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Description
Very interesting and original racing airplane was prepared in 1929 for the Schneider Trophy - grand race of hydroplanes organized once per year from 1913 to 1931 (except of WW1 years, of course) on various places around the world. Italian designers Piaggio and Pegna realized that floats are the parts slowing airplane too much, so they decided to avoid using them. The fuselage of their machine was designed as boat, the engine was connected both to a two-bladed automatic variable-pitch tractor propeller by a long metal shaft and by another shaft to a smaller marine propeller mounted beneath the aircraft's tail. To take off, the pilot would use the tail propeller and get the aircraft moving through the water. The two hydrofoils, mounted beneath the fuselage on struts would cause the P.7 to rise out of the water almost immediately. After the aircraft had risen on its hydrofoils , the pilot would disengage the marine propeller and engage the flight propeller. Driven by its flight propeller, the aircraft then would engage in a conventional takeoff, riding on its submerged hydrofoils until it reached takeoff speed.
Although some pilots refused to fly the aircraft, the Italian Schneider team's Tommaso Dal Molin conducted some water tests on Lake Garda in northern Italy. The plane hasn't reached required speed 600km/h - when fuselage rose up, the power of marine propeller weakened and speed decreased before the air propeller could be engaged. The aircraft never became airborne.
Not ready in time, the P.7 was excluded from the 1929 Schneider Trophy race, in which a Macchi M.52R and two Macchi M.67 seaplanes represented Italy. Piaggio and Pegna abandoned plans to build a second one.

Description
Very interesting and original racing airplane was prepared in 1929 for the Schneider Trophy - grand race of hydroplanes organized once per year from 1913 to 1931 (except of WW1 years, of course) on various places around the world. Italian designers Piaggio and Pegna realized that floats are the parts slowing airplane too much, so they decided to avoid using them. The fuselage of their machine was designed as boat, the engine was connected both to a two-bladed automatic variable-pitch tractor propeller by a long metal shaft and by another shaft to a smaller marine propeller mounted beneath the aircraft's tail. To take off, the pilot would use the tail propeller and get the aircraft moving through the water. The two hydrofoils, mounted beneath the fuselage on struts would cause the P.7 to rise out of the water almost immediately. After the aircraft had risen on its hydrofoils , the pilot would disengage the marine propeller and engage the flight propeller. Driven by its flight propeller, the aircraft then would engage in a conventional takeoff, riding on its submerged hydrofoils until it reached takeoff speed.
Although some pilots refused to fly the aircraft, the Italian Schneider team's Tommaso Dal Molin conducted some water tests on Lake Garda in northern Italy. The plane hasn't reached required speed 600km/h - when fuselage rose up, the power of marine propeller weakened and speed decreased before the air propeller could be engaged. The aircraft never became airborne.
Not ready in time, the P.7 was excluded from the 1929 Schneider Trophy race, in which a Macchi M.52R and two Macchi M.67 seaplanes represented Italy. Piaggio and Pegna abandoned plans to build a second one.