Shares were over 110 at one point. Gonna be zero soon...

Well, I have ~ 70 hours in my Avanti II now, so I can say I am getting used to what she can and can not do compared to the Marquise had now...

Most everything is a Can do , not a can't.. So that is awesome.. This is not a PC12/K350(Suburban) that you fill up and if the door closes.. You need to fly at or below GW.. ( not saying the others don't....) She likes a long runway when it is hot..

Will do 1,000 nm trips comfortably - just finished 3 trips all over 1,000, and landed with #700 or more each time..

Door cables suck.. let's just say it.. Cleaning the props suck.. admit it.. But otherwise, love this little guy.. Will continue to got back through this thread to find some things I am missing .. Big thanks to Brad Knight for his insights during the purchase process.

David
N184AV
P180 II

Nice to hear from another P180 owner! The movement is expanding!

Congrats. That’s awesome. Another MU-2 to Avanti guy…

Hey, congrats, I'm right about the same - just shy of that 70 hours (Avanti I) coming out of a Solitaire.

I found it took me a little to get used to, but suddenly things fell into place.


Agree! Also not the biggest fan of the steering pin, and not the biggest fan of the battery/ground test panel power draw issue when parked. But becoming used to them.

Hey, congrats, I'm right about the same - just shy of that 70 hours (Avanti I) coming out of a Solitaire.

I found it took me a little to get used to, but suddenly things fell into place.

I feel like it is cheating to fly the Avanti.. no real pilot skill required unlike the MU2... It is quite enjoyable to have Citation get out of our way those.. that was a highlight of a trip not to long ago.. lol


Agree! Also not the biggest fan of the steering pin, and not the biggest fan of the battery/ground test panel power draw issue when parked. But becoming used to them.

I use a BatteryMinder in my home hangar. With a minder you can't disconnect the battery because the minder is attached via the battery connector. But you don't need to...

On the road, one thing I kind of scratched my head about is the conundrum of having to disconnect the battery, but then having the FBO unable to fuel without opening the transfer valve (which requires power). I discovered a circuit breaker beside the battery labeled Ground Test - pull that CB and you can leave the battery connected (don't leave baggage or entry lights on!). Then FBO can open the transfer valve, fuel, and you don't have to be there to connect the battery. Admittedly, it's a policy decision whether to allow an FBO to fuel without you being there.

Love more MU2 owners making the jump.

Once you go unique highly wing loaded plane, there is no going back

Seems Avanti or Citations are the leading next planes for MU2 drivers.

The larger and stable ecosystem, longer inspection intervals, and available on field maintenance made the Citation the right choice for me.

Mike C.

I use a BatteryMinder in my home hangar. With a minder you can't disconnect the battery because the minder is attached via the battery connector. But you don't need to...

On the road, one thing I kind of scratched my head about is the conundrum of having to disconnect the battery, but then having the FBO unable to fuel without opening the transfer valve (which requires power). I discovered a circuit breaker beside the battery labeled Ground Test - pull that CB and you can leave the battery connected (don't leave baggage or entry lights on!). Then FBO can open the transfer valve, fuel, and you don't have to be there to connect the battery. Admittedly, it's a policy decision whether to allow an FBO to fuel without you being there.

Open transfer valve then disconnect battery leaves transfer valve open even after you close door. When you arrive back at airport after being fueled and connect battery you will hear valve closing.

Battery voltage for starting is supposed to be 23.0 volts or higher. Obviously higher is better.

Early on I had only 22.8 volts after a few days and engine started fine.
The prospect of having low voltage at an airport without a GPU lead me to look for alternatives.

I found and have used StartStick for the last ~18 months.
LOVE THIS PRODUCT

I can plug in and do most of my check list then let StartStick charge ship battery a bit then disconnect and start or leave plugged in and use StartStick to help start right engine.

Not nearly as much boost as a good GPU but an extra ~400 amps of starting boost is very good. May be more than 400 amps as I checked early on and just remember being impressed but do not remember exactly how high the boost was.

I also use StartStick to update database every month vs calling for GPU.

That is great stuff Brad... in my case, I still have the Start Battery & GPU I used for the MU2 all the time.. So I am over prepared for the battery side of things..

I have a StartPac 2800 if I need to jump at home


And for running the A/C on the ground, and chart updates, etc.. I have a 300A GPU that I love - the StartPac 53300


In Alabama, the ability to cool down the cabin gold...

Although, having that stick in the baggage would be a very good safety though.. I like that.. I used to bring the 2800 with me in the MU2, since I could get 6 starts from the battery before a charge ( yes, starting -10's ) , lets just say it does not breath hard starting a PT6 lol..

Great point on opening up the value for fueling prior to battery shutoff - I like that a lot - I assume there would be no issue assuming you are parked on a level spot.

Also a good solution. Requires level parking, but has advantage that line guy can’t neglect to open transfer valve.


StartStick looks cool. I use this for ground power in hangar, though unlike David I don’t really need to run the air conditioner so it’s too small for that. Works well for avionics and such.
https://www.sportys.com/70-amp-aircraft-ground-power-unit-gpu.html

https://www.start-stick.com/product/sta ... leet-15ah/

$5K.

The spec sheet for this thing is weird, lots of numbers that don't make sense and/or are ambiguous in meaning. If the writer of the spec sheet is the engineer who designed it, I'd have some concerns.

What do any of these mean?

Smart Lithium Technology (?)
Load on GPU Connector 70 lbs/foot (a torque?)
Max current (Protection off) 38800 Amps (when would this occur?)
Time before discharge 44 minutes (under what conditions?)
Database Updates Yes (could a GPU prevent this?)
Number of starts per charge 4-Mar (4th of March?)
Capacity (lead acid equivalent) 29.4 Ah (what does this mean?)
Ballistic Nylon Case Yes (ballistic nylon is a woven fabric, not solid plastic, and is actually not bullet proof)

They say they use LFP cells and that you can charge it in flight, but it is still a lithium battery and LFP cells can cause fires. LFP cells are a lot safer than the the typical Li-Ion cells, however.

Start Pac makes essentially the same thing for nearly half the cost.

https://startpac.com/wp-content/uploads ... AC-ONE.pdf

Mike C.

Hey Mike - sent you an email offline , but curious if there is a discussion somewhere here about the C560V vs P180II , have another buddy that is in the same bucket.. he is tired of getting passed by ducks, clouds, and anything else faster than his KingAir.. So starting the evaluation process.. Would love to point him there if it exists