So happy I left this rag tag joint when I did! 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. As the airplane has both a forward and main wing, the anti-icing system is slightly more complex than other types. Vref lists the value of a 1990 P180 at $846,600 ranging up to $6.1 million for a 2019 Avanti Evo. Then there are the issues with inflight engine shutdowns that happen way early of the engine manufacture time frames. So last saturday I was scheduled to fly from Dallas to Las Vegas at noon. This, along with the airplanes great cabin and operating economies, has made the Avanti II the airplane that has helped create the remarkable success of charter and fractional operator Avantair, which operates 57 Avantis. Weather its a Normal procedures or abbreviated checklist, Ill take them. Today's grounding is the 4th time in 2 weeks they have grounded the fleet, but the previous times they had slowly returned airplanes to service. One thats lacking is the single FMS. Bleed air would have been nice, but by the time it had traveled the distance from the engines, its not clear that it would have been very hot anymore, and the bleed air used to heat the wing leading edges robs the turboprops of a great deal of power to begin with. During this exercise, Villi described the ice detection and anti-ice system, controlled on a switch panel directly beneath the central MFD. I followed the start procedure with one eye as I did this and observed Villi checking the power lever at idle, switching on the fuel pump, and setting the start switch to start. At 13 percent Ng, he moved the condition lever to ground idle with the starter switch shut off at 40 percent Ng and the power lever to flight idle. Both flights continued to their destinations without further incident. In flight, the Avanti handles much like its competition, but the jet-like takeoff and landing speeds, lack of FADEC, narrow gear track, twitchy electric steering, and grabby carbon brakes combine to make the airplane more of a handful than your run-of-the-mill King Air or Cessna Conquest. It wasnt the only fast turboprop twin with a forward wing the Beech Starship was a contemporary, though that company stopped production of the composite cabin-class twin shortly after it started it, admitting later that the composite model was so time-intensive to build that it was simply unprofitable. pilots. It has delivered nearly 200. 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. Perhaps its greatest asset is being the worlds most eco-friendly, twin-turbine business aircraft. ^ Goyer, Robert (19 April 2012). "Piaggio P.180 Avanti II". Flying. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017. Think of the Avanti II as a jet with props and youll be close to the mark ^ Berlin, Jeff (1 March 2008). I selected terrain on my PFD to map the coastline. I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely the Avanti II handles. A CEO and board that has taekn this company into a downward spiralouot of business in 3 monthsnice stock price!! I suspect, that they may be going over all documents now for a variety of reasons. We are confident we are laying the groundwork necessary to offer outstanding service and reliability going forward.. 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. At FL380, you can expect 380 KTAS on 600 pounds per hour in an Avanti II. Max takeoff weight / 12,100 lbs 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. PT6A-66(B) 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. So we planned to visually line up with the runway on short final. Yes, the Captain, a mere mortal and an infallible being, DID miss the elevator on his post flight inspection. Villi started the starboard Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66B as I settled in and set up my voice recording device and GoPro camera connected via a splitter cable to my headset. Don, sorry about your situation and lack of communication. 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. It is by far the worst disorganized fractional and needs a miracle of improvement. 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. 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. The flare required is very small, just enough to cushion the touchdown, so the nose drops very quickly to the runway. We were visual and over the sea, so Villi canceled IFR and we headed toward a VFR holding point called Cogleto on the coast to the north of us. Ill let Peter Garrison work out both the semantics and aerodynamics of the question (if those two disciplines would differ on the subject). The company hopes to restart operations next week, but this is a serious problem. It just so happens to be one of the most unusual looking ones too. 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. Again, the landing flare was very slight, and on touchdown, Lorenzo took control, selected beta on the props and we smoothly decelerated with plenty of runway remaining. Ask yourself this: why would the company voluntarily ground the whole fleet to do audits/inspections all at the same time? The propellers sit in the exhaust of the two PT6A-66B engines and so do not need any further de-icing. I know from my perspective, it was going to be close as to whether I was going to use my minimum hours this year (even after being able to roll some to next year). I could see why 380 is a preferred altitude. 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. The fuel penalty for flying in the 20s is not as extreme as it is in turbofan airplanes. Gulfstream Aerospace Celebrates 25 G700 Speed Records, A New Pilot Gets an Accelerated Course in Flying, Your Ideal Aircraft Might Be the One That's Easy To Fly, FAA Documentation Concerns Halt Boeing 787 Deliveries, Piper Reports 15 Percent Rise in Aircraft Deliveries, Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift Set to Take Off, Photos: Arizona Storm Destroys Dozens of Airplanes. 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. By this I mean the Evo turns through the same number of degrees as your feet move on the pedals until you put in a sustained input when the full nosewheel deflection of 50 degrees is felt and the turning circle feels extremely nimble and asymmetric braking is not needed. The forward wing (not to be called a canard, as it has no moving flight controls other than forward flaps) is positioned on the underside of a gracefully sweeping nose and is home to two pitot tubes underneath and, unusually in Western types, has a significant anhedral. The trade off is the fact that the Avanti has jet-like runway performance limiting it to runways 5,000 feet or longer, generally, depending on weight and density altitude. Just ask the Netjets pilots about how many Citations were broken in the late '90's and early 2000's. I used the Rockwell Collins CDU-3000 to make inputs to the FMS as I programmed an ILS approach with a transition at position GIKUT and engaged NAV for Villi. With a top speed of 400 knots (Avanti II/Evo), these airplanes cruise as much as 100 knots faster than traditional turboprops. New eVTOL Aircraft Set to Co-exist Alongside Helicopters, Safran Signals 'War for Talent' within Civil Engine Aftermarket, Newly Certified HAL 228 Variant Attracts Indian Lessor, Vision Systems Brings Dimmable-window Solutions to Heli-Expo, Cessna Citation II: The 'Family Truckster', Training Providers Gear Up for AAM Market, A modest proposal to boost general aviation, FAA Should Use Its Nuclear Option To Save Americas Airports, Analyzing the GAMA 1Q10 aircraft delivery numbers, Mid-Year Aerospace & Air Transport Report. He was up for a 10k raise after gaining seniority and they cut his pay the DAY before he was supposed to get the raise. The Avanti is has been around since 1990, providing the luxury of a jet with the versatility of a turbo prop. That said, they never even sent me a quote, which I got elsewhere for a king air (and a Lear 55, I am taking the King Air). Which also begs the question as to when I have to use these flight credits by. Fortunately that was in 2007 and we sold it right before the crash. I would especially reach out to Mr. Norris and others and hope that we will be able to serve you again in the future. Now I find out this has been an issue for several days but they have not sent out any communications to the owners mentioning this issue, nor is it mentioned on their website. Why wouldn't they do it maybe 5 aircraft at a time? 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. I know if they fold up its going to be a fiasco as technically we each own a piece of these airplanes so we have a bunch of partners that we don't even know. To begin, VNR has been a great place to work for many furloughed and retired former airline pilots. Flying the Avanti II Its a hard transition for a pilot coming back to PT6s after having flown modern fadec turbofans from Williams and, yes, from Pratt & Whitney. Let me be clear here and confirm that they are just rumors. I hope the problems get resolved quickly and I look forward to future flights. WebFlightSafety offers the only formal pilot and maintenance training programs available for the Piaggio P.180 Avanti, the Avanti II and the Avanti EVO. The approach speeds are very fast by turboprop standards. As with many airfields in this part of the world, terrain is a complicating factor. The caution terrain aural warning was sounding continuously as Villi maneuvered us to the left in visual conditions to fly around the hill, inconveniently placed on the extended certerline of the runway. They are completely disconnected from operations and maintenance and some in the operation would argue 'reality' should be added to that list. Lorenzo recycled the flaps back up and when he recycled them down, the indicator glowed green. While its fleet was grounded, Avantair outsourced trips to third-party charter operators or, in some instances, told customers it was unable to conduct their flights, a spokesman told AIN. It's been 4-18 at most. No furloughs or termination?? P180 Avanti Lighting System. For private owners, charter customers and fractional owners, the big cabin is a major selling point. The problem with the aft mounting is that the Avanti II has a very distinct exterior noise signature that is problematic while by all accounts the Avanti II is no noisier than other PT6-powered twins. Please contact me at the e-mail address below if you are interested. We took up a westerly heading for our return to Villanova. If Avantair doesn't do this, FAA will shut them down. The front office of the Avanti Evo is the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21. I started looking at commercial flights, figuring SWA flies there and it would be inexpensive anyway. My attempt to follow Villis lead to my right seat was not so graceful. Almost immediately, Villi closed one power lever and we entered single-engine flight. In the Flint incident, LISTEN TO THE ATC tapes! I found a new job about 4 weeks later! He sighted the runway at 50 ft above the missed approach point. Luckily it was 2007 and we sold it just before the crash. 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. Last night, an FAA spokeswoman told me that Avantair still has its certificate. This airframe, T7-ASG, SN3007 was the first Avanti to be produced at the new manufacturing facility in Villanova DAlbenga, one year after production was moved from Genoa. The EVO is the latest variant, which hosts a variety of new and as I was to taxi, Villi handed over control and released the parking brake by pulling and turning the T handle by his right knee. Its a great formula. It's because they MUST do it. : EASA.A.059 Issue: 07 Date: 11 October 2012 1. a) Type P.180 b) Variant Avanti 2. Technology and Comfort Furloughs.too bad. Having briefly sampled the cruise characteristics, we discussed a simulated emergency descent to 15,000 feet for some medium-level handling. 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. We know this is an extremely difficult period for our loyal employees and frustrating to our devoted owners, said Mr. Santo. With our new processes and procedures, Avantair will satisfy the heightened requirements governing the largest aircraft types in our industry. Though the very basic levers dont look as though they have reverse capability, they do, though it requires a healthy lift on the levers to get them back over the gate to provide propeller braking to slow things down on the ramp and taxiways. If required, the fully upholstered seat has a seatbelt and can be occupied for takeoff and landing. I was told my aircraft was on extended maintenance (whatever that meant, now I know). #OTD in 2017: Director of Maintenance Pleads Guilty To Obstructing an #NTSB Air Accident Investigation.https://t.co/P84ir4v0L5 #flightsafety #aviationsafety #aviationmaintenance pic.twitter.com/fA2oHltndZ, This information is added by users of ASN. P180 Avanti Pitot and Static System. To date, of the aircraft in the fleet that have been inspected, there have been no compliance or airworthiness issues. Grant handled the radio tuning. An FAA spokeswoman told me that the grounding was not initiated by the agency, so Im not sure where you got this information. WebAs the factory-authorized training provider for Piaggio Aeros P.180 Avanti, Avanti II and Avanti EVO models, FlightSafety has created in-depth, type-specific programs to ensure that pilots and maintenance technicians of Piaggio Aero aircraft are equipped with the latest in safety training. The lower section, containing two integral carpeted steps, is released by a handle on the left and lowered into position. The continuous curve of the fuselage generates approximately one-third of the overall lift, reducing the required size of the wings and thus minimizing drag. Once level, we were rewarded with what was nearly the top speed of the P.180, which was consistently 395 knots bumping up to that magical 400-knot figure on a couple of occasions, those figures at around 800 pounds per hour total. I had a few seconds to get the feel of the Evo in the landing configuration before I was flaring for touchdown and gradually closing the power levers. I got an email at about 10:30 last night saying cancelled for the reasons stated in this email, with the same offer to find me a charter ay my expense. There is no elevator in it; hence, its not a canard. P180 Avanti Special Cabin Configurations. Avantair loves the use of an ops check where the the crew tries to recreate the issue once and the maintenance department ignores it even after repeat issues with that same problem day after day. During the stand-down, Avantair will furlough some employees. This kind of range makes the P.180 a great bet as a regional airplane or one thats based in the Midwest. Anyone interested in the truth can re-read Piaggio drivers 4 part post. They are a public company and having your fleet grounded is a material issue yet they are not disclosing this issue as far as I can tell. These were retracted as we accelerated toward 160 knots. I stayed on the flight director as we climbed, quickly getting into IMC and getting rapid-fire climb-and-maintain clearances along the way. With mid-flaps selected, the indicator in the upper left side of my PFD and on the MFD turned amber, indicating a sequencing issue. Passenger oxygen deploys at 13,000 feet. WebThis rare Piaggio P-180 Avanti is an Italien executive transport aircraft with twin turboprop engines mounted in pusher configuration. This buffet, although it feels like a stick shaker through the column, is all aerodynamic from the forward wing and serves as an excellent stall warning. I followed Lorenzos example, if anything being a bit more aggressive with the speed decay. Had Chuck Yeager and Sully Sullenburger, himself, flown the aircraft, the result would have been the same. What's done in the dark always comes to light. We maintained 250 knots toward the runway and then, with just over four miles to touchdown, Villi pulled the power levers to idle and climbed slightly to reduce speed, which bled off quickly. Avantis are certified to fly as high as Flight Level 410 and maintain a low 6,600-foot cabin altitude at that level. Now, to the flight deck and our seats. They are understandably bitter and we don't blame them.). The Avanti takes that formula and pushes it to the design edge, achieving that performance with a great deal less power than in comparable jet products and with the best cabin in the class by a long shot. Viewing this report requires Adobe Reader be installed on your device. FlightAware General. Flying may receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site. And while I have spoken mainly about our pilots, I would like to commend my fellow employees, especially maintenance, in the other departments. 79 dated 17 If not, we hope that you find safe, efficient, and cost-effective travel options in the future. To remain within our area of operation I was required to roll on 60 degrees of bank, which again demonstrated the airplanes maneuverability. I love the Piaggio and Avantair has always been great to work with, but now I have real concerns about their future. Height / 13 ft 1 in My big concern is that this is just a smoke screen for bigger financial issues and that my share is in jeopardy. Then, Cessna built a tougher Citation which you see today - more ready for fractional use. They have a history of lying. In other words two failures and occured. 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