Tecnam P92 E Road Test

Craig Ruane*

And now for something completely different…. For those who enjoy flying rather than driving. Read on to hear what member Craig Ruane has to say about this light aircraft in this review of his recent “Road Test” of the Tecnam P92 E – a road test, but without the road!

The Italian automotive industry is famous for high performance two-seater sports cars. The Tecnam P92 Echo Mk 2 shares at least some of those characteristics. It is Italian. It is a two-seater. It has a cruise speed of about 85 knots (approximately 160 km/h) at 75% power from a 1352cc engine. Fuel consumption at cruise speed, with reserves, is about 15 L per hour giving an endurance of about four hours and a range of about 350 nautical miles or 650 km. Amongst the optional equipment it can be fitted with a ballistic parachute. It is obviously not a sports car.

Tecnam was founded in 1986 by two Italian brothers, originally to build parts for other aerospace companies. They soon branched out into building complete aircraft of their own design, of which the Tecnam P92 series is one of the more successful. The design itself is relatively conventional, looking a bit like a Cessna 152 on a diet. Although they build a range of aircraft,

including twin-engine types, by far the majority follow the single-engine, two seat, side-by-side, high wing tricycle undercarriage formula. Almost 3000 of the P92 series have been built (probably more than any single model of Ferrari, but much less than the Toyota Corolla) and they are certainly one of the more popular microlight or Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) in New Zealand.

This particular aircraft is owned by the Canterbury Recreational Aircraft Club based at Rangiora north of Christchurch. The club owns two of the earlier P92 Echo aircraft and ZK-RGE is the club’s most recent purchase, a P92 Echo Mark 2. The Mark 2 differs from the earlier models in that the fuselage is carbon fibre rather than an aluminium monocoque, with metal wings and empennage (for some reason aviators still like using French terms).

This particular aircraft is powered by a Rotax 912 UL, horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine with air cooled cylinders and water-cooled heads, developing 100 hp at 5800 rpm. The Rotax family of engines is probably the most widely built light aircraft engine in the world these days, having largely supplanted the old-fashioned Continental and Lycoming engines found in most of the Cessnas and Pipers which used to be the staple of private owners and Aero clubs. The real advantage of these engines, apart from the more modern design and, in the more recent models fully redundant electronic fuel injection, is that they will operate on standard fuel (MOGAS), either 91 octane or 95 octane. They will tolerate AVGAS if nothing else is available. They are also very reliable with a time between overhaul (TBO) of 2000 to 2500 hours.

My first impression of the P92 is that it is a very sleek and stylish aircraft. The well-rounded carbon fibre fuselage is very smooth, provides a slightly wider cabin than the earlier models, and greater aerodynamic efficiency which contributes to speed and fuel economy. The interior, though not plush, is well appointed and comfortable, with ample legroom for the taller pilot.

Entry to the cabin is through two large doors, although a certain amount of agility is still needed to get your leg over the high door sill and around the control column before folding yourself into the comfortable seats. Inside, although cozy (it is certainly not as wide as your average SUV) the seats are adjustable fore and aft, although a shorter pilot might need a cushion to help with the view over the top of the instrument panel and nose.

The aircraft does not have air-conditioning, or a full surround sound music system, but it does have a heater although the controls seem to be buried somewhere near the rudder pedals.

RGE is used by the club for training and for hiring to club members, and as a result the decision was made to leave the control panel relatively sparsely equipped, with basic instruments, and dual radios. Tecnam has a full suite of optional extras including full glass cockpits. The club aircraft are each equipped with an iPad running off one of the USB ports which come as standard, and running AvPlan which is an electronic flight bag which provides all the flight information you could possibly want at a very reasonable annual subscription.

After running through the standard pre-flight checks (a walk around the aircraft checking that everything is secured or moving freely as appropriate, dipping the fuel tanks, and checking the oil and coolant levels), it’s time to go flying.

Starting is easy, with a manual choke for cold days and the usual checks are made as we head off towards the end of the 07 runway at Rangiora. With trim and flaps set for take-off, and a last-minute check to make sure that no one is about to land, full throttle is selected, a modest amount of right rudder is applied to keep everything straight and we head briskly down the runway.

Gentle back pressure on the stick at about 40 knots raises the nosewheel and the aircraft is off the ground in less than 200 m, before climbing away at about 1000 feet per minute. The preferred climb speed is 60 knots and flaps are raised electrically at 500 feet above the runway.

A departure to the north into some clear airspace provided an opportunity for some basic handling tests. The stall is positively innocuous, ranging from 45 knots with flaps up to about 35 knots with full flap. RGE displays no desire to drop a wing and there is an immediate recovery when the nose is pushed down and full throttle applied. No more than about 100 feet altitude is lost.

Medium and steep turns are accompanied with ease in both directions and there is no problem keeping the ball in the middle of the turn and bank indicator. Back into the circuit, half flaps can be applied at 60 knots, with a modest nose down change of pitch and full flaps gives much the same effect, which is easily controlled. Once settled in on the final approach a gentle trickle of power balanced against gentle use of the stick keeps everything on course for a touchdown on the main wheels with the nose held slightly high to ease the strain on the nosewheel while bleeding off the last of the speed, even for a low hours pilot like me.

The aircraft is not a bad cruiser either. Two of us took RGE down to Wanaka from Rangiora for Warbirds at Easter. The only difficulty is with keeping under the 600 kg maximum all up weight permissible under the microlight rules. This led to a stop for refuelling at Tekapo, followed by a flight across Lake Pukaki before stopping at Omarama. We departed Omarama in loose formation with another club member before joining the circuit at Wanaka behind a Spitfire.

Operating costs are relatively modest, with the club charging $180 per hour including fuel.

The aircraft can be flown on a Recreational Pilots Certificate, which only requires a drivers licence medical every two years. The Recreational Pilots Certificate prohibits flying at night, in or above cloud, higher than 10,000 feet, and over built up areas and limits the maximum all up weight of the aircraft (including crew, fuel, and baggage) to 600 kg. If you want to fly at night in cloud above Auckland this is not for you.

All in all, a very pleasant aircraft to fly, with good looks, benign handling, a sprightly take-off, useful cruise speed, and decent range.

Craig Ruane

Craig Ruane is a barrister practising from Te Pōhue Chambers in Christchurch. He specialises in criminal and civil litigation as well as family protection, testamentary promises, estates litigation, Coroners inquests, military law, and limited licences. Craig is a Judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court and holds the rank of Colonel with the Reserves Forces. He over forty years’ experience in the New Zealand Army, first in the Territorial Force Artillery, and later in Legal Services.