Plano di Volo, part of TCN Property Projects real estates in Holland, has purchased a P180 for business travel to its various offices in Europe. The decision to purchase a new Avanti comes after years of flying different pre-owned aeroplanes.

“There is no other aircraft in its class which is equal to this one,” said Bert van Gelder, Plano di Volo’s aviation manager. “Its performance, its flight times, the speed is tremendous, and the interior cabin is so big you’d need a mid-size jet to get the same performance.”

The company took the standard P180 and chose to have a Terrain Awareness Warning System and a Traffic Collision Avoidance System installed. These devices were considered the most important feature options on the aviation side. In the interior, the company chose the arrangement and features for the seating, draws and cabinets.

The aeroplane is based at Rotterdam and not only flies to TCN’s bases in Germany, Portugal, Belgium, and Hungary, but operates individual flights to other business locations throughout Europe. Plano di Volo

has two permanent full-time pilots and two part-time pilots, who are called when needed.

Every two years Plano di Volo has previously changed and upgraded

to different aeroplanes. Starting with

a Piper Malibu, the company kept

it for two years before selling it

and purchasing a Cessna 421

Golden Eagle. This was chosen for its higher speeds. After a further two years, the company debated

between purchasing a new Pilatus

or a pre-owned Piaggio. The

company chose the Piaggio as it could operate for about the same price

as the new Pilatus.\r

“After two years we sold it and got a new Piaggio,” said van Gelder. “This is the first time that we have had the same aeroplane for the second time.”

With the high praise given to the P180, will Plano di Volo be changing its aircraft again after two years? “We are looking for the successor of this aeroplane, which should have other requirements like a larger range – at least 3,000 miles – and also a larger interior. But it seems like this time we are going to keep the Piaggio and have the next aeroplane as a second one.”