Tecnam unveiled its new P-Mentor flight training aircraft this week, with plans to make its public debut later this month at a general aviation trade show in Germany. (Photo courtesy of Tecnam)
Capua, Italy-based general aviation aircraft maker Tecnam has unveiled its new flight training single piston-engine P-Mentor that will make its global debut during Germany’s AERO Friedrichshafen trade show later this month.
The two-seater P-Mentor aircraft received its European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) CS-23 type certification on April 7, and it is capable of training student pilots from their first flight up to instrument training. P-Mentor has a range of 730 nautical miles (nm), with a max cruise speed of 117 kts.
Inside the cockpit of the P-Mentor is Garmin’s G3X, with Garmin GI275 as a backup instrument and multiple configurations to allow performance based navigation (PBN) as well as GFCTM 500 autopilot training. G3X consists of two touchscreen displays, standard synthetic vision, and the company’s built-in built-in “Connext” technology for wireless flight plan transfers.
The P-Mentor’s cockpit features Garmin’s G3X avionics system. (Photo courtesy of Tecnam)
Additional design features on the new P-Mentor include an all-new wing and a “tapered planform with laminar flow airfoil and mixed structure; light alloy for spars and wing box, CFRP for the one-piece leading edge,” according to Tecnam.
“I am sure this new design will revitalize the Trainer market, helping many flight schools to remain competitive and profitable and making new student pilots happier and more proficient. Real sustainability, fuel economy, and profitability start here,” Tecnam’s Managing Director, Giovanni Pascale, said in a statement.
(Photo courtesy of Tecnam)
Tecnam claims that the P-Mentor saves “up to 10 tons of CO2 for every graduated Commercial Pilot” that the aircraft provides flight training for.