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involves throttle idle, prop feathered, fuel off, as well as ignition and field. It was slightly quieter inside and our speed dropped, but other than that, the plane was very stable. It was easy to complete turns and climb at the Vyse of 92 KIAS. Restarting our feathered engine was also simple, essentially resetting the prop and throttle levers as well as the fuel selector, fuel pump and ignition switches on, then pressing the starter. With the Lycoming EECS, it was a flawless start, with the system controlling all of the starting param- eters. Simplifying engine management under normal and abnormal condi- tions is yet another factor in reducing pilot workload.
After touring the beautiful geogra- phy west of Las Vegas, it was time to head to North Las Vegas (KVGT) for landing, where I met up with friends to fly a Citation Mustang back home. With the simplified power manage- ment on the descent, you just reduce the RPM to maintain an appropriate speed. A Vno of 176 KIAS and a high Vne of 226 KIAS allows high-speed descents when appropriate. The typi- cal descent is 1,950 to 2,000 RPM and reducing the throttles to maintain 137 KIAS and 500 fpm descent. The performance capability of the P2012 also facilitates traffic integration in busy terminal airspaces. The air was smooth, so we didn’t have to be too concerned about the Vo speed of 141 KIAS. Slowing down to 140 KIAS on downwind and 120 KIAS on base, it was time to explore another impres- sive capability of the Traveller.
Approach
You can tell the design roots of this airplane. Considering the numerous mountains and valleys in northern Italy, the P2012 is well-suited for steep approaches into some of the most chal- lenging airports. The P2012 is capable of a 12-degree approach gradient at 110 KIAS. Francesco offered me the opportunity to explore the envelope on our approach to Runway 30L at North Las Vegas (KVGT). While I have conducted steep approaches in other aircraft, my experience with the P2012 was the most impressive. We actually utilized an even steeper descent angle than the 12-degree approach gradient
in the AFM as I pushed our nose down to almost 20 degrees in the early phase of the descent. The twin was easy to control under this configuration, and the round out smooth for landing. We didn’t have a crosswind for this land- ing, however, Tecnam’s newest aircraft has an impressive demonstrated cross- wind capability of 24 kts. The pneu- matic shock absorbers on the landing gear made even my first landing in the Tecnam look good!
Summary
The Tecnam P2012 Traveller is a versatile platform from its capabilities for executive transportation (with a luxury interior) to comfortable airline commuter, to utilitarian air ambu- lance and special missions. It can fit a number of aviation needs.
The airplane can operate on paved and unpaved runways with a SL takeoff distance of 2,596 ft over the standard 50-foot obstacle at GTOW, increasing to 2,849 ft on dry grass. The P2012 can then cruise at 10,000 ft MSL with a power setting of 82 per- cent (2,400 RPM – Max Power Levers), resulting in a speed of 180 KTAS, con- suming 68 GPH. Reduce the speed to 170 knots and fuel burn is 50 GPH. Lower power settings result in even more fuel savings and for maximum endurance (great for special ops and transatlantic crossings). Slowing down to 45 percent power will result in 25 GPH at 130 KTAS.
The P2012 handles with a nim- bleness I would not have expected in a twin of its size. And with Tec- nam’s SPACE flight deck and envi- ronment with room to stretch your legs, even long-range flights would be comfortable.
With 12,000 hours piloting more than 110 models of aircraft into nearly 900 airports, Rich Pickett has a passion for f lying. Rich holds an ATP, CFII SME, SES, glider licenses, and type ratings in the L29, L39, Citation 500/510s/525s, Eclipse 500S, Beechcraft RA390S and DA10. His company, Personal Wings, provides training, mentoring and aircraft services. He is also a proud owner of a Cessna 206. You can contact Rich at Rich@personalwings.com.
January 2022 / TWIN & TURBINE • 15