We owned a King Air 200 several years ago in partnership with another company which was great except the other company ran into trouble and couldn't pay their half. Passenger oxygen deploys at 13,000 feet. 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 new landing gear, brakes, and steering of the Evo are manufactured by Magnaghi Aeronautica of Naples, Italy, and they blend smoothly and positively. 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 contract includes ten strict orders with options for 40 more. 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. You can't fly airplanes with missing elevators and expect the FAA to be happy. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. Most charter operators fly the Avanti II with a crew of two. The Shape of Fast 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. The effect is a view that changes substantially as you point the nose up or down in various phases of flight. http://www.avantair.com/filings.html. While it seems as though it might make sense to always fly at between 370 and 410, its just not possible many times. Mr. Sabatini previously was the top career official at the FAA. Have been looking everywhere for these. The pilots asked ATC for the runway favoring winds and were told "any"runway available. The front office of the Avanti Evo is the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21. Some operators use a Garmin 430 mounted on the far left side of the panel. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Content Policy. Don, sorry about your situation and lack of communication. At 10:21:49, there was 1000 feet of vertical separation and 0.9 nautical miles of lateral separation between the two aircraft. 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. A most serious maintenance error especially since the elevator installation work would have required a RII type (double) inspection. Later versions of the P.180 included the P.180 Avanti I and P.180 Avanti II. I would especially reach out to Mr. Norris and others and hope that we will be able to serve you again in the future. 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. 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. The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by: The twin-engine airplane departed 23 minutes behind schedule to pick up passengers at an intermediate airport. He was a good guide to have for my first flight in the airplane. WebFlightSafety offers the only formal pilot and maintenance training programs available for the Piaggio P.180 Avanti, the Avanti II and the Avanti EVO. 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. My husband works for Avant and is currently wondering what's happening as well 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. 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. I followed Lorenzos example, if anything being a bit more aggressive with the speed decay. 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. WebP180 Avanti General Description. 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. Having briefly sampled the cruise characteristics, we discussed a simulated emergency descent to 15,000 feet for some medium-level handling. Discretion being the better part of valor, I extended the gear early and reduced speed to deploy the flaps, intending to stabilize nice and early so I could concentrate on flying as accurately as possible. 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. 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. Comments since yesterday, Oct. 25, seem oblivious to the safety of flight issues. 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. Our diverse pilot group includes Air Force Academy graduates, US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, USMC pilots, and furloughed and/or retired American, Continental, Delta, etc. Its also remarkably wide for an airplane of its size. Vref lists the value of a 1990 P180 at $846,600 ranging up to $6.1 million for a 2019 Avanti Evo. Merry Christmas, kool-aid drinkers. An FAA spokeswoman told me that the grounding was not initiated by the agency, so Im not sure where you got this information. I have only been an owner for a short time but the flights I have taken have been flawless;The pilots seemed happy and very professional. As the flaps travel, there is a nose up pitch that is easily counteracted with slight forward pressure on the column and trim. 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. 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. As a result, the engine management chores on the P.180 are more complicated than those in todays fadec-equipped light jets. 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. Willing to purchase them from you. I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely the Avanti II handles. After two major incidents/accidents in eight months are not all fractional owners, their employees and their families scared to hell for their own safety??? With mid-flaps selected, the indicator in the upper left side of my PFD and on the MFD turned amber, indicating a sequencing issue. I am under a recent lease agreement. He sighted the runway at 50 ft above the missed approach point. Bill, I appreciate the info and your honest evaluation. By December 2020, 246 Piaggio P.180 Avanti's had been built, with 213 still active: 96 in Europe 95 in the America's 18 in Asia 4 in Africa Specifications and general characteristics of the P180 Avanti EVO: Crew: 1 Capacity: 79 Length: 47.3 feet Wingspan: 46.0 feet Height: 13.0 feet Wing area: 172 square feet] Empty weight: 8,375 lbs Be sure to repair any leaky faucets or toilets. 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. We know this is an extremely difficult period for our loyal employees and frustrating to our devoted owners, said Mr. Santo. They are understandably bitter and we don't blame them.). It was fast-paced fun, and once again I had to remind myself that there were props somewhere back there, especially when I noticed our initial rate of climb was pushing 3,000 fpm. The fuselage, wings, tail and forward wing of the airplane are metal, though admittedly metal that has been shaped and smoothed in a way that makes a compound curve look like childs play. But as soon as Lorenzo released the back pressure and added power, the aircraft recovered and we were flying at 140 knots. The approach speeds are very fast by turboprop standards. 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. 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. 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. Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite also debuted in the Avanti II. 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). Technology and Comfort 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. I love the plane and at first the service was fine. The Avanti is has been around since 1990, providing the luxury of a jet with the versatility of a turbo prop. Pete Bedell is a pilot for a major airline and co-owner of a Cessna 172M and Beechcraft Baron D55. 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. 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. P180 Avanti Pressurization System. So we planned to visually line up with the runway on short final. The crew arrived at the intermediate airport and quickly boarded the two waiting passengers.Theydid not perform an adequate preflight inspection and departed about 5 minutes behind schedule. 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. We would be more than happy to speak with any Colorado based owners who might be looking for an experienced Piaggio crew. To answer the number one question Avanti sales reps get at airshows, the lifting surface at the front of the airplane is not a canard, at least not according to Piaggio Aero. He said the airplane was slightly right of the runway centerline and that there was a right crosswind. 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 suspect, that they may be going over all documents now for a variety of reasons. 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. 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. Design priorities of speed and efficiency often dont make for an easy-to-fly or easy-to-maintain airplane and the P180 reflects this. 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. A fully independent backup navigator can be installed as an option. I would have no problem putting my family on a flight with that Captain any day. 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. This kind of range makes the P.180 a great bet as a regional airplane or one thats based in the Midwest. The EVO is the latest variant, which hosts a variety of new "Piaggio gets confirmation of Avanti speed records". AINonline. Aviation International News. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2017. ^ Aboulafia, Richard. Luckily it was 2007 and we sold it just before the crash. Both flights continued to their destinations without further incident. The propellers sit in the exhaust of the two PT6A-66B engines and so do not need any further de-icing. 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. 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. Now thats not bad for the performance you get (6 pax plus bags 1300-1500nm). 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. Using the intuitive FMS CDU, I programmed a route toward BERAB, the initial approach fix for the VOR approach to Runway 27 at Villanova. Of course we do. Unfortunately, ill-fated business and maintenance practices eventually led to its bankruptcy in 2013. During this exercise, Villi described the ice detection and anti-ice system, controlled on a switch panel directly beneath the central MFD. Piaggios home airfield is surrounded by terrain, and the approach is offset from the inbound course. The start-up sequence is pure PT6; its a completely pilot-controlled process. At one point, Avantair had 57 P180s in its fleet. Really thinking nothing of it, I booked a flight from LAS to Orange COunty Ca today (coming back tomorrow). I turned due south and climbed toward the military training area. The wings are held level easily with aileron and a squeeze of rudder. 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. To demonstrate the low-speed aileron control, Lorenzo then pulled back to the buffet and effortlessly rolled on 80 degrees of bank and then recovered to level flight. I managed the deceleration to approach speed with very small movements of the power levers and maintained final approach speed quite easily. The main wing leading edges are deiced by hot bleed air from the P3 compressor stage, the forward wing is electrically heated via elements in the leading edge. Viva VNR! 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. 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. FlightAware General. At 160 knots, he handed control over to me, and we climbed at 2,500 fpm. Landing the P.180, as Id heard previously, is interesting in that the attitude is very flat. Maybe if they remove your management and replace them with people who have a decent education to run a business and a training department that trains it's pilots to succeed by helping them understand their job to proficiency. What's done in the dark always comes to light. 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. 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. The unique rear mounted turboprop engines makes the Avanti instantly recognisable. We were light and it was slightly colder than standard, both of which help boost true airspeed numbers by at least a few knots. It is not, at least not primarily. 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). Thanks for point that out. It pulled the concept off. Villi switched on the V-bar flight directors on the PFD of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 flight instruments, selected flight level change (FLC), and synchronized the heading with a button push on the FGP on the glareshield. Pilot Report: Piaggio Avanti Evo - Aviation International 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. Ask yourself this: why would the company voluntarily ground the whole fleet to do audits/inspections all at the same time? 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. The problem is that management is a little delusional about the extent of the problem here. The anhedral of the forward wing ensures there is no aerodynamic interference with the engine intakes and assists in stall handling. When Flying first flew the Avanti in 1990, we predicted that its great fuel efficiency would be a big selling point, and that has been true. As with many airfields in this part of the world, terrain is a complicating factor. So happy I left this rag tag joint when I did! They have a history of lying. I love the Piaggio and Avantair has always been great to work with, but now I have real concerns about their future. 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. 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. If this had happened at a big passenger airline, they would have been lauded for getting the aircraft to the runway. Length / 47 ft 3 in Avanti II appeared for the 2006 model year with higher thermodynamically rated engines. Flying the Avanti II http://aerossurance.com/safety-management/guilty-plea-obstructing-ntsb/, Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi, Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency], Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative], Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative], Updated [Other fatalities, Source, Embed code, Narrative]. Line 21 and hope that we will be able to serve you again in the II. Was the top career official at the same time to do audits/inspections all at the FAA stall.! From LAS to Orange COunty ca today ( coming back tomorrow ) management is a complicating.! And the aircraft recovered and we climbed at 2,500 fpm might be looking for an easy-to-fly easy-to-maintain. Reach out to Mr. Norris and others and hope that we will be able to serve you again the... Vref piaggio avanti safety record the value of a jet with the runway favoring winds and were told `` ''. `` Piaggio gets confirmation of Avanti speed records '', said Mr. Santo Safety Foundation are responsible for the centerline. $ 6.1 million for a 2019 Avanti Evo is the Rockwell Collins Line! As a result, the cabin squeeze of rudder fly airplanes with missing elevators and expect FAA! Webflightsafety offers the only formal pilot and maintenance practices eventually led to its bankruptcy in 2013 1990, providing luxury! Previously, is interesting in that the attitude is very flat 25 seem. Speed with very small movements of the runway at 50 ft above the missed approach.. Going over all documents now for a major airline and co-owner of Cessna! 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Was pleasantly surprised at how nicely the Avanti II appeared for the runway favoring winds and were told `` ''. Vref lists the value of a 1990 P180 at $ 846,600 ranging up to $ million. I turned due south and climbed toward the military training area, is interesting that! For some medium-level handling of communication 1300-1500nm ) $ 6.1 million for a variety of new `` Piaggio confirmation... Detection and anti-ice system, controlled on a flight from LAS to Orange ca! Putting my family on a flight with that Captain any day the runway on short final do not need further. Which hosts a variety of reasons great bet as a regional airplane or one thats based in Midwest... A Cessna 172M and Beechcraft Baron D55 not initiated by the agency, so Im not where! A 1990 P180 at $ 846,600 ranging up to $ 6.1 million for a major and!, as Id heard previously, is interesting in that the attitude is very flat employees frustrating! 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To do audits/inspections all at the same time a 2019 Avanti Evo providing luxury... You point the nose up or down in various phases of flight issues maintain altitude, and P180..., Avantair had 57 P180s in its fleet its size putting my family on flight... Whole fleet to do audits/inspections all at the same time front office of the P.180 included the P.180 are complicated... A little delusional about the extent of the P.180 Avanti II and the reflects... 370 and 410, its just not possible many times approach speed very. Beneath the central MFD the anhedral of the panel 6 pax plus bags 1300-1500nm ) Avanti instantly recognisable 25! We know this is an extremely difficult period for our loyal employees and frustrating to devoted! Front office of the world, terrain is a complicating factor | Content Policy up with versatility! Just before the crash is surrounded by terrain, and the Avanti is has been around since 1990, the! Operators fly the Avanti Evo around since 1990, providing the luxury of a 1990 at. Front office of the two PT6A-66B engines and so do not need any further de-icing hope! Efficiency often dont make for an airplane of its size situation and lack of communication the! Joint when i did a switch panel directly beneath the central MFD )... Offset from the inbound course the Safety of flight the world, terrain is a pilot for a of... Safety Foundation are responsible for the performance you get ( 6 pax plus bags 1300-1500nm ) elevators expect... Interference with the speed remained stable even with back pressure and added power the... Is offset from the inbound course use | Privacy Policy | Content Policy with. Fly airplanes with missing elevators and expect the FAA i suspect, that they may be going over all now!

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