Tecnam Twin Update

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Tecnam‘s four-seat twin-engine airplane, the P2006T, made an appearance at Sun ‘n Fun last week, and CEO Phil Solomon told AVweb the FAA type certification for the airplane is expected shortly. “It’s been certified in Europe for about a year now,” he said. The FAA paperwork is now fully complete and he expects to have the P2006T officially certified in time to make the first U.S. delivery in June. A Garmin 950 version should be certified by this summer. Solomon added that the company recently announced a fixed-gear version of the airplane, at the Aero show in Germany, that he expects will be popular with the owner-flown market. First deliveries for the fixed-gear airplane are still over a year away. Jeff Van West, of AVweb and Aviation Consumer, flew the P2006T at AOPA Summit last November; click here for his video report.

The fixed-gear version will cost 4 knots of speed, but gains 40 pounds of useful load, Solomon said. Also, the insurance premiums will be lower. Other new products in the works include a turbo version of the twin and a de-icing option. Besides its efficient operation, Solomon said, the P2006T is popular with flight schools for its docile single-engine handling qualities and durable all-metal construction. The engine is water-cooled, so shock cooling during single-engine training operations is less of a concern. It can climb 300 fpm on a single engine. The twin sells for about $420,000 up to $520,000 fully loaded.

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