PT6 TBO Extension Means Two More Years for Avanti Owners

Pratt & Whitney Canada (Booth 4885) is finalizing an agreement with Piaggio (Booth 339) that will see the time between overhauls (TBO) of the P180 Avanti's PT6-A-66A turboprop engines extended from 3,000 to 3,600 hours. At an average utilization rate of 300 hours per year, this means Avanti owners can expect an additional two years of operations before they have to face the overhaul bills. In parallel with its work with Piaggio, PW&C is handling the certification arrangements with Transport Canada, which it expects to have completed within the next four or five months. Initial deliveries of the new engines are anticipated for the first quarter of 2003.
The extended TBO PT6s are aimed largely at new Piaggio Avanti customers. Existing owners will be able to follow an upgrade path that includes a new hot section for the engine's 67D section, and some airframe interface modifications from Piaggio, but neither party expects this to be a difficult process.

Because the Avanti has contra-rotating engines, it uses a gearbox arrangement (on one engine) that is totally unique to any other PT6 configuration. As a result, it took a little while to study and determine exactly what was required for the TBO extension; the process began about 18 months ago.-Robert Hewson