Tecnam P2012 Is A Game Changer For Commercial Travel 

Yh no Its an islander mixed with a 402

i also have over 5000 in the BN2P with alot of it bush time and what i can say itz just modernized Bn

I wonder if there is a low drag option for the fixed (as in wheel spats)??

No retracts are planned

It won't be. It's a solution without a problem. There is no situation where this is superior to more closely classed turbines and turboprops, most specifically the Vision, the Hondajet, and and the Phenom 100, just off the top of my head. They are a bit more expensive, but have better hourly costs.

Exactly

turbine would use more fuel and require bigger tanks. More fuel means less passengers and lower income for commercial operators.

@@lardal1502 I think it depends on the application. As a mission I tend to think about taking non-paying passengers/friends somewhere within low hundreds to a few thousand miles max, maybe 4-12 people plus baggage. So “decent speed/range given that weight.” My mission doesn’t really require it to be hyper competitive commercially but if I was doing cargo for hire that might be a different story.

I agree. I read a test article on this plane. Apparently maximum cruise is 84% power and burns over 60 gph total. 50 gph total nets you about 170kts or so. Very much in the same range as a turbine Kodiak for example. That said, I am sure Cape Air knows their operations to the most excruciating detail and stayed with pistons and avgas for good reason.

@@randallkelley3600 Higher maintenance costs given the short hop, high frequency service that Cape Air would subject these to. A number of them are going to be doing the 30 mile HYA-ACK run 10-14 times a day each way. That's a lot of cycles to put on a turboprop engine.

The strangest version is the Trilslander , what a trippy looking thing, Its like its trying to be an MD11.

This airplane reminds me of a twin otter

This has the same, or even longer, takeoff and landing distance as other comparable aircraft in its weight class. It's really not an impressive plane when you look at the competition.

@@julianbrelsford Like a mini Otter that costs a lot less.

Cape Air would disagree. The plane was designed really for them.

In appearance it definitely has some things in common with the Twin Otter and its larger derivatives, the Dash 7 and later the Dash 8.

used Cessna 208 Caravan for the half price

@@renatoigmed would pick the 208. Although, this aircraft does look sweet

1/2 a mil for the panel! :(

Markus, I thought much of the same at first glance. I then researched the origins of the aircraft and its intended mission. Cape Air a small part 121 Airline based in the US is the largest customer of the 2012 and the catalyst for many of the design features. They are trying to replace their fleet of (around 80) Cessna 402C. Cape air flies mainly short flights out of smaller airports feeding larger ones, Island hopping and Point to point flight between tourist destinations. They approached Cessna about a new aircraft, but they weren't really interested. From talking to a Cape Air pilot, they wanted to keep 2 engines (Redundancy) and the low fuel burn (especially at lower altitudes) provided by the 402s Piston engines The 2012 is equipped with the latest FADEC controlled Lycoming engine. They also simplified many systems in order to keep maintenance and cost to minimum: Fixed gear, Simple flight controls, TKS Icing vs Boots, etc. Im sure Cape Air did not pay 3 million per aircraft, and to other small commercial operators the twin engine, low fuel burn, and simple systems might outweigh the price, range and payload factors. I have some time flying a caravan and it would be hard for me to buy a 2012 over that, but depending on ones mission I could see an argument. Cheers

@@wncav8er thanks a lot for this input. Yes - I have followed Cape Air for a while and aware. If they mandated a twin - that's all that's needed. Its a big price to pay but so long as they paid a lot less than the $3m unit price, it would make sense if support is sufficient. I'll go check out the DOCs between the 3 models...especially fuel flow. I just remembered that the US limits the Grand Caravan to 9 pax so my argument about more pax is moot. I live overseas and the limit is 12 pax here for a grand caravan... cheers to you !

How many cost 3 million brand new?

The single door on a Piper as told told to me in the 70s (I was young) was for the strength of the airframe.

That is what I thought also.

Good point. It seems like its a lot of money for a plane that can't go that fast. But then it might being aimed at the short hop tourist markets in places like Africa, Asia and the Pacific, where a less technical plane might be a damn sight easier to operate, maintain, get pilots for, etc.

It was designed and engineered according to Cape Air's requirements and specifications for the US market. I heard that a turboprop version is under study for the rest of the world where avgas is difficult or impossible to find. The Pilatus, Kodiak and Caravan are designed with a different target in mind and are single engines, the P2012 is meant to replace the Cessna 402 at Cape Air.

Smaller airport to airport [Airfield] runs - yes. But nowadays with the risk of small arms fire, RPGs etc: you need a good ceiling. You would also need good weather mostly to operate it. With 9 pax, it would have to be a "premium" service commercially: Kaduna to Abuja return, Kano to Abuja return etc. Abuja to Makurdi or Otukpo... Lagos to Ibadan, or Lagos Ilorin etc... With the range of the aircraft: it can do much longer flights even Lagos to Abuja - but it would NOT be a comfortable prospect. Long [2+ hours], turbulent etc...

@@Yman83464z I thought you were joking about the RPGs took a hot second to realize your seriousness

@@josephc.9520 Parts of Nigeria are under some "bandit"/ Terrorist pressure: these are gangs of terrorists, some of who are linked to Boko Haram, and other extremist groups - as well as gangs of cattle rustlers and many gangs who have gone into kidnapping. They are quite heavily armed: a lot of small arms and RPG from looted warehouses in Libya have trickled down to Nigeria now...

Probably wanted to appeal to the missionaries who need simplicity and lower operating costs. A larger market to sell more planes to.

Cape Air asked for fixed gear on this machine.

3milly

@@stormworks4882 Yikes! I'll stick with a Twin Otter.

It is. And slower than our 402s. And can't carry as much. It does have nice avionics..🙄

Except it's a million more than the Vision Jet. Completely different missions.

@@tomboard1 The G2 variant of Vision Jet was $2.85 million in the second quarter of 2021.