Clear of Cloud

Tecnam Sierra Retractable

I browsed over the Tecnam site for the umpteenth time last night .... mmm lovely airplanes.

It seems they've just launched the "Ultralight" of their existing P2002-JR.  As far as I can follow the, JR designation means that it's JAR Certified (J) and retractable undercarriage (R). The non-certified aircraft get names instead of the JR or JF designator.  So for example

P2002-JR Pascale designed, originally launched in 2002 JAR certified and Retractable
P2002-JF Pascale designed, originally launched in 2002 JAR certified and Fixed gear

What has just been launched is the non-certified version of the P2002-JR the P2002 Sierra RG and it looks good.   The Tecnam website refers to this as an "Ultralight"  but I can't seem to find a suitable explanation of this category since the JAR Microlight classification calls for a 450kg maximum take-off weight (MTOW) and the Sierra/2002JR has an MTOW of 580kg.  In the US the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category allows for aircraft of up to 649kg.  So maybe it's aimed at the US, where Tecnam already has a good share of the LSA market. But wait a minute - the Sierra RG has a variable-pitch propeller which isn't permitted on an LSA airplane.

The one regime under which I do know where you can operate a non-certified aircraft like this is as a Kitbuilt or Experimental aircraft.  In these parts of the world that means under the auspices of SAAC or th PFA in the UK.  I wonder how long it will take the UK distributor of the Sierra kit to get the Sierra RG PFA approved or are there even any plans to.

The RV-12: My Future Project?

It looks like Van's LSA aeroplane is well on it's way.  It looks like there may be a slight technology shift happening at the world's most popular kit plane manufacturer.  Van's has always advocated traditional aircraft engines and even the build techniques have used good old-fashioned riveted aluminium.  Van's latest prototype, the RV-12, has seen a bit of a departure from tradition.

For a start, and this is somewhat trivial, the name is slightly different - Van's tricycle gear aircraft have had an "A" designator.  Except for the RV-10.  I guess we can take it that there are no plans for a taildragging RV-12.  A more substantive departure is the RV-12's powerplant.  Instead of the usual Lycoming, this fledgling is powered by a Rotax 912S.  Compared to Lycoming, Rotax is the new kid on the block - though the Rotax is powering thousands of aircraft, and has been for some time now.

The build techniques differ too.  Since the LSA requirements in the US stipulate a top speed of 120knots - flush riveting doesn't really offer much advantages.  With this in mind Vans are opting to build with pulled rivets.  This will simplify the build as there's no need for the dimpling and bucking usually associated with solid rivet RVs.

For the first time, Vans has opted to fit the prototype with 2 EFIS display: one from Dynon and one from Advanced Flight Systems. Vans have said that they're their for a side-by-side comparison.  Does this mean, I wonder, that Vans are planning to offer one or the other as an option when the kit finally goes on sale?

Another new development from Van's is web-based.  With the RV-12 we're not just getting still images, Vans decided to treat us to a video of the first flight.  You can watch it here courtesy of YouTube.  I like the way things are moving over at Van's and the RV-12 could well be my future build project.  But hey, that's another posting altogether.

PS: I do hope they go with the removable wings ideas that they're playing with.