A fully independent backup navigator can be installed as an option. Which also begs the question as to when I have to use these flight credits by. 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. Using the rudder pedal steering in taxi mode, the feeling is very direct. Because there is no overhead panel, I had sufficient head room to allow me to clumsily maneuver myself into position. 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 kept on the controls through a number of heading changes much up into the midteens before switching on the autopilot. At 160 knots, he handed control over to me, and we climbed at 2,500 fpm. RMR, I'm in Jacksonville Florida but I am going so start looking for a partner or two to buy something together. The main wing of the airplane is very small (172.2 square feet, slightly less than a Cessna 210s) and very highly loaded. Avantair loves the use of an ops check where the the crew tries to recreate the issue once and the maintenance department ignores it even after repeat issues with that same problem day after day. 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. 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. Gulfstream Aerospace Celebrates 25 G700 Speed Records, A New Pilot Gets an Accelerated Course in Flying, Your Ideal Aircraft Might Be the One That's Easy To Fly, FAA Documentation Concerns Halt Boeing 787 Deliveries, Piper Reports 15 Percent Rise in Aircraft Deliveries, Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift Set to Take Off, Photos: Arizona Storm Destroys Dozens of Airplanes. 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. They have a history of lying. Chad, This is another advantage of a turboprop. Sounds like they are on life support and being read their last rights. If anyone (such as an employee) has anything to share it would be appreciated. Considering the shape of the nose in front of you, this is handy, because the runway stays in easy view the entire time. Operationally this company is in big trouble. 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. 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. 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. Taxiing feels conventional, though its accomplished using an electrically actuated, hydraulically powered nosewheel steering system. 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 armrests, supplied for both pilots, helped prevent overcontrolling. We have graduates from Embry-Riddle, Purdue, UND, Parks College, etc., some of the most respected aviation schools in the world. 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. Most charter operators fly the Avanti II with a crew of two. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2012-10-23/avantair-grounds-entire-fleet-safety-checks, It was ground the fleet for inspection or get shutdown my the FAA. 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. Compared to the Avanti II it has redesigned nacelles, winglets, and a reshaped front wing, leading to a 3% reduction in emissions along with a 3% increase in climb performance. Where did you get this press release? 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. On the ground, however, the Avantis overflight noise footprint is on the high scale, which is typical of pusher designs. The professional pilots at Avantair greatly appreciate our owners support and contribution to our careers and livelihoods. But it was not his fault that it. 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. Avantair has been a great lifeboat for many of us and, if it indeed does fail, we will grieve it. 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. 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. If Avantair doesn't do this, FAA will shut them down. A lot of the airplane have recurring maintenance problems that just get put off until something really breaks and the airplane is grounded. The idea behind the Avanti has always been remarkably simple and completely outside the turboprop box. Its also placed very far back on the fuselage, which allows a few important design features. Please specify the source for your statement. The flare required is very small, just enough to cushion the touchdown, so the nose drops very quickly to the runway. Of course, with higher operating weights you wont be able to carry as much fuel or, hence, get as much range, though the truth is that most flights in a 400-knot airplane are less than 1,000 nm anyway, and with a thousand-mile range as the target, you can liberally load the P.180. 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. To remain within our area of operation I was required to roll on 60 degrees of bank, which again demonstrated the airplanes maneuverability. 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. Like the wing, the gear is set very far back, which explains why the pull to rotate is so pronounced in the P.180. Height / 13 ft 1 in 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. 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. 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. While the forward wing is not fitted with an elevator, it does have a flap, or set of flaps, depending on how you look at it. Avantair has retained safety expert Nick Sabatini to oversee the project. Piaggio Aero, on the other hand, is still steadily producing its model. Yes, the Captain, a mere mortal and an infallible being, DID miss the elevator on his post flight inspection. 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. The airplane arrived at the destination airport about 10 minutes behind schedule. 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. I HOPE they make it but I'm already making plans for other options. With all of these maitenence issues and issues regarding fudging pilot hours so they would be legal is scary. Weather its a Normal procedures or abbreviated checklist, Ill take them. A flight credit has very little value unless and until we fly again. Now, a common misconception is that the Avanti II is a composite airplane. 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. But with a main cabin height of 69 inches, its easy to move about. Other parts, mainly fairings and the like, are composite, but for the most part, Piaggio Aeros Avanti II is a sheet metal airplane. After wed checked figures at 380, we headed down briefly to FL 320 on the way back to Dallas. These were retracted as we accelerated toward 160 knots. Avantair has been an excellent place for many of us former FAR 121 pilots, with a lifestyle good enough that many of us do not want or, There are 2 ex-Avantair pilots based in Colorado who left Avantair for obvious reasons. Thanks for point that out. Lorenzo recycled the flaps back up and when he recycled them down, the indicator glowed green. 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. 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. I flew a new Avanti II out of Denton, Texas, home of Avanti completions in North America, with Piaggio Americas Grant Spigener. 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. An FAA spokeswoman told me that the grounding was not initiated by the agency, so Im not sure where you got this information. The surface, which like the tail has a considerable amount of anhedral, is ice-protected, as is the windshield, by electric heat. The hours they slave him out for is shameful 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. WebPostaccident examination revealed both nose gear tires were deflated, and the right main tire had low air pressure. If you push forward without first pushing in, as I did several times, nothing happens. 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. Ill let Peter Garrison work out both the semantics and aerodynamics of the question (if those two disciplines would differ on the subject). 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. Willing to purchase them from you. But the action quickly becomes second nature, and an aural pip sounds in the headset to confirm pitch trim movement. 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. The Shape of Fast But, I'm sure that you could have done much better. 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. I've never witnessed a company that was so unprofessional and inconsistent. Pilots are being pushed to the extreme limits of duty time and rest and general morale simply could not be lower company-wide. During the descent, we briefed for some stalls, the handling qualities of which Villi was obviously keen to show me. Mandarin.. Advertising of any kind is not allowed in our comments section. My big concern is that this is just a smoke screen for bigger financial issues and that my share is in jeopardy. 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. The approach speeds are very fast by turboprop standards. Some operators use a Garmin 430 mounted on the far left side of the panel. 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