Piaggio Talk

Any operators here have the Parker STC for the steel brakes? Was the conversion difficult? Operational issues?

Is the longevity and effectiveness of the brakes better? I really want to change my airplane to these brakes to get rid of the ridiculous carbon overhaul expense. Any input appreciate

Mark

SN 149

Hey Mark. Welcome. Thanks for joining! We operate an Avanti II S/N 1172. When we purchased the aircraft just over a year ago, it already came with the Parker brakes. They probably had 50-100 hours on it then and we've added a 100+ hours. No issues at all. In comparison to the carbon brakes, the steel brakes don't need to heat up first to be effective. We can do a runup without fear of creeping much. They brake force is very good when needed and the wear so far is non existent. The wear pins are still fully extended as if new.

The one thing I notice is, when the weather is cold, there is a noticeable sound (kind of like a truck stopping) when braking. It doesn't happen all the time, but I didn't notice it this summer, but now do again. It has no affect on the brake effectiveness, but sometimes the pax will comment on the need for new brakes . Little do they know they are new! In any case, I really have no complaints.
Chris

Yeah my one complaint in this airplane is the ridiculously expensive brakes and their ineffective cold ability to hold the airplane rock solid when doing an auto feather check.

Anyone have a steel set for sale/trade on my cores?

Hey Mark,
Did you ever end up getting the Parker steel brakes? If so, how was the conversion experience? Did they have them in stock?
Chris