Vref lists the value of a 1990 P180 at $846,600 ranging up to $6.1 million for a 2019 Avanti Evo. We were cleared through 8,000 feet very quickly and then up to FL350, set up using the flight guidance panel (FGP) on the glareshield and appearing in cyan in the top right hand side of the PFD. Thanks for point that out. Well, pretty much all sold out. An FAA spokeswoman told me that the grounding was not initiated by the agency, so Im not sure where you got this information. Space laundry washing throughout the week. Copyright 2023 Flying Media. Piaggio Aero, on the other hand, is still steadily producing its model. Operationally this company is in big trouble. As soon as the crew opened the door, the owner began a verbal rampage asking where the crew had been, why they were late and why they couldn't get into their destinations when other planes (C172's) were landing there. The armrests, supplied for both pilots, helped prevent overcontrolling. Piaggio P.180 Avanti: Owner/operator: Avantair Inc: Registration: N146SL: MSN: That is a sign of a company that cares about its pilots. Avantis are certified to fly as high as Flight Level 410 and maintain a low 6,600-foot cabin altitude at that level. A most serious maintenance error especially since the elevator installation work would have required a RII type (double) inspection. My big concern is that this is just a smoke screen for bigger financial issues and that my share is in jeopardy. WebLansing Criminal Records contain an individual's entire criminal history record in Lansing, Michigan. This kind of range makes the P.180 a great bet as a regional airplane or one thats based in the Midwest. I still recall going into one of the back hangers and see MX personal taking parts off of other P180s and putting them on other P180s. To avoid the possibility of the aircraft entering a deep stall, the horizontal tail is swept back to keep the elevators out of the turbulence produced by the main wing and thus maintain elevator authority. Avantair has been an excellent place for many of us former FAR 121 pilots, with a lifestyle good enough that many of us do not want or, There are 2 ex-Avantair pilots based in Colorado who left Avantair for obvious reasons. Your management sucks! Findings as to risk: Oh, and "coincidentally" perhaps, I got an email request for some documents that they were missing from my file yesterday, which I sent over. Everyone at the company expects to be unemployed very soon. I am under a recent lease agreement. Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association Find it free on the store, Powerplants / (2) 850-shp Pratt & Whitney 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. The cabin, interestingly, isnt symmetrical; its a little cozier up front than in back. P180 Avanti Special Cabin Configurations. 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. I started looking at commercial flights, figuring SWA flies there and it would be inexpensive anyway. The flare required is very small, just enough to cushion the touchdown, so the nose drops very quickly to the runway. 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. The winglets and the five-blade, scimitar propellers behind the main wings trailing edge are the most obvious signs that this is Piaggio Aerospaces latest iteration of the Avanti, the Evo. I managed the deceleration to approach speed with very small movements of the power levers and maintained final approach speed quite easily. With a top speed of 400 knots (Avanti II/Evo), these airplanes cruise as much as 100 knots faster than traditional turboprops. 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 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. A fully independent backup navigator can be installed as an option. Avantair has retained safety expert Nick Sabatini to oversee the project. 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. Piaggio P.180 AFM TC No. Had this been a 121 flight, the Captain could have had the passengers detained for interfering with a flight crew and stomping out on the supposedly "secured" ramp, but this isn't 121. But with a main cabin height of 69 inches, its easy to move about. Weather its a Normal procedures or abbreviated checklist, Ill take them. The engines have pneumatic boots on the intake combining with an engine particle deviator door to avoid ice entering the engine core and a warm bleed air supply to the engine oil cooler intake. Earlier, she also confirmed that Avantairs grounding was indeed voluntary and not mandated by the FAA. Villi and I then headed to Genoa for some instrument approaches. 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. One thats lacking is the single FMS. My trip has been scheduled for several days so I am perplexed on why they waited until 11pm the night before my trip to tell me about this issue. 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. As the flaps travel, there is a nose up pitch that is easily counteracted with slight forward pressure on the column and trim. WebSECTION A: GENERAL, P.180 Avanti Type Design A.I. They are completely disconnected from operations and maintenance and some in the operation would argue 'reality' should be added to that list. You fly final at around 120 knots; when you pull back on the power as you land, the nose rises slightly, the mains touch, and you relax back pressure and prepare to get stopped, a job that is greatly aided by big carbon brakes and extremely effective prop braking. Ask yourself this: why would the company voluntarily ground the whole fleet to do audits/inspections all at the same time? I selected terrain on my PFD to map the coastline. I have knowledge of quite the contrary. Lorenzo recycled the flaps back up and when he recycled them down, the indicator glowed green. On the Avanti, each unique characteristic of the aircraft is firmly rooted in function. 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. We have graduates from Embry-Riddle, Purdue, UND, Parks College, etc., some of the most respected aviation schools in the world. In fact, Avantair late last year took possession of the 100th Avanti delivered in the United States, which has been far and away the models best market. Cash is cash, and paying another charter company would sink cash. Fortunately that was in 2007 and we sold it right before the crash. The plan for my flight was to climb to 30,000 up to the Wichita VOR to do something Id never done before, an RVSM check. 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. The second engine was started and after-start checks completed. Whatever the outcome, it was and is an honor and a blast to serve our Owners and work with my fellow VNR employees. The wings are held level easily with aileron and a squeeze of rudder. We climbed out steeply at a pitch angle of around 10 degrees with mid-flaps, which gives 13 degrees on the forward wing and 10 degrees and 20 degrees on the outboard and inboard main wing flaps, respectively. Max range / 1,470 nm. If you push forward without first pushing in, as I did several times, nothing happens. At one point, Avantair had 57 P180s in its fleet. 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. 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. Cabin dimensions are spacious compared to a Beechcraft King Air and more in line with a midsize jet. Copyright 2023 AIN Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Taxi steering was selected on the column switch, and the airplane moved easily at our ramp weight of 10,800 pounds. Technology and Comfort Piaggio P180-Avanti-II Price and Buyer Guides View all AvBuyer's Turboprops Articles . Because there is no overhead panel, I had sufficient head room to allow me to clumsily maneuver myself into position. The seats are finished in black leather with the owners initials embossed into the headrest and with a cabin height of 5.74 ft, it is comfortable to move around the full length. To date, of the aircraft in the fleet that have been inspected, there have been no compliance or airworthiness issues. So it was no surprise that my first impressions were of relatively high control forces with noticeable system friction in both pitch and roll with, at low speed, a low geared pitch trim. Compared to the Avanti II it has redesigned nacelles, winglets, and a reshaped front wing, leading to a 3% reduction in emissions along with a 3% increase in climb performance. He descended to 1,000 feet to position for a visual arrival to Runway 10 with a touch-and-go. Piaggio P.180 Avanti II: N141JT: Private: 0: Georgetown, TX: sub: 09-JUN-2018: Piaggio P.180 Avanti II: N977RS: private : 0: Tivat Airport (TIV/LYTV) w/o: 03-JAN-2019: Piaggio P.180 Avanti: N990RS: Rainbow Sandals Retail Inc. 0: 20 nm W of Kelowna, BC: 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. Viewing this report requires Adobe Reader be installed on your device. Seats / up to 11 Grant has been flying the Avanti for years with thousands of hours of experience in the airplane, much of it under typical charterlike conditions. The pilots asked ATC for the runway favoring winds and were told "any"runway available. We took up a westerly heading for our return to Villanova. If anyone in North Florida is interested let me know. The upper fuselage curves to a peak height just in front of and above the main wing leading edge and then slopes downwards to join the lower fuselage upward curve at a point below the trailing edge of the T-tail that stands with its sharply swept back horizontal tailplane some 13.06 feet above the ramp. Wingspan / 46 ft 1 in The seat is raised or lowered with a lever outboard to provide a view that should just about look down onto the top of the glareshield. It's been 4-18 at most. In ground idle and with power pulled back to idle, the airplane still has a tendency, like many turboprops, to get going too fast, so you need to use beta to keep things slowed down. While I flew, Villi checked the Airplane Flight Manual and the performance graphs corroborated these figures to within a couple of knots at ISA +5. Think of the Avanti II as a jet with props and youll be close to the mark, though in many respects, its not an easy mental shift to make. Let me be clear here and confirm that they are just rumors. View our Piaggio P.180 Avanti II photo gallery. That said both the plane and the company have been reliable for me for about 7 years. With all of these maitenence issues and issues regarding fudging pilot hours so they would be legal is scary. Companies in trouble do this to avoid the panic of "furlough" status. Management is out for their gain and don't care for the customers, after all it is the customers who legally own the airplanes, not the company. The cabin provides a comfortable and quiet ride for passengers. He sighted the runway at 50 ft above the missed approach point. And while I have spoken mainly about our pilots, I would like to commend my fellow employees, especially maintenance, in the other departments. The lower section, containing two integral carpeted steps, is released by a handle on the left and lowered into position. 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. 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. It is, instead, a forward wing. Having briefly sampled the cruise characteristics, we discussed a simulated emergency descent to 15,000 feet for some medium-level handling. http://www.avantair.com/filings.html. 2023 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Air Force looks toward automation with Reliable Robotics, Boeing, NASA to develop sustainable airliner. 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. During the takeoff roll, the left elevator departed the airplane and was found off the side of the runway 3 days later. Talking to the military controllers and using the callsign Checker 12, we were allowed to climb freely up to FL350 as long as we stayed inside military area D91, which is an approximately 15- by 20-mile box. 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. The approach speeds are very fast by turboprop standards. Villi selected the Rockwell Collins RTA-800 weather radar on his nav display via the display control panel down the side of the PFD, to monitor a cell just inland. No sooner had we done this, when Villi took control, performed an airshow-style liftoff, and turned to clear the runway for the next aircraft. 79 dated 17 We were light and it was slightly colder than standard, both of which help boost true airspeed numbers by at least a few knots. Then, Cessna built a tougher Citation which you see today - more ready for fractional use. This is another advantage of a turboprop. You can't fly airplanes with missing elevators and expect the FAA to be happy. 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. pilots. The start-up sequence is pure PT6; its a completely pilot-controlled process. 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. Because of the rake angle of the windshield, the glareshield is very deep and provides a perspective unique to the Avanti. 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. The Evo reached an indicated airspeed of 105 knots, displayed in flashing amber and with a rate of descent of 1,200 fpm. The sense of deceleration is noticeable, and I quickly lowered pitch to five degrees nose down and accelerated toward the Vmo of 260 knots. It is not, at least not primarily. As we approached this, Lorenzo increased the back pressure and stopped trimming at 1.5 times the stall speed. 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. With fully reversionary flat-screen displays with a host of safety utilities, including TCAS, TAWS, satellite weather and more, the avionics suite is top-notch, and Piaggio Aero has been working with Rockwell Collins since the introduction of the Avanti II to add upgrades as they became available. Quickly to the Avanti, each unique characteristic of the aircraft is firmly rooted in function quite! Panel, i had sufficient head room to allow me to clumsily maneuver into! 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