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December 2009 
Tecnam’s Rotax Twin: Budget PerformanceDespite being one of the bigger players in LSA market, Tecnam Aircraft isn’t well known in the U.S. The company has actually been building aircraft and aircraft parts for over 60 years, and has 3000 aircraft flying worldwide. For comparison, Cirrus Aircraft and Diamond Aircraft have each delivered slightly over 4000 airplanes to date. Tecnam is reorganizing in the U.S. with a new website (www.tecnam.net), an expanding dealer and support network and a new aircraft: the Tecnam P2006T light twin. The P2006T (That name doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, does it?) has specs more like a single than a twin. Its gross weight is only 2601—50 pounds more than a Cessna 172SP—and cruise speed is in the 140- to 150-knot range. The really novel item is that the P2006T sports two Rotax 912 S3 engines. The S3 is the certified version of the Rotax found in most LSAs. Each engine puts out about 100 HP. Garmin aera Navigator: Toggle-Free GPS Was it really four years ago when Garmin blew us away with the GPSmap 396, a stunningly capable portable that offered datalink weather and even traffic? Indeed it was and now the 396 is about to be consigned to the boneyard, an inevitable victim of the relentless product cycle. The new arrival doing the displacing is called the aera and it’s being sold by Garmin at four price points, each with a different feature set. (See the chart on page 6 for details.) In aviation’s glory days, the manufacturers frequently introduced what we called "parts bin" airplanes, new models fashioned from the bits of existing airplanes in the product line. Garmin has done its version of the same, leveraging the hardware from its terrestrial or marine lines into aviation products and vice versa. The aera products were morphed from Garmin’s street navigator suite, specifically a premium product for the motorcycle market called the zumo. But we’re told it’s more clean sheet than adaptation. Unlike previous portables, the aera represents a substantial operating logic departure in that it’s entirely touchscreen driven—gone is the rocker switch and the push-enter-to-activate-editing function. In fact, gone are all the buttons and keys—only one remains: the power switch. The operating logic seems to more or less parallel Garmin’s nuvi line of street navigators, which is to say the menu structure is icon based and as simple to use as an iPhone. No one should have trouble learning this device. Aerous ITE Headset: Audiophile Performance Ever wonder where can you could get a lightweight in-the-ear headset made with the utmost attention to fidelity, designed for serious audiophiles who happen to be pilots? Someone, it turns out, has actually thought of this. In 1995, Jerry Harvey created a high-fidelity in-the-ear earphone and started a company called Ultimate Ears. These appealed to performing musicians who liked their in-ear monitors, but it quickly spread to include more casual users. Harvey left Ultimate Ears in 2007 and started JH Audio to build the Aerous—no-nonsense audiophile earphones with a mic—designed for pilots. Composite Props: Light and Durable Composite materials are not news in general aviation applications. Their traditional advantages—less weight, often-greater strength and relative ease in forming complex shapes—are well-known. Those characteristics, coupled with reduced need for skilled labor to, say, build a wing or fuselage when compared to traditional manufacturing methods make them ideal for aviation applications. And, thanks to Cirrus, Diamond and Lancair/Columbia, along with hordes of experimental designers and LSA manufacturers, it’s the exception these days for a new aircraft design to be constructed entirely from metal. While it’s not likely we’ll see a non-metallic propeller hub anytime soon, composite prop blades are readily available right now for many engine/airframe combinations and have been for a few years. Both Hartzell and MT Propellers offer composite blades for constant-speed models—MT also offers fixed- and controllable-pitch props—and Sensenich markets a line of ground-adjustable non-metal props for LSAs and experimentals. But, we’ve been using metal and wood to build props for years: Why go with a composite prop? What benefits do composites offer when made into a propeller and how do the offerings from these three companies differ? How do they compare to wood or metal props, and can you save any money over the long haul by going composite? Cessna 162 Skycatcher: The Future Alpha Dog LSA In the wildly edgy television series, The Wire, there’s a classic line for a would-be challenger: "If you come at the King, you best not miss." Somehow, that seems to apply in the light sport market as a multitude of manufacturers wait and wonder what Cessna’s going to do with its Skycatcher LSA. The wait part is over and the wonder soon will be. Cessna is now poised to deliver the first of its 162 Skycatchers by the end of 2009. During 2010, it will ramp up production to begin delivering the first of more than 1000 aircraft it says are on order. We got our first look and demo flight prior to AOPA Summit at Tampa, Florida, in early November. The aircraft presented to us what Cessna’s Kirby Ortega called "P1," or the first production compliant airplane. In other words, what you see is what you get, minus some wiring harnesses left over from last-minute testing. The airplane was built in Wichita, although the entire wing assembly—complete with control surfaces—was built at Cessna’s Shenyang, China, contractor. The first production version flew in China in mid-September. Repainting Composites: Use an Expert Shop The repainting process is different for composites than for aluminum, at least in a couple of critical areas. All of those areas could be summed up in the words "manufacturer’s specifications." That is, each manufacturer has its own do’s and don’ts when it comes to stripping off old paint and putting on new stuff. The short answer for how to get the job done right is to find a shop that has done that make of aircraft and has happy customers. Unfortunately, many competent paint shops haven’t had to do a full repaint of a Cirrus or a Diamond yet. Is it worth trekking hundreds of miles to a shop that has a few under their belt, or working with a local gang with a good reputation knowing they will be learning on your aircraft? We think that depends on the attitude and other relevant experience of the shop. The big issue is in how they prep the aircraft before painting. Used Aircraft Guide: Commander 112/114 It’s always interesting to contemplate general aviation’s boom-and-bust cycles. While exceptions certainly abound, it seems every other decade since the 1930s has included introduction of new aircraft or new technologies that further advance the state of the art. The 1970s were an upswing, avocado-green vinyl upholstery and Continental’s Tiara engine notwithstanding. In addition to the iconic taper-wing Piper Cherokees, Cessna’s original Citation and Beech’s Model 200 Super King Air, the 70s also ushered in the Rockwell Commander 112/114 series of four-seat piston singles. For years, what was then called North American Rockwell had been trying to find the right mix of ramp appeal, performance and features to enter the general aviation market in a big way. Early attempts—the Lark and Darter, and efforts to revive the Meyers 200—didn’t work out as the company hoped. |
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