,582 m) |
| Rate of climb | 2,870 ft/min (14.6 m/s) |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Fiat G-59 starts as a Rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Fiat, the G-59 family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
Browse all aircraft types, or learn to tell Airbus from Boeing.