Flight International - November 10, 2015

BUSINESS AVIATION

24 | Flight International | 10-16 November 2015 flightglobal.com

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I

talian aircraft manufacturer

Tecnam is readying its P2012

Traveller for roll-out by March

2016, saying it remains on track

for a maiden flight of the new

11-seat piston-twin in the second

quarter of next year.

The airframer took delivery of

the Traveller’s Lycoming TEO-

540-A1A engines in October, and

they are now being installed on

the first test aircraft.

Three prototypes are being as-

sembled at Tecnam’s facility in

Capua, near Naples. Production is

eventually to be housed at a dedi-

cated 5,000m² (53,800ft²) facility

adjacent to the current plant,

which should open by year-end,

says Tecnam chief executive

Paolo Pascale.

He is meeting this month with

US regional carrier and pro-

gramme partner Cape Air, which

previously signed a letter of in-

tent to purchase up to 100 Travel-

lers to replace its fleet of ageing

Cessna 402 piston-twins. “We

hope they will commit [to a firm

order] by year-end,” says Pascale.

Hyannis, Massachusetts-based

Cape Air is the biggest commuter

airline in the USA, and has

helped Tecnam to design the

Traveller for the commercial-pas-

senger transportation market.

The high-wing aircraft has at-

tracted considerable interest from

a long list of international opera-

tors, Pascale says, including char-

ter, corporate, cargo and special-

missions providers. “We are

filling a gap in the six- to 10-seat

[Federal Aviation Regulation]

Part 23 piston-twin-engined mar-

ket segment, where no new de-

signs have been introduced for

more than 40 years,” he adds.

The Traveller – funded through

a combination of private and Ital-

ian government investment – has

a fixed landing gear to allow it to

operate from unpaved runways,

large panoramic windows, and

four doors, including a sliding

passenger door and a cargo door.

Fuelled by Avgas and Mogas,

the aircraft is projected to have a

maximum take-off weight of

3,290kg (7,250lb), a maximum

cruise speed of 210kt (390km/h)

at 8,000ft and a long-range cruise

speed of 170kt.

European and US approvals

for the Traveller are scheduled for

2018, with service entry follow-

ing later that year. ■

G

ulfstream has gained US sup-
plemental type certification
(STC) for its Future Air Navigation
System (Fans) 1/A+ on the out-of-
production GV business jet, and is
now working on approvals for its
GIV and GIV-SP stablemates.
Fans 1/A+ is required over
some North Atlantic and Pacific
routes and helps air traffic con-
trollers handle growing levels of
air traffic by reducing spacing be-
tween aircraft and ensuring a spe-
cific level of navigation accuracy.
“After 30 January 2020”,
Gulfstream explains, “aircraft

C

irrus has broken ground on a
new aircraft-delivery centre
in Knoxville, Tennessee as it splits
customer delivery and service
from its assembly and design op-
erations in Duluth, Minnesota.
The CAIGA-owned company
plans to launch factory services
work at the $15 million Vision
Center at McGhee Tyson airport
by mid-2016. A delivery centre is
to open in the second half of 2016
for the SR20/22 piston-singles and
the forthcoming Vision SF50, a
single-engined personal jet.
The centre will provide a
complete portfolio of services, the
company says, including training,
support, sales, delivery, and fixed-
base operations.
Cirrus will continue to
manufacture its composite aircraft
structures in Grand Forks, North
Dakota and assemble the aircraft
in Duluth. The $2 million SF50 is
scheduled for receive US certifi-
cation by the end of this year,
with first deliveries planned in
the first half of 2016.
Cirrus says the three aircraft in
its flight-test campaign have
amassed nearly 1,000h since the
first SF50 – C0 – made its maiden
sortie in March 2014. ■
See Feature P40

DEVELOPMENT KATE SARSFIELD LONDON

Traveller on track for 2016

maiden flight, says Tecnam

Italian airframer takes delivery of powerplants for piston-twin as prototypes are assembled

GV navigation upgrade on course at Gulfstream

MODIFICATION KATE SARSFIELD LONDON

without Fans 1/A+ will not be al-

lowed to operate in Minimum

Navigation Performance Specifi-

cation [MNPS] airspace – which

extends vertically from flight

level 285 [28,500ft] to FL420”.

MNPS airspace includes the

heavily-travelled North Atlantic

tracks, which stretch from west-

ern Europe to North America.

Gulfstream says the installa-

tion requires a Honeywell Mark

III communications management

unit, a Rockwell Collins VHF-

4000 transceiver and an L-3 Avia-

tion Recorders FA2100 solid-

state cockpit voice and flight data

recorder.

The General Dynamics-owned

company is targeting owners and

operators of the 190 in-service, ul-

tra-long-range GV. To date it has

outfitted one of the Rolls-Royce

BR710-powered twinjets, and

says further retrofits are in the

pipeline across its eight-strong US

service centre network. ■

See Feature P34

Production will eventually be housed in a dedicated plant in Capua

Tecnam

Gulfstream Aerospace

The type is often used on

North Atlantic routes where

levels of air traffic are growing

INFRASTRUCTURE
STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

Cirrus customer

delivery centre

comes into view