The Tecnam P Mentor… Nothing Like It!

In Flight’s June 2023 Issue

By Ed Downs

Are you planning to visit AirVenture this year? Maybe you picked up this issue of In Flight USA at the AirVenture media center and are already stalking the bevy of goodies, gadgets, and new airplanes. No matter the timing, a must stop is the Tecnam Pavilion, located at Display 247. An airplane awaits you that is like no other, the new two place Tecnam P-Mentor. “Hey, wait a minute,” you might be thinking, “you want me to use time and walking endurance to look over another little two-place plane, which is foreign made and, by its name, dedicated to training?” Your argument continues, “Shucks, the Super Wonder Plane Mark 5 is just down the road and I hear they are passing out lollypops.” And then the killer question, “So what is new about another two-place trainer made in a foreign country?”

Is this writer a mind reader? Nope, just a guy who has manufactured and displayed planes at AirVenture for many years. I have heard these words many times. But this time, those words are wrong… really wrong! Let’s talk a bit about Tecnam. Tecnam is an Italian aircraft manufacturer with a global network of dealers and service centers that will be celebrating its 75th anniversary at this year’s EAA AirVenture. Don’t miss the party! The company produces light (and some not so light) general aviation, next-generation, piston aircraft with two to 11 seats for commercial operators, special missions, flight schools and private owners.

Tecnam’s roots go back to the Italian brothers, Luigi, and Giovanni Pascale, who began to develop and produce innovative aircraft soon after the end of WWII. Since those early beginnings, the Pascale family has continued to create original designs, first gaining worldwide recognition under the name Partenavia, which translates as, “Naples Aviation.” Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam was established in March 1986 and now operates in two production facilities. The Casoria facility is located adjacent to Naples’ Capodichino International Airport, while the main factory is next to the “Oreste Salomone” Airport in Capua. David Copeland, North America Sales Director for Tecnam U.S., is shepherding an expansion of Tecnam representatives from shore to shore with updates regarding dealer expansion available at https://www.tecnam.com/category/tecnam-in-the-news/. David can be reached at d.copeland@tecnam.com.  

This is a serious expansion of Tecnam’s presence in the U.S. The P-Mentor is not a “foreign” airplane, it is an international airplane, complying with globally accepted FAA (new and tough FAR Part 23 requirements) and EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) standards. Take it from this writer, who has worked aircraft certification in more than 30 countries, the P-Mentor, and all Tecnam aircraft meet and exceed any standards that a world of bureaucrats can think up.

Okay, so you are walking towards the Tecnam display, ready to give the P-Mentor a few moments of your time. Having shown aircraft at AirVenture, this writer has seen the typical “looky-loo” head straight for the cockpit to gawk at all the fancy clocks and dials, while their kids practice chin-ups on the pitot tube. The P-Mentor deserves better. Just soak up the sheer beauty of the P-Mentor. Note the lines of the fuselage flowing smoothly into a beautifully proportioned tail section. The popular European “olive with a toothpick” look is nowhere to be seen. See the sliding canopy and the tapered, laminar flow wing (think P-51 Mustang). Notice the full flying tailplane, insuring precise pitch control and a solid trim system. The wide stance landing gear insures easy ground handling, with a castering nosewheel making tight turns on the ground a snap. No weird pumps in the cowling, just a smooth flow into the MTV-21A composite, constant speed propeller. All structural joints are seamless. When combined with a paint scheme designed in the finest Italian tradition, you end up with a plane that rivals the legendary look of a ballerina, not unlike the famed Supermarine Spitfire.

From ten feet back, it is hard to discern what the P-Mentor is of. Is it aluminum, composite, welded truss? The short answer is “yes,” all of the above. Tecnam utilizes the same engineering and construction protocols we typically see only in the “big guys,” like Boeing and Airbus. A combination of materials are used. The main load bearing wing box structure is aluminum, which also contains integrated fuel tanks, holding a whopping 37 gallons (35 usable) of av-gas or auto fuel. The leading edge (more like the front third of the wing) is constructed of a CFRP material (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic). The same material is used to “skin” the fuselage, with the load bearing cabin area being constructed of welded steel tube. The aft fuselage is a light alloy truss. Flight controls and flaps (which extend over 75 percent of the total wingspan) are aluminum. This combination keeps the empty weight down (for a fully equipped IFR airplane) to just 960 pounds. Given a max gross weight of 1,587 pounds, you get a useful load of 627 pounds. Going a step further, let’s fill the tanks (37 gallons at 222 pounds) and you are left with a payload of 405 pounds, enough for 400 pounds of student and instructor to fly for around seven hours, equivalent to about 825 nautical miles. For personal use, let’s load in a 190-pound guy with a 140-pound significant other and you can max out the large 66-pound baggage compartment (with payload left over) for a great weekend trip. How about a weekend round trip flight from the Los Angeles area to California’s wine country, about 2 hours, 45 minutes each way in the P-Mentor, without having to refuel. Try this math on some of the fully quipped IFR four-place planes on display at the show. You may be surprised!

How is such capability made possible? Under that slick cowling, is the Rotax 912 iSc3 engine, specifically adapted to the P-Mentor. With a 2,000-hour TBO, this 100 hp, fuel injected engine features the latest electronic ignition technology, a dual alternator and fuel pump system, making it specifically certified for IFR operation. To Lycoming and Continental fans, the max rated 5,800 rpm and max continuous 5,500 rpm is a bit unusual, but the prop is geared down for maximum efficiency and noise reductions. At take-off power, the prop is only turning 2,386 rpm and at max continuous, just 2,263 rpm. This optimizes the long blades of the MTV-12A constant speed prop for maximum fuel efficiency. This writer has thousands of hours behind Rotax 912/914 series engines and loves the high torque, rapid acceleration, high altitude performance and reliability of these technologically advanced power plants.

Finally, time to look in the cabin. First impression… luxury, like nothing you have ever seen in a two-place plane. The look and feel are that of a luxury automobile (an Italian super car, of course!). Note the control stick…yes… like an airplane should have. When seated, your arm is resting in your lap, the stick “falls to hand.” Extremely comfortable! You may not recognize it, but the controls on the stick are ergonomically fashioned after an F16, intuitive and easy to operate.

Of course, you have now picked up on the “panel,” or perhaps we should call it the “flight deck.” To quote Tecnam’s description of the avionics suite (we used to call that the “radio stack”) “the P-Mentor offers as standard equipment the state-of-the-art Garmin G3X glass cockpit, with Garmin GI275 as back-up instrument and multiple configurations to allow PBN/RNAV, as well as the GFCTM 500 autopilot. Simulated retractable gear control for enhanced students’ proficiency starting with their first flight is available as an option.” Even at a first glance, the entire extra wide cabin, aircraft flight management systems and annunciator panels look nothing like the 30- to 60-year-old designs that have a lot of fancy stuff crammed into them. The P-Mentor is designed around the most advanced technology available and meets the legal (per the FAR’s) definition of a Technically Advance Aircraft (TAA). Add the simulated landing gear retraction system, and the P-Mentor also becomes a legally defined “complex airplane.”

We are now talking about a two-place airplane that is specifically certified to be used for private, commercial and IFR training. The concept of the TAA airplane is now a part of written exams, and even a private pilot must know what such a plane is. It is a great deal more than just a radio stack and autopilot. The entire aircraft electrical system must have sophisticated back up capabilities, as well as dual fuel pumps and other system backups. While teaching a class, this writer has often helped new students understand what “TAA” means by simply saying “like a Cirrus.” Great, I have just referred a new pilot to a $1.5+M dollar airplane, perhaps a bit hard to relate to. No more, this CFI will now say, “look up the P-Mentor.” While not cheap at about $370K, the P-Mentor’s performance and capabilities match that of aircraft costing up to five times more… and it runs on auto fuel! Listen up flight schools, at between one-third to one-fifth the purchase price of planes now being used in training, you can cut operating cost by two thirds (and harmful emissions by 60 percent). Now, the P-Mentor can take the new airline pilot wannabe from a Private certificate all the way to a lifetime career. Reminder, don’ forget that the Tecnam P2006T is a terrific multiengine trainer, using Rotax power. Quite a team, eh?

So, what is it like to fly the P-Mentor? First, make sure you are well trained on the operating systems and alert lights. This is a sophisticated airplane and does require that the pilot be properly trained. Students who learn to fly in the P-Mentor will be well versed in the concept of systems and resource management. Solid and stable for those long cross-countries or hand-flown Category 1 instrument approaches, the P-Mentor’s sophisticated auto flight control system can also “manage” the approach. But cut loose and hand fly for fun. You have unparalleled visibility out of the canopy, a sense of “sitting on air.” With a gross weight service ceiling of 13,000 feet, coast-to-coast cross-country is not only doable, but fun. Depending upon altitude and power setting, expect cruise speeds of about 115 knots using fuel flows as low as 3.7 gph, avgas or auto fuel. This pilot feels that a 2,000 foot runway will get you in and out, over a 50-foot obstacle with room to spare. It does not take long for the high torque Rotax to reach the rotation speed of 53 knots and the obstacle clearance speed of just 56 knots with flaps in the takeoff positions. Just rotate and hold pitch until the obstacle is cleared. With landing flaps, the recommended approach speed is 58 knots. VSO is only 44 knots with gentle stall characteristics in keeping with new certification regulations. While a BRS is available, it is not required, as in some designs, to accommodate worrisome stall behavior. The bottom line: fun, cool and techy, all at the same time.

So, back to your “two-place bias.” The P-Mentor is not a low-wing Cessna 152 or slicked up Cherokee 140. It is not a two-place Grumman or Citabria. Let go of those icons of aviation. Forget the late 1940’s, when every manufacturer was cranking out two-place trainers. The P-Mentor is not just a cool airplane with nice avionics, it is an entirely new class of airplane specifically designed to take advantage of the best technology offered by the 21st century. So, walk by that “Super Wonder Plane Mark 5” and skip on over to Tecnam’s display 247. Just don’t let the kids do chin-ups on the pitot tube.