Why wouldn't they do it maybe 5 aircraft at a time? They are completely disconnected from operations and maintenance and some in the operation would argue 'reality' should be added to that list. Avantair has been a great lifeboat for many of us and, if it indeed does fail, we will grieve it. It just so happens to be one of the most unusual looking ones too. 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. 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. Of course we do. While canard configurations like the Beechcraft Starship were gaining a lot of attention back then, the exotic Avanti begged to be even more different with its three-lifting-surface arrangement versus the canards tail-forward setup. Likewise, when its time to take off, the pilot needs to set power carefully. 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. To remain inside the military area, Villi encouraged me to roll on 45 degrees of bank. 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 co-pilot was not fired. The professional pilots at Avantair greatly appreciate our owners support and contribution to our careers and livelihoods. 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). Deviating from ICAO-compliant English, the controller told us, Piste libre before we lined up and discussed the departure. 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. I have knowledge of quite the contrary. 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. In attempting to understand the Piaggio P.180 Avanti II, you need to begin by forgetting everything you thought you knew about turboprop-powered airplanes. Here is the sentence: At FL380, you can expect 380 KTAS on 600 pounds per hour in an Avanti II. Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite also debuted in the Avanti II. Villi led a thorough guided tour of the outside of the airplane and explained all of its many unique features. This press release was issued by Avantair late last night: AVANTAIR UPDATE ON VOLUNTARY STAND-DOWN OF OPERATIONS. 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. Piaggio can do it, too. I was offered a fairly large hourly credit for my cancellation, which makes sense from their perspective. When I did, I asked about why I was paying for it, and was told "Well we usually do, but this time we were instructed otherwise.". Well, pretty much all sold out. The idea behind the Avanti has always been remarkably simple and completely outside the turboprop box. 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. 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. On the ground, however, the Avantis overflight noise footprint is on the high scale, which is typical of pusher designs. Piaggio will also increase the Evo's maximum zero fuel weight (MZFW) to 10,200 pounds, up from 9,800 pounds. 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. Unfortunately, ill-fated business and maintenance practices eventually led to its bankruptcy in 2013. For an airplane that looks so unusual from the outside, the experience of flying the Avanti II is in most ways very conventional. Try using low-flow fixtures. If this had happened at a big passenger airline, they would have been lauded for getting the aircraft to the runway. Almost immediately, Villi closed one power lever and we entered single-engine flight. This kind of range makes the P.180 a great bet as a regional airplane or one thats based in the Midwest. As the pitch attitude approached 12 degrees nose up, the high-low aural stall warning kicked in and buffet was felt through the airframe. All rights reserved. I would especially reach out to Mr. Norris and others and hope that we will be able to serve you again in the future. Where did you get this press release? Your management sucks! At that level we were seeing 380 knots or Mach 0.664 on 600 pounds of jet-A per hour, not per side but total. You know get them off the insurance roll. Everyone at the company expects to be unemployed very soon. He descended to 1,000 feet to position for a visual arrival to Runway 10 with a touch-and-go. The folks behind Piaggio have long claimed that the Avanti is exceptionally quiet inside, throwing out a 68 dBA number that never seemed credible. This is a place worth fighting for and we will hope for the best. It is, instead, a forward wing. If anyone in North Florida is interested let me know. Technology and Comfort Shortly before departure, Villi advised me that the autopilot function of the APS-300 flight guidance system was not available. This action is voluntary and involves the temporary stand-down of [our] aircraft, Avantair said in a statement. 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. 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. If materials were a conservative approach, configuration was not. 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. Piaggios home airfield is surrounded by terrain, and the approach is offset from the inbound course. Everyone at Owner Services couldn't have been nicer and the vast majority of the pilots were courteous and very professional, and I had zero complaints with them. So to Don, you dont happen to live in Vegas do you? The fuel penalty for flying in the 20s is not as extreme as it is in turbofan airplanes. 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. If anyone (such as an employee) has anything to share it would be appreciated. Avantairs demise, parts scarcity, and maintenance headaches combine to make P180 ownership a challenge. 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. P180 Avanti Navigation. 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. 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. 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. WebPiaggio Avanti New Price: $7,399,500 Seats: 9 Calculate Loan Payments Aircraft valuation for older models and your trade in Overview The Piaggio Avanti flies as fast and high as some corporate jets while burning about 30 percent less fuel, and its distinctive looks and Italian styling make it stand out on any ramp. 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. Had Chuck Yeager and Sully Sullenburger, himself, flown the aircraft, the result would have been the same. Piaggio P.180 AFM TC No. It was spot on. So as fast as it is at cruise, its block times suffer as a result of the climb speed and relatively low Vmo (260 indicated) and Mmo (Mach 0.70) limitations. 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 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. 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. So last saturday I was scheduled to fly from Dallas to Las Vegas at noon. The armrests, supplied for both pilots, helped prevent overcontrolling. The Shape of Fast 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. That is a sign of a company that cares about its pilots. 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. 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. If range is the mission, getting the Avanti up to FL410 and cruising about 300 KTAS will yield a near-1,500 nautical mile range while still cruising as fast as the competition. 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 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. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The instrument is a dual-purpose gauge showing both torque and interstage turbine temperature (ITT), Tq shown by a green arrow and ITT by a line. The unique rear mounted turboprop engines makes the Avanti instantly recognisable. 36 dated 11 April 2019 to the P.180 Avanti Pilot's Operating Handbook and AFM (Report 6591). Please contact me at the e-mail address below if you are interested. Cash is cash, and paying another charter company would sink cash. Sounds like they are on life support and being read their last rights. 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. FlightAware General. 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. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can. 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. First, with a far aft wing the engines two Pratt & Whitney PT6s in a pusher configuration can be mounted very far aft as well, which helps keep the interior noise low. 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. As of today, about 40 of Avantairs airplanes were back in service after the inspections, and the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based company expects to have its entire fleet flying again by Thursday. CLEARWATER, Fla. October 25, 2012 Avantair, Inc. (OTCBB: AAIR), today announced the company is continuing to stand down operations and engaging top aviation experts to help complete a thorough examination of its fleet of nearly 60 Piaggio Avanti aircraft, and a comprehensive review of records and supporting maintenance documentation. It's been 4-18 at most. Height / 13 ft 1 in With the stick fully back, we reached 100 knots indicated but once again, as I released the back pressure and smoothly applied power, we recovered. 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 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. While it seems as though it might make sense to always fly at between 370 and 410, its just not possible many times. So I took them up on their offer to find me a charter flight. 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. Cabin dimensions are spacious compared to a Beechcraft King Air and more in line with a midsize jet. 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. Max takeoff weight / 12,100 lbs 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. Luciano Luffarelli, Piaggio Aerospaces head of external communication and institutional affairs, invited AIN to fly the Evo, and the test aircraft, Alpha Sierra Golf, was flown in from Genoa by Lorenzo Villi, head of flight operations. I selected terrain on my PFD to map the coastline. I was told my aircraft was on extended maintenance (whatever that meant, now I know). Like the Starship, the Piaggio Avanti features a canard and rear-mounted engines. But the Avanti is made mostly of aluminum, not composites. It weighs thousands of pounds less than the Starship and is about 60 m.p.h. faster. ^ Martin, Ed (29 October 1989). There is no elevator in it; hence, its not a canard. WebP180 Avanti General Description. Pilots are being pushed to the extreme limits of duty time and rest and general morale simply could not be lower company-wide. The flare required is very small, just enough to cushion the touchdown, so the nose drops very quickly to the runway. We took up a westerly heading for our return to Villanova. 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. Once there, I found the cockpit comfortable. The forward wings are designed to stall first to assist in lowering the nose at the stall, and the ventral fins also add pitch down moment. To date, of the aircraft in the fleet that have been inspected, there have been no compliance or airworthiness issues. I picked up the Avantair share as a resale through a vendor and paid a lot less then what it would have cost to buy it directly from the company, so at least I'm invested at a much lower number. But this time no airplanes will return to service until next week, if ever. So we planned to visually line up with the runway on short final. 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. One smart thing I did do was I bought my share as a resale thru a vendor and paid a whole lot less then I would have if I bought straight from Avantair. The hours they slave him out for is shameful Safety is Avantairs top priority. 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. There are ten wholly owned Avanti EVOs in operation worldwide, according to JETNET. But as soon as Lorenzo released the back pressure and added power, the aircraft recovered and we were flying at 140 knots. Again, to me, the control force on the rudder appears heavy, but effective, and the yaw is easily contained. 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. 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. We called for taxi instructions from Villanovas flight information service,
Chad, One thats lacking is the single FMS. 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. 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. In the end, the Avanti IIs configuration allows it to achieve light jet speeds in the same way as light jets do, by using a very small, highly loaded wing to go with a good dose of power. The biggest problem I had was in remembering that I wasnt flying a jet and that mounted 30 feet in back of me, completely out of sight, were two turboprop engines. P180 Avanti Pressurization System. At 400 feet, Lorenzo handed me control for my first landing. All this is combined with remarkable versatility, which makes the P180 Avanti II one of the most widely used aircraft in public services such as air ambulance and air rescue missions, law enforce-ment, and flight inspections that ensure the safety of people and property. His record is pristine and out of Vegas, PS Albany has treated him so bad. The cabin provides a comfortable and quiet ride for passengers. Please note that not all records are available electronically. 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. 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. 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. We are not infallible, and mistakes have definitely been made, but we do not deserve the acrid bile from those on this board who have obvious agendas and would celebrate our downfall. P180 Avanti Oxygen System. Then, Cessna built a tougher Citation which you see today - more ready for fractional use. The Piaggio Avanti EVO is the third generation model of Piaggios flagship model. 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. The one posted under SEC filings on www.avantair.com shows a sentence between the last and next to last sentences that is missing from your release. The external baggage area is not pressurized. The start-up sequence is pure PT6; its a completely pilot-controlled process. The release I posted above came directly from Avantair media relations. At sea level under standard conditions, the Avanti II needs almost exactly the same amount of runway to land as it does to take off, just over 3,200 feet. Copyright 2023 AIN Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. At one point, Avantair had 57 P180s in its fleet. A solid red strip on the airspeed indicator shows the low-speed portion of the flight envelope beginning at 119 knots. Anyone have any or both of these checkists? ] aircraft, Avantair had 57 P180s in its fleet on life support and contribution to careers. Been lauded for getting the aircraft, Avantair said in a statement 6591 ) 600... Great lifeboat for many of us and, if it indeed does,. Grieve it last saturday i was told my aircraft was on extended (! 1989 ) night: Avantair UPDATE on VOLUNTARY STAND-DOWN of [ our ] aircraft, Avantair said in statement... 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