Developer FlightFX took to their discord channel to reveal their newest project: the Piaggio P180 Avanti II twin-engine turboprop. Unmistakable because of its twin, pusher-mounted Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engines, T-tail, and fixed forewing configuration, the Avanti II can carry up to nine passengers and has a maximum cruise altitude of 41,000 feet. Thanks to its aerodynamically unique configuration and clean design, the Avanti II is able to achieve speeds in excess of 400 knots, cruising closer to the speed of light jets such as the Citation M2 versus similar turboprops. In fact, Piaggio advertises the Avanti II as being nearly 100 knots faster than its closest turboprop competitor, the Beechcraft King Air 200.
With the announcement of the Avanti II, FlightFX provided only exterior previews and made no mention of a release timeline or avionics configuration. It’s worth noting that the real Avanti II utilises the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 which is the same avionics suite developed by Working Title for the default MSFS CJ4 and included in Aircraft & Avionics Update I (AAU1). Exterior 3D modeling does appear to be rather far along and it’s safe to say that turboprop fans will be eagerly awaiting this addition to the sim.
In addition to being the developer of several U.S. airport sceneries, FlightFX is perhaps best known for their SF50 Vision Jet G2 and for bringing Marwan Gharib’s HJET HA420 to the MSFS marketplace. You can read more about the team at FlightFX in this interview we conducted with them in 2021.
