Story ID: 786PiaggioSupport
Piaggio Introduces Upgrades for Legacy Avantis
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: Avanti operators can retrofit new landing gear and brakes.
Word Count: 281
Piaggio Aerospace is boosting aftermarket support for operators of the P180 Avanti twin turboprop with options for new brakes and landing gear. On Wednesday at NBAA 2016, the Italian manufacturer also signed new service center agreements with eight U.S. repair stations.

Parker’s wheel and brake division is developing an alternative braking system for the Avanti that Piaggio says will reduce the cost of operating the aircraft by as much as 70 percent. The new steel brakes and main gear wheels will be available for retrofit in the middle of next year under an STC developed by Parker.

Piaggio is now offering legacy Avanti operators the option to install the more advanced landing gear that it uses for the current-production Avanti Evo. The new equipment is expected to halve overhaul costs with an extended time between overhaul. It has a new digital steering system intended to reduce pilot workload.

Avanti operators now have the option of retrofitting a new anti-skid system, as well as LED taxi and landing lights mounted on the landing-gear struts. Piaggio said that operators will be able to install the new landing gear package for no more than it costs to overhaul the currently installed components.

The new service center agreements signed this week cover maintenance support for the Avanti, Avanti II and Evo at the following facilities: Greenpoint Aerospace (Denton, Texas); Intercontinental Jet Service (Tulsa, Okla.); Mather Aviation (Rancho Cordova, Calif.); Signature TechnicAir (Scottsdale, Ariz.); Stevens Aviation (Greenville, S.C.); Turboprop East (North Adams, Mass.); and West Star Aviation (East Alton, Ill.). Piaggio recently extended the service center agreement with Banyan Air Service in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.