P2012 TRAVELLER COMMERCIAL
TECNAM BACKGROUND
Tecnam is a family-run company. After the death of co-founder Professor Luigi Pascale in
March 2017, his nephew Paolo Pascale is the company’s new Managing Director and Chief
Executive Officer.
According to General Aviation Manufacturers Association data, Tecnam is the second-largest
producer of general aviation aircraft behind Cirrus, and the largest in Europe. The firm produces
190–200 aircraft per year. There are two production plants, one at Capua, near Caserta, and
one at Casoria, Naples, that produces composite parts.
The workforce numbers about 250. There is also a site in Florida used as a showroom and
assembly location for the aircraft destined for US markets. There is a sales network of 65
dealers and aftersales support is carried out from Capua plant and through a network of about
100 qualified maintenance centres worldwide. Tecnam’s 2016 revenue was about €35 million.
Tecnam was founded by Professor Luigi Pascale and his brother Giovanni. Their first aircraft,
the P48B Astore, was built in a garage at home and flew for the first time on April 2, 1951,
piloted by Mario De Bernardi. In 1957, the brothers established Partenavia, which produced the
P57, P64 and P66 single-engine light aircraft and the twin-engine P68. Partenavia was acquired
by Aeritalia in 1981 and then Aercosmos in 1993, before closing in 1998.
Tecnam was established by the Pascale brothers in 1986 to produce aircraft components
for companies such as ATR, Aermacchi and Boeing. In 1992, when they were about 70, the
brothers decided to take on a new challenge: producing ultralight aircraft. Their first ultralight
produced under the Tecnam brand was the P92, of which more than 2,500 have been built.
This type has logged more than 200,000 flying hours and is still produced in five versions.
Tecnam also offers the single-engine P2002, P2008, Astore and P2010, plus the twin engine
P2006. In total, the Pascale designs have been produced in more than 7,000 units, but only a
small number (about 500) under the Partenavia brand.The design has been developed following
these guidelines.
The cabin had to offer easy access thanks
to wide doors, a superior level of comfort
(with the same space in front of all the seats),
a large baggage hold, a short take-off run, a
cruise speed of 190kts (352km/h) at 10,000ft
(3,280m) and range of more than 900nm
(1,680km).
The P2012 is unpressurised, but it is
equipped with a de-icing system and is fully
instrument flight rules. The cabin includes
an air conditioning system that can be fully
removed; its box is positioned in the rear
fuselage, and can be used only when needed
in summer, a feature that saves weight and
improves fuel consumption and performance
in the other periods of the year, and allows an
increased baggage load.
The aircraft’s general configuration doesn’t
come from Cape Air’s specific requests, but
from evaluation and studies undertaken by
Tecnam to make the Traveller interesting
for a wide range of operators. This included
the decision to adopt a high wing to ease
passenger access to the cabin and airport
handling. The high wing also allows the
aircraft to operate more easily on unpaved
runways, keeping propellers and engines far
from the ground. The landing gear is fixed,
which increases its strength, especially when
flying from rough runways.
The engines are two six-cylinder
turbocharged Lycoming TEO-540-C1As,
delivering 375hp (279kW) each, coupled
to three-bladed variable-pitch propellers.
This engine type is called iE2 (Integrated
Electronic Engine). It was designed to be
controlled electronically and represents
the most advanced Lycoming technology.
The cabin can accommodate up to nine
passengers, plus one or two pilots, and
is equipped with large windows and four
access doors (two for the pilots). One of the
cabin access doors slides laterally and is
used to load freight.
The P2012 prototype has the Garmin
NXI avionics system, the new-generation of
the Garmin G1000. Mavilio said: “Since the
very beginning, Garmin has been one of our
partners in the development of the Traveller.
We had this equipment since before it was
introduced to the public to test it together
with Garmin.”
Mavilio said the unit price for a P2012 is
around €2.2 million in basic configuration.
Flying qualities
This is the opinion of De Stefano: “With the
P2012, I had the right feeling since the very
beginning: it is extremely pleasant in its
shape and when I saw it for the first time I
thought [about] what some pilots say about
harmony in outline related to harmony of the
flying qualities.
“Since the maiden flight, as I expected,
the aircraft fully confirmed the featuresalways present in Tecnam aircraft, making
me feel at ease. In the following flights,
specific modifications optimised and
further improved the excellent features.
The feedback from the first pilots that had
the opportunity to fly it were all extremely
positive: it is very satisfying to fly this
aircraft.
“The excellent flying qualities are coupled
with very advanced avionics and remarkable
performance; the two 375hp engines allow
[it] to fly in a very competitive way within
its category. My activity as Tecnam test
pilot is very intense, but also complete
and rewarding; to pilot an aircraft in its first
flight and to be part of its development is a
privilege.”
On March 14, 2017, Professor Luigi
Pascale, one of the founders of Tecnam,
died at the age of 94. However, his spirit
and vision in aviation design are well present
in the company he built up. The P2012
Traveller is the last of his designs, but his
team seems to have successfully spotted
a very specific market niche. An aircraft of
this class was missing for more than 40
years, and now, given the quality of this
Italian company, the same interesting and
remarkable marketing successes gained
by previous designs are expected.Tecnam produces 190–200 aircraft per
year. This view shows the company’s main
Capua production plant. Riccardo NiccoliGarmin NXI avionics, the new generation of the Garmin G1000, feature in the cockpit.