I've been a bit of a torch carrier for these just because they look so friggin cool and have such spectacular performance. Plus, I'm half Italian.. There's a lot of hearsay and misinformation out there about these. Everyone kept saying they break, they're unreliable, they can't be serviced, they're finicky Italian etc. So I thought I'd find out the truth and go directly to the source - an owner. Easier said than done, as it turned out. Not that many of them around owned by someone who actually flies it himself. The service centers were no use at all - none of them returned my emails when I asked if I could be put in contact with an operator. Either that's because they don't want the truth, or their clients didn't want to know, or they're just lazy.
Finally I got a hold of an owner in NorCal by sending a letter. He's a very successful Silicon Valley founder/owner of a giant computer business. We're talking biiig company here. I agreed to keep his real name out of it out of courtesy. Here are his answers to my questions:
How long have you owned the Piaggio?
Bought it new in Spring of 2007.
Does it meet book numbers?
Yes for speeds. I find it hard to meet runway length numbers. I use/prefer longer runways than minimum.
Is it a high or low workload single pilot airplane in your opinion?
Realizing I transitioned from a Cessna Stationair and a Bonanza, I think its moderate. I believe though in an emergency it's slightly more than a jet as we have props and power to manage, but its not a problem once you are familiar with the systems.
Was it a big step up from your previous plane?
Yes but I knew nothing about turboprops, pressurization, Collins avionics, high altitude flying, weather radar, etc.
How do you like flying it? How does it compare to other planes you've flown?
Love flying it. Its fun, fast, and “cool”. Two things make it different from other planes. First, when you fly into a cloud, the nose noticeably drops as the forward wing is small enough to be sensitive to the reduction in air molecules in the cloud. Second, when you go to land, you actually push forward on the yoke. The props, which become a barn door when power is removed, are actually behind the center of gravity. When their drag increases the nose pitches up. You need to “anti flare’ to keep the nose from going too high.
Anything else you'd care to add about the plane in general would be greatly appreciated.
When I got my plane new, I had lots of infant mortality/growing pains type issues. When I asked if this was normal or did I have a lemon, I was told for any other turboprop, yes I had a lemon. But the Piaggio has all the system sophistication of a mid-size biz jet and for that, no, the problems I was experiencing were in the range of normal. Everything settled out after about 6 months.
Has it been reliable? Good dispatch?
Yes by and large, after the early problems, the plane has been very reliable. Problems I have had have related to brakes, and door seals mainly. I have had 2 different flap motors go out too.
How have you found servicing the plane? Do you use a Piaggio service center or just a regular shop?
I have a mechanic assigned to my plane by the outfit that manages it, but most maintenance is done by a service center. I am in northern California and I use Mather Aviation in Sacramento.
How is the pricing on parts and service from Piaggio? Would you say it's more expensive than average, or about the same?
I have no real knowledge about other plane’s parts pricing but if I had to guess, yes things seem expensive. Also, its not such a high volume plane, that should also lend itself to price gouging by suppliers.
How are parts lead times and accessibility? Does it get shipped from Genoa, or is there stock in the US when something needs replacing?
I think most things come from the states. I don’t recall anything coming directly from Genoa.
What would you say your average annaul/phase/100hr inspection costs have been?
I still need to research this so I will send my other answers now and get back to you on this. I thought it would have been easier to extract from the reports I am given but, alas, its buried in the details.
Heard there's a 12 year overhaul on the landing gear that's expensive. Have you done this and would you be able to indicate the cost of doing it?
Mine is coming up. I have heard it will be very expensive though I have conveniently forgotten the range. Sorry.
Edit: This item is about $100K. The new Evo will have 15 year intervals, and the O/H will cost less as they're moving away from Dowty Rotol. It is expected that the new landing gear will be available as an STC for the older models for those that want to upgrade. This new landing gear will also be anti-skid capable. They could never make anti-skid work on the old gear.
Do you feel Piaggio USA supports the fleet well?
I have been happy. I know the Director of Customer Support personally as we went thru Flight Safety training together and he is a great guy that cares.
Are there any weaknesses in the design from a servicing or repair standpoint? Something that fails more often than not?
Brakes have been a problem though a new design is about to be released on the Avanti3 that I expect to be STC’d for the older fleet. Hoping to eventually get Anti-lock/Anti-Skid too!
Anything else you care to add to service/maintenance would again be greatly appreciated.
Other than I believe in not skimping on the maintenance, I still maintain my plane as if it was in charter, with all the inspections, and pre-flight checks by the mechanic.
Also, anything to do with Rockwell Collins is ridiculously expensive. I am expecting a mulit-hundred thousand dollar quote to get ADS-B in/out where I know for a few thousand dollars I’ll get it on some portable device like a Stratus.
So there you have it, warts and all. Hope this can shed some light on these spectacular airplanes. The gear overhaul at $100K seems like a big item, but you save that easily on fuel compared to a jet over the 12 years. Plus, most jets and TP's have gear overhaul times that are much shorter and cost beaucoup as well. The King Air has a 5 or 6 year gear than'll cost you $35K. The Avanti will burn 40-50% less than any jet, knot for knot. It will probably burn 20% less than any other PT6 turboprop knot for knot.