Whatever the outcome, it was and is an honor and a blast to serve our Owners and work with my fellow VNR employees. Piaggios home airfield is surrounded by terrain, and the approach is offset from the inbound course. The pilots had secured an engine and were having orientation issues due to instrumentation failures. Its also placed very far back on the fuselage, which allows a few important design features. A lot of the airplane have recurring maintenance problems that just get put off until something really breaks and the airplane is grounded. View our Piaggio P.180 Avanti II photo gallery. Chad, We would be more than happy to speak with any Colorado based owners who might be looking for an experienced Piaggio crew. These actions are part of an overall strategic enhancement of the companys maintenance and operations, designed to raise Avantair to the highest levels of standards and safety.. WebP180 Avanti General Description. Here is the sentence: Did the Captain make a huge mistake doing a fast post flight after a butt-chewing from an owner? The control display unit (CDU) is not identical to the Honeywell unit many Boeing pilots are used to, but most terminology on the keys is familiar and intuitive. Piaggios appearance at the Singapore Airshow in February lifted hopes somewhat that the design can survive. That all changed in 2003 when Avantair put the design thoroughly on the map in the United States as a successful fractional-ownership provider of Avantis. At 10:30 I was contacted and told that my flight had been cancelled, and that they would be looking at both charter and commercial flights at their expense. Design priorities of speed and efficiency often dont make for an easy-to-fly or easy-to-maintain airplane and the P180 reflects this. Furloughs.too bad. Above FL200, the torque is allowed to reduce as ITT becomes the governing factor and we targeted approximately 800 deg C. The maximum continuous ITT is 820 degrees, but 785 degrees is recommended to produce rated horsepower in ISA conditions and improve engine life. Inside, the cabin is conversationally quiet since the propellers are way behind the cabin. Once there, I found the cockpit comfortable. The other huge advantage of the configuration is that it opens up the fuselage, allowing a cabin that is closer to that of midsize jets than light jets. If Avantair doesn't do this, FAA will shut them down. Piaggio will also increase the Evo's maximum zero fuel weight (MZFW) to 10,200 pounds, up from 9,800 pounds. On Saturday, fractional provider Avantair grounded its entire fleet of about 60 Piaggio Avanti twin turboprops to conduct a comprehensive examination of all Yes, it does have three lifting surfaces, a T-tail and two pusher propellers but its how they are put together that is the important thing. The P180s have a lot of maintenance issues because they are flown to airliner annual times when the planes were only made for a few hundred hours a year with private owners. Oh, and "coincidentally" perhaps, I got an email request for some documents that they were missing from my file yesterday, which I sent over. The twin turboprop Avanti EVO is the third-generation version of the Piaggios Avanti P.180, a model introduced in the 1990s that led to the creation of Piaggio Aero Industries. P180 Avanti Pressurization System. If not, we hope that you find safe, efficient, and cost-effective travel options in the future. Piaggio succeeded in its design goals to create a large cabin as well as a very fast design that puts it squarely in the light jet arena. To date, of the aircraft in the fleet that have been inspected, there have been no compliance or airworthiness issues. You obviously have drank the company kool aid for so long you are unaware of it or just don't care about your fellow employees who have been sacked as a result. P180 Avanti Hydraulic. Frequent heading changes are required to stay in the area and this allowed me to quickly get a feel for the Avanti. As we approached this, Lorenzo increased the back pressure and stopped trimming at 1.5 times the stall speed. The Avanti feels very stable and is easy to maintain altitude in while hand-flying compared with other airplanes in and around its class. The flare required is very small, just enough to cushion the touchdown, so the nose drops very quickly to the runway. Now, to the flight deck and our seats. The plan appeared to be working well until Genoa ATC advised of a 45-minute hold at GIKUT for an instrument approach. Web Conserve water to avoid overloading the septic system. Once on the runway and cleared for takeoff, we checked to make sure the flaps were set for takeoff and the steering was too there are different modes depending on how fast youre traveling though theres no tiller and that our trims and condition lever were correctly set. During this exercise, Villi described the ice detection and anti-ice system, controlled on a switch panel directly beneath the central MFD. He placed his left foot at the base of the carpet behind the central instrument panel and stepped forward with his right, placing his foot inboard of the control column and gracefully followed with his left. Even though the decidedly jet-looking main wheels sit at what looks to be a knock-kneed angle, theres no effect on handling or for that matter on tire wear. Along with the wings, the engine inlets and wing leading edge are deiced by bleed air; the tail does without, as do the props, which are heated directly by the engine exhaust blowing over them. Several years ago I shared a King Air 200 with another company which was great until the partner got into financial trouble and couldn't pay their half. Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite also debuted in the Avanti II. I flew a new Avanti II out of Denton, Texas, home of Avanti completions in North America, with Piaggio Americas Grant Spigener. What's done in the dark always comes to light. He then lowered the seat and sat down. The effect is a view that changes substantially as you point the nose up or down in various phases of flight. The Avanti EVO is the fastest turboprop available currently. Piaggio Aero, on the other hand, is still steadily producing its model. During the stand-down, Avantair will furlough some employees. P180 Avanti Ice and Rain Protection. As an owner I would think twice about renewing my contract and go with a company who cares about its customers safety, including employees. WebTo order vehicle records online, you will need to: Have a permissible use for the information if purchasing records other than your own; Select Online Services; Under Additional Thanks for point that out. The P.180 Avanti Evo has a wow factor that is not present with many other twin turboprops of a similar size. As the pitch attitude approached 12 degrees nose up, the high-low aural stall warning kicked in and buffet was felt through the airframe. The Avanti II gets its best range figures, up around 1,500 nm, at higher altitudes and lower fuel burns, and Grant told me that the range is real, commenting that he has never had to make more than one fuel stop going from any one point in the continental United States to another. The power levers were manually adjusted as we climbed to maintain 100 percent torque, shown on the engine indicating system on the top of the central multifunction display (MFD) in green. One thats lacking is the single FMS. Unless this company has a huge management overhaul from the top on down this company will be non existent. Landing the P.180, as Id heard previously, is interesting in that the attitude is very flat. Any altimeter setting mismatch is shown by a yellow line beneath the altimeter setting on the PFD, and the pressurized cabin is set to climb at 300 fpm. The windshield is deep and sharply raked back, which along with the ventral delta fins, perhaps alludes to the shared Learjet origin from the 1980s. Like the Starship, the Piaggio Avanti features a canard and rear-mounted engines. But the Avanti is made mostly of aluminum, not composites. It weighs thousands of pounds less than the Starship and is about 60 m.p.h. faster. ^ Martin, Ed (29 October 1989). Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association Find it free on the store, Powerplants / (2) 850-shp Pratt & Whitney The voluntary action is being taken in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration. A friend owns a I was offered a fairly large hourly credit for my cancellation, which makes sense from their perspective. I started looking at commercial flights, figuring SWA flies there and it would be inexpensive anyway. Theoretically, a newly minted multiengine pilot with a high-altitude endorsement could hop right in and go flying. Really thinking nothing of it, I booked a flight from LAS to Orange COunty Ca today (coming back tomorrow). The fuel penalty for flying in the 20s is not as extreme as it is in turbofan airplanes. Using the intuitive FMS CDU, I programmed a route toward BERAB, the initial approach fix for the VOR approach to Runway 27 at Villanova. Piaggio P.180 AFM TC No. Now it will be impossible, since I cant even book my last few trips of the year, because I have no idea if we will be flying. With the hammer down and in the low 30s, Avanti IIs can hit 400 KTAS on 800 pounds per hour. There are ten wholly owned Avanti EVOs in operation worldwide, according to JETNET. Piaggio P.180 Avanti: Owner/operator: Avantair Inc: Registration: N146SL: MSN: At one point, Avantair had 57 P180s in its fleet. Using the rudder pedal steering in taxi mode, the feeling is very direct. Had this been a real emergency, flight deck oxygen masks are stowed outboard of each pilot seat, readily accessible. I was told my aircraft was on extended maintenance (whatever that meant, now I know). This press release was issued by Avantair late last night: AVANTAIR UPDATE ON VOLUNTARY STAND-DOWN OF OPERATIONS. Pete Bedell is a pilot for a major airline and co-owner of a Cessna 172M and Beechcraft Baron D55. Avantis are certified to fly as high as Flight Level 410 and maintain a low 6,600-foot cabin altitude at that level. On Saturday, fractional provider Avantair grounded its entire fleet of about 60 Piaggio Avanti twin turboprops to conduct a comprehensive examination of all maintenance records and aircraft. According to industry sources, the action stemmed from an incident earlier this year in which an Avantair Avanti shed an elevator in flight. The price of the latest Piaggio P180 Avanti EVO is US $ 7.7 Million. Wingspan / 46 ft 1 in In the process it doesnt hurt one bit that the Avanti II just so happens to be one of the sleekest and most beautiful airplanes ever built. Occupants can converse easily, as can the pilots. With our new processes and procedures, Avantair will satisfy the heightened requirements governing the largest aircraft types in our industry. 79 dated 17 They offered to find me a charter at MY EXPENSE, which just isn't right. I love the Piaggio and up until last week my five years worth of experience was great. Why wouldn't they do it maybe 5 aircraft at a time? While the rate of climb is great, one thing the Avanti II doesnt do is climb or descend at very high indicated airspeeds, the former a condition of available thrust. The sharp sweepback of the horizontal stabilizer ensures the elevators cannot be aerodynamically blanked by the main wing during a stall and thus remain effective throughout, and the main wing, with its high aspect ratio, is positioned behind the rear pressure bulkhead so that the spar does not pass through the passenger cabin, giving an uninterrupted length of 14.93 ft. Companies in trouble do this to avoid the panic of "furlough" status. After wed checked figures at 380, we headed down briefly to FL 320 on the way back to Dallas. These inspections and other actions are still underway. We exited left at the end, and Lorenzo cleaned the aircraft up as I got my last chance to handle the Avanti Evo while we taxied back toward the ramp. An FAA spokeswoman told me that the grounding was not initiated by the agency, so Im not sure where you got this information. What we didnt fully realize is that over the next 20 years no light jet would emerge that could challenge the P.180s remarkable combination of speed, fuel efficiency and cabin size, a trifecta of strengths that has made it a popular transportation airplane with operators for whom efficiency, comfort and high style are the hallmarks of having arrived. WebThe hydraulically retractable tricycle-type landing gear on the Piaggio Avanti II helps the aircraft to operate from smaller airfields as well with a min take off distance of 869 meters WebSECTION A: GENERAL, P.180 Avanti Type Design A.I. Have been looking everywhere for these. Anyone interested in the truth can re-read Piaggio drivers 4 part post. Now, on to the rumors about the FAA pulling Avantairs certificate. 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