Industry News
The ‘ideal aircraft’
Tecnam introduces Jet A-powered P2010 TDI single
By David Tulis
Italian aircraft manufacturer Tecnam dropped a liquid-cooled, 170-horsepower Continental Aerospace Technologies CD-170 Jet A engine into its four-place P2010 TDI single to substantially increase its range and lower some operating costs. The metal-and-composite single can deliver a whopping 1,050-nautical-mile range on fuel consumption of 5.2 gph while the model’s two Lycoming avgas-powered IO-360 (180 horsepower) and IO-390 (215 horsepower) variants top out at about 660 nm. The P2010 TDI sells for about $412,000 (375,000 euros).
During a livestream video announcing the new model, Tecnam Managing Director Giovanni Pascale Langer said flight schools are the high-wing, three-door aircraft’s target market. Langer said general aviation engine development has been “stagnating for decades,” and it led to operating costs that “have increased greatly due to the unreasonable fuel consumption and antiquated technology” of air-cooled aircraft engines. “It is time for a new propulsion” concept to “pave the way for jet fuel as the new standard for general aviation,” he told viewers.
The Continental powerplant has a time before replacement (rather than time between overhaul) of 1,200 hours, “and we have plans to work with Tecnam to increase that,” said Continental Aerospace Technologies Sales Director Oliver Leber. “One of the great advantages of this engine is that it’s easy to maintain.” A majority of the parts are recycled, he added.
The CD-170 is the “highest-power engine in its family,” said Leber, and its ability to burn jet or diesel fuel “opens up possibilities around the globe” while potentially reducing fuel consumption (and costs) by up to 50 percent when compared to avgas-powered models.
The Continental CD-170, with full authority digital engine control and operated with a single-lever power control, is mated to a fuselage and vertical fin made of pre-peg carbon fiber while the wings, horizontal tail, and rudder are built with light alloy structures pioneered by award-winning aircraft designer Luigi Pascale in 1948 with his brother Giovanni.
The P2010 TDI has been in secret development for some time, the companies noted in the unveiling. Engine monitoring is integrated into the Garmin G1000 NXi glass cockpit, which includes a GFC 700 autopilot. The seats have an electrically adjustable height and a crashworthiness of 26 Gs.
The Jet A variant will be sold alongside the avgas-fueled versions and is expected to have a cruise speed of 136 knots—a few knots slower than the avgas-powered versions, which peak at 145 knots. The takeoff roll is 1,246 feet, and the aircraft has a maximum weight of 2,557 pounds and a useful load of 805 pounds.
Langer said that he expected the aircraft to become “fully certified” by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency “by July 2020” and followed shortly thereafter by the FAA and aviation authorities in other countries.
“The P2010 remains a modern aircraft for flight schools and private owners,” said Tecnam CEO Paolo Pascale. “With the Continental’s jet/diesel engine, the P2010 TDI is simply the ideal aircraft, combining a modern, sleek, ‘green’ design with consistent, robust power.”
The aircraft maker’s lineup also includes the single-engine, two-place P92 Eaglet, P2002 Sierra, and P2008 JC trainers; and the multiengine four-seat P2006 Twin and the 11-seat P2012 Traveler, which is in service with New England-based airline Cape Air.
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Plane crazy
Own a piece of history
MotoArt acquires DC–6 that flew The Monkees
The year is 1967 and it’s the “Summer of Love.” Monkee mania is in full swing. California-based MotoArt uncovered the Douglas DC–6, N90739, that carried Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones on their world tour. The U.S. leg of the tour included the Jimi Hendrix Experience and appearances on Dick Clark. The Monkees television show was seen by millions weekly, and they were on a par with the Beatles for popularity and record sales. Who could imagine what it was like on that DC–6 in 1967? “We got high together,” remembered Tork, who died in 2019. “We had this DC–6, with this lounge in back. There were some reporters on the plane, so we would leave the reporters in front and go into the back and smoke it up.”
MotoArt produces “plane tags” from the skins of retired aircraft, and The Monkees DC–6 is just one of the aircraft the company punches ID tags from the skin. Owner Dave Hall reports he recently also acquired a retired 1957 B–52 that flew around the world and appeared on the cover of Life magazine. You can purchase a plane tag from your favorite aircraft at MotoArt. The fuselage skin is from aircraft that will never be restored. Offerings range from The Monkees DC–6 plane tag for $29.95 to a Curtiss P–40 Warhawk for $84.95 and a rare Rockwell B–1B Lancer bomber for $149.95.
