I have that "creeping when it's cold" issue as well.

I have flown with a lot of king air pilots. Checklists were not their strong suit. Neither were pre-takeoff briefings.


I always thought it was just bc the planes were so slow they had time to get the book out and check if things went wrong. Mu2 and Piaggio didn’t have that luxury.

Seriously though, jet pilots I have flown w seem much more checklist diligent than TP pilots.

Our legacy KAs had Type I synchronizers I guess and we did turn them off/on during different phases of flight.
It seems with our PL21 transition, going to Type II synchrophasers changes those practices.
Maybe Dean or Paul will be along soon to help sort this out.
My FSI manual makes the above statement about a difference in the two systems.
The genesis of my original questions was rooted in a belief that a PL21 equipped P180’s prop sync system was very similar to my PL21 KA300’s prop sync.
Maybe that is not the case.

Hey P180 owners, just found best stuff to clean props - isopropyl alcohol. Get the 91% at the local drug store, a roll of blue paper towels, saturate a towel and wipe on. After a moment and swipe or two it all just wipes off. Way less scrubbing effort than anything else I’ve tried (including SimpleGreen extreme or CarbonX).

Is anyone meeting with Piaggio Italy next week on their USA tour? I won't be around but curious if anyone meets with them to get a report on the future maintenance plans on some of the items, like the Gear OH that currently can't be done in the USA right now.

Interesting. I think they did such a tour just a couple months ago. Wonder if they have had any changes come from that time.

Laundry list of things I’d like from them, in addition to gear issue you mentioned:

• Support Garmin via SSEC curve data get RVSM approval on G600Txi+GFC600 a/p
• Direct way to easily get parts quotes and maybe order
• Support for prop retrofit to new EVO style props
• Brake upgrade also is currently unobtainable last I heard

Overall, if they aren’t going to produce/stock/sell/repair/overhaul some of these model specific items, then license or sell the necessary data and manuals so third party repair stations can do so.

I would like to know if anyone has modified their Avanti substantially from factory settings, in particular to increase range. I have a company that specializes in ferry and part 135 modifications for auxiliary tanks to increase range on just about any aircraft. They believe they can get this up to 2000 NM with auxiliary tanks and still have enough to load to carry a couple passengers and pilot… who did this???

David, there is a factory mod where the closet cabinet space gets used for an aux tank. I think it adds another 60gal of capacity. But as I recall it is only avail as a mod for the II model and is also grotesquely expensive. Not sure it's worth it for 60 gal extra.

It basically means you have 45min reserve if you take main tank down to zero, so might get you an extra 300 nm.

A 2000-2500nm P180 would be a game changer.

Yes, the company I spoke to make custom mods for military aircraft doing long spying missions and aerial mapping, and also mod for ferry missions. However they reviewed this aircraft for me and believe they can do a similar auxiliary tank(s) modification to enable it to do long haul missions as needed. Funny thing is the useful load on the Avanti 1 appears to be better for them than the 2 version that the manufacturer mods tanks for a ridiculous price… as you note…

I had a few PMs, so passing it along for all to see. Note, this was from a conversation a week ago.

Piaggio visit to US:
Oct. 9th Houston TX = SimsAir
Oct.12th and 13th morning Tulsa OK - ICJS
Oct.15th and 16th Greenville SC - SAI Flight
Oct.17th and 18th Sarasota FL = Banyan/Aerovanti

We ferried my Avanti 1 plane from Europe when I bought mine. These tip tanks were beneficial.

That laminar flow design is surprisingly effective!

Jon, do you think Piaggio will fall into the same pit Mitsubishi did trying to get service centers the exclusive right to install?

Jon, do you think Piaggio will fall into the same pit Mitsubishi did trying to get service centers the exclusive right to install?

We ferried my Avanti 1 plane from Europe when I bought mine. These tip tanks were beneficial.