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. The pilots had secured an engine and were having orientation issues due to instrumentation failures. Oh, and "coincidentally" perhaps, I got an email request for some documents that they were missing from my file yesterday, which I sent over. 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. 36 dated 11 April 2019 to the P.180 Avanti Pilot's Operating Handbook and AFM (Report 6591). The airplane is nicely stable on final. Willing to purchase them from you. P180 Avanti Pitot and Static System. They offered to find me a charter at MY EXPENSE, which just isn't right. 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. Using the rudder pedal steering in taxi mode, the feeling is very direct. The wings are held level easily with aileron and a squeeze of rudder. These were retracted as we accelerated toward 160 knots. The Starships forward canard controls pitch whereas the Avanti has a conventional stabilizer/elevator surface. How do I get out of my lease and is there an opportunity for owners to get together to take action? A most serious maintenance error especially since the elevator installation work would have required a RII type (double) inspection. It has delivered nearly 200. In a jet this would have resulted in a go-around from 10 miles out. 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. 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. Piaggio will also increase the Evo's maximum zero fuel weight (MZFW) to 10,200 pounds, up from 9,800 pounds. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Content Policy. Yes, the Captain, a mere mortal and an infallible being, DID miss the elevator on his post flight inspection. Thanks guys, The release I posted above came directly from Avantair media relations. At one point, Avantair had 57 P180s in its fleet. 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. The foreplane is essentially a portion of the wing moved to the front to allow the main wing to be moved further aft in order to create a larger cabin. WebAt approximately the same time, the Piaggio P.180 received a traffic advisory. The Avanti II's efficiencies can reduce operating costs by as much as 40 percent, according to Bingham. The difference between the two, they say, is that the forward wing, while a lifting surface, is not a controllable one. Bill, I appreciate the info and your honest evaluation. PT6A-66(B) There is a lot owners don't know and it is shocking. 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]. The anhedral of the forward wing ensures there is no aerodynamic interference with the engine intakes and assists in stall handling. The P.180 Avanti Evo has a wow factor that is not present with many other twin turboprops of a similar size. If it's not currently installed, click here to download. My attempt to follow Villis lead to my right seat was not so graceful. Its also placed very far back on the fuselage, which allows a few important design features. 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. Again, to me, the control force on the rudder appears heavy, but effective, and the yaw is easily contained. Fortunately that was in 2007 and we sold it right before the crash. We called for taxi instructions from Villanovas flight information service, Technology and Comfort 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. 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. Max cruise speed / 400 KTAS 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. They have made a challenging job fun and did their best to service our Owners and fellow employees. Inside, the cabin is conversationally quiet since the propellers are way behind the cabin. Unfortunately, ill-fated business and maintenance practices eventually led to its bankruptcy in 2013. Ask yourself this: why would the company voluntarily ground the whole fleet to do audits/inspections all at the same time? 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. P180 Avanti Ice and Rain Protection. 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 am a fractional owner and the first I heard about this grounding was at 11pm last night when they sent me an email saying my flight for this morning was cancelled. On Saturday, fractional provider Avantair grounded its entire fleet of about 60 Piaggio Avanti twin turboprops to conduct a comprehensive examination of all Theoretically, a newly minted multiengine pilot with a high-altitude endorsement could hop right in and go flying. 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. Yes. 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. 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. The lower section, containing two integral carpeted steps, is released by a handle on the left and lowered into position. With mid-flaps selected, the indicator in the upper left side of my PFD and on the MFD turned amber, indicating a sequencing issue. Thank you! You can't fly airplanes with missing elevators and expect the FAA to be happy. Chad, For turbine operators in busy airspace, ATC may not allow climbs into the 30s or 40s for long, if at all. Most charter operators fly the Avanti II with a crew of two. Had this been a real emergency, flight deck oxygen masks are stowed outboard of each pilot seat, readily accessible. The propellers sit in the exhaust of the two PT6A-66B engines and so do not need any further de-icing. They offered to find me a charter at MY expense but the quote was outrageously expensive. The Avanti EVO is the fastest turboprop available currently. 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. 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. Yes, the Captain, a mere mortal and an infallible being, DID miss the elevator on his post flight inspection. As the flaps travel, there is a nose up pitch that is easily counteracted with slight forward pressure on the column and trim. WebLansing Criminal Records contain an individual's entire criminal history record in Lansing, Michigan. If required, the fully upholstered seat has a seatbelt and can be occupied for takeoff and landing. But that there are some management issues. In the Flint incident, LISTEN TO THE ATC tapes! On the ground, however, the Avantis overflight noise footprint is on the high scale, which is typical of pusher designs. First, the gear came down below 180 knots, then mid- and finally full-stage flaps and we were nicely stabilized at 500 feet. 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. 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. 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. During the descent, we briefed for some stalls, the handling qualities of which Villi was obviously keen to show me. There is no elevator in it; hence, its not a canard. RMR, I'm in Jacksonville Florida but I am going so start looking for a partner or two to buy something together. Piaggio P.180 Avanti: Owner/operator: Avantair Inc: Registration: N146SL: MSN: The plan appeared to be working well until Genoa ATC advised of a 45-minute hold at GIKUT for an instrument approach. 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. 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. During the takeoff roll, the left elevator departed the airplane and was found off the side of the runway 3 days later. Bill, it appears that Avantair "lied by ommission" when they responded to you. 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. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. They are completely disconnected from operations and maintenance and some in the operation would argue 'reality' should be added to that list. 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. This produced a rate of descent of just over 4,000 fpm, the maximum, as there are no flight spoilers and the gear limit is 180 knots. 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). 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). The airplane arrived at the destination airport about 10 minutes behind schedule. Piaggio can do it, too. Once having completed that check, we asked for and got a climb to FL 380, a common long-range cruising altitude for the P.180, which has a ceiling of 41,000 feet. 79 dated 17 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. I for one an very hopeful this whole episode will be behind us soon and that the company becomes gets stronger. 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. 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. Had Chuck Yeager and Sully Sullenburger, himself, flown the aircraft, the result would have been the same. Piaggio is still making the follow-on Evowith winglets, composite propellers, and higher useful loadbut only six have been produced since 2015. Piaggios appearance at the Singapore Airshow in February lifted hopes somewhat that the design can survive. 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. Grant handled the radio tuning. Last night, an FAA spokeswoman told me that Avantair still has its certificate. Closing the power levers to idle sounds the gear warning horn, which is canceled using a button on the RH power lever. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Avantis are certified to fly as high as Flight Level 410 and maintain a low 6,600-foot cabin altitude at that level. What's done in the dark always comes to light. You need to check your facts pal, they offered voluntary leaves to avoid furlough up until recently a handful of people have been fired for the slightest error in judgement. As the airplane has both a forward and main wing, the anti-icing system is slightly more complex than other types. At 400 feet, Lorenzo handed me control for my first landing. 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. I started looking at commercial flights, figuring SWA flies there and it would be inexpensive anyway. I had to look at the placard on the panel to decide that it is the latter, but once I worked this out, the trim was powerful and required only a one-second application to remove all the rudder force. Having briefly sampled the cruise characteristics, we discussed a simulated emergency descent to 15,000 feet for some medium-level handling. If anyone in North Florida is interested let me know. 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 Evo reached an indicated airspeed of 105 knots, displayed in flashing amber and with a rate of descent of 1,200 fpm. 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. 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. Try using low-flow fixtures. As an owner I would think twice about renewing my contract and go with a company who cares about its customers safety, including employees. Deviating from ICAO-compliant English, the controller told us, Piste libre before we lined up and discussed the departure. source: Almost immediately, Villi closed one power lever and we entered single-engine flight. During the stand-down, Avantair will furlough some employees. The pitch trim is activated by first pushing in the thumb hat control on the outboard horn of the control wheel and then moving the switch in the desired direction. 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 contract includes ten strict orders with options for 40 more. I would especially reach out to Mr. Norris and others and hope that we will be able to serve you again in the future. And while I have spoken mainly about our pilots, I would like to commend my fellow employees, especially maintenance, in the other departments. Then there are the issues with inflight engine shutdowns that happen way early of the engine manufacture time frames. The Nov. 16, 2011 engine failure and emergency landing at Flint, MI and veering off the runway and flipping on its back (all 4 occupants suffered minor injuries) shows pilot poor skills for sure and serious concern about engine maintenance. We leveled off at FL350 19 minutes after takeoff, I left the torque at 75 percent, and allowed the Avanti to accelerate to Mach 0.64 with an indicated airspeed of 216 knots and a TAS of 373 knots. If the fleet was grounded last saturday then why were pilots sent out assignments to fly? 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 followed Lorenzos example, if anything being a bit more aggressive with the speed decay. 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. I suspect, that they may be going over all documents now for a variety of reasons. The second engine was started and after-start checks completed. On Saturday, fractional provider Avantair grounded its entire fleet of about 60 Piaggio Avanti twin turboprops to conduct a comprehensive examination of all maintenance records and aircraft. According to industry sources, the action stemmed from an incident earlier this year in which an Avantair Avanti shed an elevator in flight. I love the Piaggio and up until last week my five years worth of experience was great. Piaggios home airfield is surrounded by terrain, and the approach is offset from the inbound course. They have a history of lying. 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. As a result, the engine management chores on the P.180 are more complicated than those in todays fadec-equipped light jets. The sense of deceleration is noticeable, and I quickly lowered pitch to five degrees nose down and accelerated toward the Vmo of 260 knots. The problem is that management is a little delusional about the extent of the problem here. The second records shows a Piaggio P-180 Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite also debuted in the Avanti II. 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. This kind of range makes the P.180 a great bet as a regional airplane or one thats based in the Midwest. I didnt alter it in any way I just cut and pasted what they sent me. Its also remarkably wide for an airplane of its size. The fuel penalty for flying in the 20s is not as extreme as it is in turbofan airplanes. 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. 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. We are enhancing our maintenance and operational infrastructure so that it surpasses every standard that applies to the aircraft we fly. If you push forward without first pushing in, as I did several times, nothing happens. 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. Please specify the source for your statement. Thats slightly less than 100 gallons per hour, a figure light jets simply cant touch. Copyright 2023 AIN Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. At FL350, the speed remained stable even with back pressure applied to maintain altitude, and the aircraft was easy to control. Luckily it was 2007 and we sold it just before the crash. Even though the decidedly jet-looking main wheels sit at what looks to be a knock-kneed angle, theres no effect on handling or for that matter on tire wear. If Avantair doesn't do this, FAA will shut them down. Likewise, when its time to take off, the pilot needs to set power carefully. For years, Avantis languished on the fringes of general aviation as a niche airplane. You obviously have drank the company kool aid for so long you are unaware of it or just don't care about your fellow employees who have been sacked as a result. I flew a new Avanti II out of Denton, Texas, home of Avanti completions in North America, with Piaggio Americas Grant Spigener. P180 Avanti Pressurization System. Earlier, she also confirmed that Avantairs grounding was indeed voluntary and not mandated by the FAA. These inspections and other actions are still underway. I managed the deceleration to approach speed with very small movements of the power levers and maintained final approach speed quite easily.
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