Arriving at the FBO there, the crew were shocked to find the owner and his colleague outside the FBO, on the ramp, unsupervised, waiting for the aircraft to arrive. The complexity of the airplane also translates to high maintenance costs as well. We leveled off at FL350 19 minutes after takeoff, I left the torque at 75 percent, and allowed the Avanti to accelerate to Mach 0.64 with an indicated airspeed of 216 knots and a TAS of 373 knots. A traffic target can be out of view in certain positions, at around 2 oclock for the left-seater or 11 oclock for the right-seater. Furloughs.too bad. They are understandably bitter and we don't blame them.). @piaggiodriver, it's ok to be proud of working at a company but avantair treats its employees horribly. Access to the cabin is straightforward, the upper two-thirds of the door on the port side, just behind the flight deck, opens toward the nose of the aircraft, and a gust lock keeps it flush to the side of the fuselage. The shape, youll see, is not simply for show, though ironically it shows very nicely. Luckily it was 2007 and we sold it just before the crash. The cabin provides a comfortable and quiet ride for passengers. Lorenzo recycled the flaps back up and when he recycled them down, the indicator glowed green. No nose was visible ahead, but down and to the right from my seat I could see the tip of the forward wing and the shapely winglet was at my four oclock. The flare required is very small, just enough to cushion the touchdown, so the nose drops very quickly to the runway. The P.180 Avanti Evo has a wow factor that is not present with many other twin turboprops of a similar size. Where the two designs are in accord is that they are both largely stall proof. In simpler terms, that means the engines maintain their 850 shaft horsepower to a higher altitude thereby increasing true airspeed of the airplane through the thinner air. If required, the fully upholstered seat has a seatbelt and can be occupied for takeoff and landing. At 400 feet, Lorenzo handed me control for my first landing. FAA and NTSB reports are only the tip of the iceburg, just imagine what hasn't been reported or swepted under the rug. If materials were a conservative approach, configuration was not. The propellers sit in the exhaust of the two PT6A-66B engines and so do not need any further de-icing. Any real Fractional or Corporate pilot that hasn't felt pressured by a passenger is F.O.S. 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. He said the airplane was slightly right of the runway centerline and that there was a right crosswind. The folks behind Piaggio have long claimed that the Avanti is exceptionally quiet inside, throwing out a 68 dBA number that never seemed credible. While things have been dreary throughout the aviation industry for the past 5 years, Avantair was the only fractional airline that did not furlough or terminate pilots due to staffing reductions. If Avantair doesn't do this, FAA will shut them down. Villanova requires a specific qualification as it sits in a bowl surrounded by mountains with an MSA of 11,200 feet to the west, so Villi briefed he would fly the departure from Runway 9 and demonstrate a performance takeoff. I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely the Avanti II handles. If not pilots for a direct competitor that would benefit from a VNR no longer there, I would guess that they might be disgruntled former employees filtered out by VNR's well-known tough training program. My friend, the Captain, requested the FO remain with the passengers, who continued their verbal tirade as the Captain DID complete a postflight, although abbreviated under duress. WebP180 Avanti General Description. During the takeoff roll, the left elevator departed the airplane and was found off the side of the runway 3 days later. With regard to maintenance all you need to do is get an engineer to do you monthly checks and for the big ones send it to Dusseldorf. Grant has been flying the Avanti for years with thousands of hours of experience in the airplane, much of it under typical charterlike conditions. 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. Thanks for point that out. As the factory-authorized training provider for these aircraft, we have created in-depth, type-specific programs to ensure that pilots and technicians are equipped with the latest in safety training. For years, Avantis languished on the fringes of general aviation as a niche airplane. I'm not saying that maintenance or pilots did not make mistakes, but it helps to know the entire story before a rush to judgement. Taking back control as we lined up, Villi held the brakes using the top of the toe pedals, advanced the power levers to 97.6 percent, and we accelerated briskly to 120 knots. Best for: Superior speed When Italys leading aerospace manufacturing company released the Piaggio Avanti EVO, they delivered on three key business demands: speed, comfort, and cost-effectiveness.Piaggio Aerospace blended the very best in Italian design with superb craftsmanship to create a high-performance aircraft that not only turns Now, on to the rumors about the FAA pulling Avantairs certificate. The company simply does not have the capacity to handle the demand and corners have been seriously cut to try to cover that demand with inadequate resources. 79 dated 17 In reality, the P.180 is a fast, sophisticated, high-flying airplane that requires the same kinds of skills and training as any single-pilot business jet. Could it happen to anyone else? At FL350, the speed remained stable even with back pressure applied to maintain altitude, and the aircraft was easy to control. Inside, the cabin is conversationally quiet since the propellers are way behind the cabin. Thats slightly less than 100 gallons per hour, a figure light jets simply cant touch. On climb-out, especially given the steep angle of attack of the impressive-climbing P.180, its hard to see much out front at all. The start-up sequence is pure PT6; its a completely pilot-controlled process. When the crew explained that MYF was below approach minimus due to the CAT B limitation, the owner used abusive language and accused them of lying. Chad, Bill, I appreciate the info and your honest evaluation. The Piaggio Avanti EVO is the third generation model of Piaggios flagship model. In other words two failures and occured. I selected terrain on my PFD to map the coastline. Findings as to risk: I could see why 380 is a preferred altitude. Try using low-flow fixtures. RMR, if you are in Vegas, have you looked at AirSprint as an alternative? View our Piaggio P.180 Avanti II photo gallery. The wings are held level easily with aileron and a squeeze of rudder. What's done in the dark always comes to light. I'm a fractional owner and the first I heard about this fleet grounding was 11pm last night when I got an email from owner services saying my flights for this morning at 9am and return tomorrow were cancelled. 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. As far as the crew that experienced the elevator loss, now you will hear the rest of the story.. Due to low ceilings at the destination airport, the crew diverted to the alternate, SAN. The use of alloys instead of composites was a purposeful choice for Piaggio Aero, which certified the airplane more than 20 years ago at a time when there were few successful composite models and sheet metal seemed to augur a shorter approval program than plastics did. If the fleet was grounded last saturday then why were pilots sent out assignments to fly? I wont get into the details of it here, but suffice it to say Grant was busy with taking notes as I flew the airplane. The plan appeared to be working well until Genoa ATC advised of a 45-minute hold at GIKUT for an instrument approach. Taxiing feels conventional, though its accomplished using an electrically actuated, hydraulically powered nosewheel steering system. In any event, they are going to be fighting an uphill battle, as each day that passes is going to cause people to want to cancel there "membership.". 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. 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.. The external baggage area is not pressurized. The professional pilots at Avantair greatly appreciate our owners support and contribution to our careers and livelihoods. Please contact me at the e-mail address below if you are interested. 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. Here is the sentence: Considering the shape of the nose in front of you, this is handy, because the runway stays in easy view the entire time. Willing to purchase them from you. Max range / 1,470 nm. Both flights continued to their destinations without further incident. WebThe Piaggio P180 Avanti II twin-engine turboprop business aircraft is the successor to the P180 Avanti, of which more than 100 have been produced since its entry into service in In the Flint incident, LISTEN TO THE ATC tapes! You know get them off the insurance roll. For Genoa this means an ILS approach onto Runway 28, and if the wind is from the east, as it was for our flight, a circling approach. 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. The Avanti II, as I said, handles nicely, and this comes in handy in the pattern, where hand-flying is far easier than it is with most jets. My husband works for Avant and is currently wondering what's happening as well Piaggio Aero, on the other hand, is still steadily producing its model. Criminal Records include Lansing arrests, arrest warrants, search warrants, P180 Avanti Special Cabin Configurations. To demonstrate the first stall, Villi leveled at 15,000 feet, and with the power levers remaining closed, we decelerated at 1.5 knots per second as shown by the purple trend vector on the PFD airspeed strip. A friend owns a But this further action is necessary to ensure every aspect of our operation will allow us to reach the next level of safety and performance and exceed the highest industry standard, said Steven Santo, Avantair CEO. Did the Captain make a huge mistake doing a fast post flight after a butt-chewing from an owner? 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