Piaggio Rolls Out New Customer Service Solutions for Avantis

Piaggio Aerospace announced several new customer service solutions for the approximately 220 in-service P.180 Avanti turboprop twins on the eve of EBACE. According to the Italian aircraft manufacturer, the programs—which include avionics upgrades, new maintenance regimes and an improved landing gear system available for retrofit—are part of a “wider, long-term customer-driven strategy.”

“Our primary goal in 2017 is to continue to put our customers first by offering them the highest level of support throughout the life of their P.180,” said Piaggio Aerospace CEO Renato Vaghi. “With our new suite of offerings, we are keeping up with current and future customer needs as well as expanding our existing set of market opportunities globally.”

Under its avionics upgrade, customers can add localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) approach and ADS-B OUT capabilities to their Pro Line 21 flight decks, Piaggio said. LPV allow Avantis to land at airports where ground-based insturment approaches are not in place, as well as  save operators time and money by more efficient routing.

In collaboration with Rockwell Collins, Piaggio has developed three “attractively priced” model-specific Service Bulletins to upgrade the avionics suite. To reduce aircraft downtime, the company has also set up a pool of components that can be rotated with customers in a dedicated exchange program. The LPV capability will be complemented by the addition of ADS-B OUT, one of the key elements mandated by the global air traffic modernization plan, by the second half of this year.

Meanwhile, Avanti operators will have more options when it comes to maintenance programs. Operators with “intense” flight activity who need extended non-interrupted availability of their aircraft, now have the option of a progressive maintenance program that allows maintenance activities to be divided into shorter, more frequent phases.

Additionally, the next revision of Chapter V of the Maintenance Manual will present the tasks of the A and B Checks—currently grouped and scheduled at 200 and 600 flight hour intervals, respectively—as separate instructions that can be completed individually. Thus, the inspection phases can be conducted overnight or during other short down-time periods with minimal impact to operations.

Piaggio is also making the Magnaghi Aeronautica-manufactured EVO landing gear available for retrofit in Avanti IIs. In fact, Piaggio completed the retrofit of the improved landing gear on an Avanti II in Europe last month and, more recently, on one in the United States.

The landing gear, which is standard on the Avanti EVO, incorporates several improvements and upgrades. It is designed with the same form, fit, and function as the original gear, though the retrofit requires extensive wiring modifications to accommodate the new proximity sensor-based control logic and indication system. It also requires a new computer and associated wiring for the digitally controlled nose wheel steering system. Piaggio’s Service Bulletin SB 80-0425 approves the retrofit on all in-service Avanti IIs.

In other news, Southern California-based West Coast Aviation Services took delivery of the first Piaggio Avanti EVO in the U.S. earlier this month and expects to accept a second one later this month. West Coast Aviation Services inked a contract at NBAA 2016 for five EVOs, as well as options for four more. The John Wayne County Airport-based operator intends to use them for charter and fractional ownership.