Story ID: 1102413alerts
Chinese Operator Orders Extended-range Avanti IIs
By: Chad Trautvetter
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Word Count: 150
ACEA (Beijing) Aviation Investment, the Piaggio Avanti distributor in Mainland China, signed a contract yesterday at NBAA 2013 with SR Jet, a division of Beijing-based Sparkle Roll Investment Holdings, for the purchase of two extended-range Avanti IIs with options for eight more. The aircraft will incorporate an additional tank with a 400-pound capacity, increasing the maximum fuel on board to 3,226 pounds from 2,826 and extending the maximum range by 250 nm, to 1,720 nm with IFR reserves.

According to Piaggio, no airframe modifications are required for installation of the additional fuel tank, which occupies only a portion of a closet in the lavatory. The first of SR Jet’s longer-legged Avanti IIs is slated for delivery in March.

Piaggio America president and CEO John Bingham told AIN that a U.S. customer has also ordered an extended-range Avanti II. This aircraft is “on the production line,” he added.