The four-place Tecnam P2010 featured on the cover of the September 2015 AOPA Pilot has received its type certificate. Now, five aircraft waiting at the factory in Italy can be completed and shipped to the United States, and two more will be built for waiting customers. The first seven buyers were cash customers.
Tecnam is rapidly expanding its service centers. In addition to the one at U.S. headquarters in Sebring, Florida, a new one has been established at Eagle Creek Aviation Services in Indianapolis. Another has been established at SouthTecAviation in Salisbury, North Carolina. Additional service centers will be located in Texas, California, and New York.
The price of the three-door, four-seat aircraft remains at the introductory price of $345,000. Originally there were plans to increase the price. The aircraft’s unusual feature is a back door for rear-seat passengers.
Also on the new type certificate is approval for a constant-speed propeller. Now, the takeoff distance is 300 feet shorter than reported in AOPA Pilot, and the climb rate has increased to 650 fpm, with 900 fpm possible in cool conditions. The prop is an $8,000 option. The price already includes a Garmin G1000 avionics suite.
The aircraft has been certified previously in Europe, where 40 Tecnam P2010 aircraft have been delivered. The Tecnam P2010 has an all-composite fuselage with a metal wing and stabilator. In the air, it comes close to Cessna 182 speeds—133 knots on the hot Florida day it was tested by AOPA—at a cost that is $100,000 less than the Cessna 182.
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