Because of the rake angle of the windshield, the glareshield is very deep and provides a perspective unique to the Avanti. 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. Although never anywhere near 40 in the last two weeks have been in service. 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. It is not, at least not primarily. The anhedral of the forward wing ensures there is no aerodynamic interference with the engine intakes and assists in stall handling. 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. Only records that are readily Fortunately that was in 2007 and we sold it right before the crash. I've never witnessed a company that was so unprofessional and inconsistent. 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. 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. I call it a three-surface design, with forward wing, main wing and tail. Grant has been flying the Avanti for years with thousands of hours of experience in the airplane, much of it under typical charterlike conditions. 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??? 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. Acceleration feels fast, but steering through the rudders is positive and smooth, though it requires an easy touch to avoid darting about. This is a place worth fighting for and we will hope for the best. As we tracked toward this point, Lorenzo handed me back control for the last approach. Then there are the issues with inflight engine shutdowns that happen way early of the engine manufacture time frames. Mr. Sabatini previously was the top career official at the FAA. Operationally this company is in big trouble. 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. Thank you! 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. The airplane has been constantly improved over the past decade, with new interiors, higher max takeoff weight, higher Vmo and avionics upgrades galore. Try using low-flow fixtures. Furloughs.too bad. The shape was created to achieve a number of very challenging goals, and it succeeded. Bill, I appreciate the info and your honest evaluation. Wingspan / 46 ft 1 in Theoretically, a newly minted multiengine pilot with a high-altitude endorsement could hop right in and go flying. Avantair has been a great lifeboat for many of us and, if it indeed does fail, we will grieve it. 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. The professional pilots at Avantair greatly appreciate our owners support and contribution to our careers and livelihoods. 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. 2023 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Air Force looks toward automation with Reliable Robotics, Boeing, NASA to develop sustainable airliner. At FL350, the speed remained stable even with back pressure applied to maintain altitude, and the aircraft was easy to control. Now I find out this has been an issue for several days but they have not sent out any communications to the owners mentioning this issue, nor is it mentioned on their website. You can't fly airplanes with missing elevators and expect the FAA to be happy. The Avanti II gets its best range figures, up around 1,500 nm, at higher altitudes and lower fuel burns, and Grant told me that the range is real, commenting that he has never had to make more than one fuel stop going from any one point in the continental United States to another. The contract includes ten strict orders with options for 40 more. Luckily it was 2007 and we sold it just before the crash. With all of these maitenence issues and issues regarding fudging pilot hours so they would be legal is scary. I HOPE they make it but I'm already making plans for other options. Avantair and the Avanti have tremendous potential, if we make it. 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. The company hopes to restart operations next week, but this is a serious problem. Merry Christmas, kool-aid drinkers. Everyone at the company expects to be unemployed very soon. WebTo order vehicle records online, you will need to: Have a permissible use for the information if purchasing records other than your own; Select Online Services; Under Additional 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. 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 Avanti EVO is the fastest turboprop available currently. Villi led a thorough guided tour of the outside of the airplane and explained all of its many unique features. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can. However, the pilot did not report any pre-accident mechanical malfunction or anomaly with the airplane that may have precluded normal operation. There are ten wholly owned Avanti EVOs in operation worldwide, according to JETNET. It's because they MUST do it. We have graduates from Embry-Riddle, Purdue, UND, Parks College, etc., some of the most respected aviation schools in the world. At FL 250 it was still better than 2,000 fpm at 170 knots indicated. Max takeoff weight / 12,100 lbs We know this is an extremely difficult period for our loyal employees and frustrating to our devoted owners, said Mr. Santo. 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]. They "couldnt" find a charter in time (by 2pm as I had to be back), so they put me on American Airlines. Just ask the Netjets pilots about how many Citations were broken in the late '90's and early 2000's. But as soon as Lorenzo released the back pressure and added power, the aircraft recovered and we were flying at 140 knots. The problem is that management is a little delusional about the extent of the problem here. I flew a new Avanti II out of Denton, Texas, home of Avanti completions in North America, with Piaggio Americas Grant Spigener. : EASA.A.059 Issue: 07 Date: 11 October 2012 1. a) Type P.180 b) Variant Avanti 2. View our Piaggio P.180 Avanti II photo gallery. 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. I can't speak for the maintenance personnel involved in this, but I know that the pilot and co-pilot were both fired for failure to perform a pre-flight check. Piaggios home airfield is surrounded by terrain, and the approach is offset from the inbound course. The EVO is the latest variant, which hosts a variety of new Seats / up to 11 They have made a challenging job fun and did their best to service our Owners and fellow employees. It's been 4-18 at most. 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. Villi started the starboard Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66B as I settled in and set up my voice recording device and GoPro camera connected via a splitter cable to my headset. This kind of range makes the P.180 a great bet as a regional airplane or one thats based in the Midwest. Vref lists the value of a 1990 P180 at $846,600 ranging up to $6.1 million for a 2019 Avanti Evo. 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. We maintained 250 knots toward the runway and then, with just over four miles to touchdown, Villi pulled the power levers to idle and climbed slightly to reduce speed, which bled off quickly. We are grateful for their understanding and patience as we work through this important process. 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. Where the two designs are in accord is that they are both largely stall proof. Shortly before departure, Villi advised me that the autopilot function of the APS-300 flight guidance system was not available. 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. Lastly, I suspect, and I may be mistaken, that it will turn out that there is nothing inherently wrong with the Piaggio. These inspections and other actions are still underway. Criminal Records include Lansing arrests, arrest warrants, search warrants, 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 original $5.00 stock traded at .11 cents today, a loss of 98% of its value. Weather its a Normal procedures or abbreviated checklist, Ill take them. 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