Is the Skycatcher commercially viable as a training aircraft

[Bathman]

With the recent price increase its now going to set you back a 100 grand give or take.

OK the TBO is 200 hours more than the O-200a so a few quid saved there. Fuel burn wise its going to be no different so no cost savings there.

Annuals which currently run at about 4 grand for a C150 will no doubt be alot less certainly in the sort term.

However the aircraft can't be used for IMC or night training.

So my back of the fag packet calculations results that no flying school that wants to stay in business could afford one.

So Dave how are those Tecnams doing?

[Dave Phillips]

Absolutely fine. Night flying from the outset and in 'training mode' we are burning about 14l/hr. Most importantly students like flying them.

I think the new Skycatcher price, which fundamentally matches the Tecnam etc, will make people think long and hard.

[aerofurb]

Unless I've missed a recent development, the C162 is not approved for flying training in Europe/UK. There was a c162 demo aircraft in France in the summer and it was supposed to appear in the UK but I never heard any more about it (and one of the two UK Cessna dealers are based on our airfield!).

It is an FAA LSA which EASA hasn't yet finalised an equivalent spec despite much talk of EASA Restricted Type Certificates which would include some of the FAA LSAs. RTCs were mooted to be allowed to be used for flying training/private hire.

At Friedrichshafen 2011, CZAW were declaring the SportCruiser to be RTC compatible for when EASA brought in RTCs in June 2011. RTCs are still not here. LSAs can be flown on an EASA Permit to Fly but you can't do flying training/private hire - but you do get Part-M maintenance regulations and requirements...

As ever, I stand to be corrected if someone knows more than I. Mr Seager care to comment?

Dave's Tecnam P2002-JFs are EASA certified VLAs and are cleared and equipped for Night/VFR flying - including UK airspace. And yes, according to the CAA surveyors, as the Type Certificate Data Sheet states Mogas (to E10) is an approved fuel, this can be used in the Tecnams for all walks of flight - flying training et al.The O-200D in the C162 will be a 100LL burner if I remember correctly .

[G-BLEW]

As ever, I stand to be corrected if someone knows more than I. Mr Seager care to comment?

Sounds about right, but it is a moving target. The last time I managed to pin anyone down...

1. Current Euro LSAs operating on an EASA permit can't be used for flight training
2. When the RTC finally arrives (promised many times by many people, including EASA) some of the current permit LSAs may need some work in order to get an RTC. Some may need to go down the production line again.
3. In the US, LSA pilots enjoy different (easier) medical requirements. Euroland does not.
4. I can't see why you can't use an LSA and foggles to train for an IMC rating (if suitably equipped, and when training becomes possible).

Ian

[Dave Phillips]

Oh, and we'll being doing MOGAS by the New Year.

[H.Fuchs]

Tecnam P2008 is more expensive than Cessna 162. It just looks like a composite smaller Cessna 177.

[aerofurb]

The P2008 has a composite fuselage but metal wings and stabilator.

Final price depends on the equipment installed (USA ones have dual SkyViews etc etc) and in the UK it will be available as a VLA rather than a Euro LSA so cleared for training/hire.

And it has a Rotax not an old rehashed aero engine in the nose...!

[Paul_Sengupta]

My Bulldog has a skyview. Look up and you can see sky...

Though very occasionally when you look up you see ground...