Try using low-flow fixtures. 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). The professional pilots at Avantair greatly appreciate our owners support and contribution to our careers and livelihoods. I followed Lorenzos example, if anything being a bit more aggressive with the speed decay. Safety is Avantairs top priority. As it wraps itself around the pointy nose of the P.180, the windshield stretches out for several feet in front of the pilots and wraps back around them tightly. I am under a recent lease agreement. My last four years have been spent flying equipment with fly-by-wire controls and the Avantis flying controls are conventionally connected via cables, pulleys, push pull rods, and bell cranks. We have graduates from Embry-Riddle, Purdue, UND, Parks College, etc., some of the most respected aviation schools in the world. Avantair has retained safety expert Nick Sabatini to oversee the project. The Avanti EVO is the fastest turboprop available currently. 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. He descended to 1,000 feet to position for a visual arrival to Runway 10 with a touch-and-go. 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. 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. Criminal Records include Lansing arrests, arrest warrants, search warrants, 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. WebFlightSafety offers the only formal pilot and maintenance training programs available for the Piaggio P.180 Avanti, the Avanti II and the Avanti EVO. I am disappointed that there has been no communication out to the owners about this grounding and if you go to their website it doesn't mention anything and it looks like business as usual. Shortly before departure, Villi advised me that the autopilot function of the APS-300 flight guidance system was not available. At FL350, the speed remained stable even with back pressure applied to maintain altitude, and the aircraft was easy to control. 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 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. 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. During the descent, we briefed for some stalls, the handling qualities of which Villi was obviously keen to show me. A lot of the airplane have recurring maintenance problems that just get put off until something really breaks and the airplane is grounded. 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. Ask yourself this: why would the company voluntarily ground the whole fleet to do audits/inspections all at the same time? 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. 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. He was a good guide to have for my first flight in the airplane. If it's not currently installed, click here to download. Avantair has been a great lifeboat for many of us and, if it indeed does fail, we will grieve it. 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. Really thinking nothing of it, I booked a flight from LAS to Orange COunty Ca today (coming back tomorrow). Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. You can get a good 2003 model with the increased weights that make it an Avanti II for $5.3. My husband works for Avant and is currently wondering what's happening as well As we climbed, the Vmo of 260 knots was displayed at the top of the speed tape on the PFD and the climb speed was maintained at 160 knots, reducing by one knot for every 1,000 feet above FL300. 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. Max cruise speed / 400 KTAS As we returned to our starting point alongside Villanovas smart, modern terminal, we allowed the PT6s to cool for the required two minutes before securing the airplane. 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. You know get them off the insurance roll. Don. At 400 feet, Lorenzo handed me control for my first landing. 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. Frequent heading changes are required to stay in the area and this allowed me to quickly get a feel for the Avanti. Piaggio P.180 AFM TC No. Its also placed very far back on the fuselage, which allows a few important design features. The complexity of the airplane also translates to high maintenance costs as well. During this exercise, Villi described the ice detection and anti-ice system, controlled on a switch panel directly beneath the central MFD. View our Piaggio P.180 Avanti II photo gallery. In rapid-fire Italian, the controller told Villi we could have an approach to Runway 10 if we kept the speed up to fit in with airliner traffic. Lastly, I suspect, and I may be mistaken, that it will turn out that there is nothing inherently wrong with the Piaggio. I didnt alter it in any way I just cut and pasted what they sent me. With all of these maitenence issues and issues regarding fudging pilot hours so they would be legal is scary. 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. 2023 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Air Force looks toward automation with Reliable Robotics, Boeing, NASA to develop sustainable airliner. 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. 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. 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.". : EASA.A.059 Issue: 07 Date: 11 October 2012 1. a) Type P.180 b) Variant Avanti 2. Taxiing feels conventional, though its accomplished using an electrically actuated, hydraulically powered nosewheel steering system. I was told my aircraft was on extended maintenance (whatever that meant, now I know). It just so happens to be one of the most unusual looking ones too. source: 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. 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. Hah, you think the owners don't care about safety? Have been looking everywhere for these. I love the Piaggio and Avantair has always been great to work with, but now I am concerned about my share and their financial situation. With the hammer down and in the low 30s, Avanti IIs can hit 400 KTAS on 800 pounds per hour. Companies in trouble do this to avoid the panic of "furlough" status. 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 Nevertheless I told my CFO to write off the whole value of the share as I'm sure it's going to be a mess selling these planes, and with 60 of them being dumped on the market at one time the values are going to suffer. The Shape of Fast The airplane is nicely stable on final. The Avanti II does indeed have a big cabin, the best in its class by far, and it also has good speed and range, and best-in-class fuel efficiency. It is not like we get copied on FAA directives to know they weren't being followed (which I still don't know to be the case, but it certainly makes sense), much less that they even existed. At 73 inches across, the width allows for great shoulder room, easy entry though the airstair door and a very comfy hard-door lavatory. Using the intuitive FMS CDU, I programmed a route toward BERAB, the initial approach fix for the VOR approach to Runway 27 at Villanova. 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. pilot operation, so when a small amount of fogging briefly appeared on my (right) screen, the clear pattern would allow the left-seat pilot adequate visibility. Piaggio will also increase the Evo's maximum zero fuel weight (MZFW) to 10,200 pounds, up from 9,800 pounds. Villi led a thorough guided tour of the outside of the airplane and explained all of its many unique features. Taxi steering was selected on the column switch, and the airplane moved easily at our ramp weight of 10,800 pounds. 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. The voluntary action is being taken in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration. Earlier, she also confirmed that Avantairs grounding was indeed voluntary and not mandated by the FAA. Viewing this report requires Adobe Reader be installed on your device. Could it happen to anyone else? The P.180 Avanti Evo has a wow factor that is not present with many other twin turboprops of a similar size. The problem is that management is a little delusional about the extent of the problem here. 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. The external baggage area is not pressurized. Everyone at the company expects to be unemployed very soon. 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. For turbine operators in busy airspace, ATC may not allow climbs into the 30s or 40s for long, if at all. Don. Ive removed Kyles email address above since this is not a pilot placement service, and Ive also deleted a charter companys post trolling for business from Avantair customers. I think that it should be obvious to everyone here that comments by Mandarin Jet and a few others should be taken with a grain of salt. Despite the fact that it took me a while to get a feel for the trim button theres a little activate button in the center of the trim hat the hand-flying was nothing short of delightful. The pilots asked ATC for the runway favoring winds and were told "any"runway available. Unlike what I think of as a canard, in the Avanti the elevator is back on the tail and the ailerons are on the trailing edge of the wing, along with some very serious flaps, which are designed to deploy slowly so as not to cause a dramatic pitch change they succeed at that, by the way. Fastest Turboprop One lesson I did learn is to do due diligence on a prospective partner so you don't get stuck paying all the bills. 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. The closeness to the ground gives the airplane a go-cart feel. His record is pristine and out of Vegas, PS Albany has treated him so bad. We continued to decelerate and shortly after selecting landing flaps, I turned toward the hillside on my left to line up with the runway as we passed through 600 feet. They offered to find me a charter at MY EXPENSE, which just isn't right. I flew with him last month. The cabin provides a comfortable and quiet ride for passengers. Later versions of the P.180 included the P.180 Avanti I and P.180 Avanti II. But it didn't help in the fact VNR was born in the Decade from hell. 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. 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. This action is voluntary and involves the temporary stand-down of [our] aircraft, Avantair said in a statement. Theoretically, a newly minted multiengine pilot with a high-altitude endorsement could hop right in and go flying. There are ten wholly owned Avanti EVOs in operation worldwide, according to JETNET. Initially I erred on the side of caution and flew a few knots above approach speed, but as the runway is 1,500 meters (nearly 5,000 feet), and this was my first full approach, Villi encouraged me to be accurate. Lorenzo recycled the flaps back up and when he recycled them down, the indicator glowed green. 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. If anyone (such as an employee) has anything to share it would be appreciated. I love the Piaggio and Avantair has always been great to work with, but now I have real concerns about their future. Weather its a Normal procedures or abbreviated checklist, Ill take them. Acceleration feels fast, but steering through the rudders is positive and smooth, though it requires an easy touch to avoid darting about. Why wouldn't they do it maybe 5 aircraft at a time? Here is the sentence: 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. So last saturday I was scheduled to fly from Dallas to Las Vegas at noon. WebPostaccident examination revealed both nose gear tires were deflated, and the right main tire had low air pressure. As an owner I would think twice about renewing my contract and go with a company who cares about its customers safety, including employees. Being a turboprop, however, it uses a fraction of the fuel jets would use. 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. Most charter operators fly the Avanti II with a crew of two. 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). The pilots had secured an engine and were having orientation issues due to instrumentation failures. 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. He's been flying for 10 years and is available for piaggio owners That is a sign of a company that cares about its pilots. Ask about it and was told they didn't want to buy replacement parts. So happy I left this rag tag joint when I did! Pilot Report: Piaggio Avanti Evo - Aviation International Please specify the source for your statement. Bill, I appreciate the info and your honest evaluation. 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