Photograph:
Tecnam P-92-2000 RG 24-4263 (c/n 048) at Avalon, VIC in March 2005 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
Italy
Description:
Two-seat light sport and training aircraft
Power Plant:
One 80 kw (100 hp) Rotax 912S four-cylinder horizontally-opposed liquid-and-air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 8.7 m (28 ft 6 in)
- Length: 6.43 m (21 ft)
- Max speed at sea level: 245 km/h (152 mph)
- Cruising speed at 75% power: 222 km/h (138 mph)
- Stalling speed with flaps: 65 km/h (40 mph)
- Rate of climb at sea level: 290 m/min (950 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 4,267 m (14,000 ft)
- Fuel capacity: 95 litres (21 imp gals)
- Empty weight: 295 kg (650 lb)
- Loaded weight: 544 kg (1,199 lb)
History:
The RG series of aircraft produced by Tecnam was developed to meet the needs of a number of customers for variants with retractable undercarriages. Two basic models have been produced, the high-wing P2000 RG and the P2002 JR-Retractable/CSU with a low wing. The former was designed to comply with the airworthiness requirements of BFU, JAR-VLA, RAI-VEL and had a metal main structure with anti-corrosive surface treatment. The undercarriage was made by two supporting beams hinged around the end of the composite leaf springs housed inside the fuselage, this arrangement allowing for landing shock absorption, and was said to be reliable and maintainable.
The P2002 variant is a GA certified and ultralight version. It was available with a hydraulic CSU and retractable undercarriage, and is said to make this model one of the most sophisticated two-seat general aviation trainers on the market. It resulted from two years of research and development by the Company’s design team and used hydraulic actuators and a trailing link design for added strength. It had the ability to operate from semi-prepared strips. The retractable undercarriage model was demonstrated at the EAA Airventure event at Oshkosh in Wisconsin, USA in July 2002.
Examples of the series have been imported to this region, the first being a demonstrator for the New Zealand importer, this aircraft, a P2000 RG becoming ZK-TBG (c/n 023), followed by ZK-MGW (c/n 43).