In 1979 alone, U.S. manufacturers delivered 2,843 piston twins, the high watermark for the decade, during which American plane makers never delivered fewer than 1,000 piston twins in any given year. 

The reason was not just that these planes offered the security of a second engine, though that was their primary selling point. Other big draws were combinations of a twin’s often-higher speeds, greater hauling capacity and larger cabin. 

One can debate the safety merits of twin-engine light aircraft vis-à-vis single-engine models endlessly, and just such a debate has, indeed, been ongoing in our community for the better part of a century. But for much of the earlier part of that conversation, there were a few assumptions about twins that were later called into question. 

The first is that big one, that twins are safer, an assumption called into question back in the 1970s by a few somewhat informal studies that concluded that twin-engine safety was largely a myth. The reason was hiding in plain sight. With a single-engine airplane, when an engine (the only one) quits, you’re going to land somewhere, somehow. But in a twin, the argument has always gone, you get to keep on flying. Unfortunately, that has not always led to brochure-worthy outcomes. The loss of an engine in a twin is especially dangerous when the engine goes on takeoff or climb out. If not handled quickly and properly, these engine failures usually result in an unsurvivable rolling crash into terrain or airport buildings. 

That’s why so much of the initial and recurrent training we do in twin-engine aircraft is with one engine caged. Twin-engine pilots need to learn how to respond to such emergencies by second nature because the time it takes to think things through when your twin loses an engine at low altitude is usually not fast enough to survive the failure. 

So, the argument goes, given that singles don’t have such a critical failure mode, and given that relatively few fatal accidents are caused by the loss of the single’s one powerplant, one’s odds might just be better in a single than in a twin, at least in that regard. Then again, the counterargument goes, all of the engine failures in twins that result in a safe landing somewhere never make it into the accident statistics, so the lives saved by that second engine are certainly greater than we know or have ever known. 

Many of today’s twin-engine aircraft, however, are safer in design in a number of ways from earlier models. Counter-rotating props eliminate the problem of one of the engines being more dangerous to lose than the other. Some new models feature full digital authority engine control (FADEC) and will automatically feather the prop (align the blades with the airflow for minimum drag on the dead engine). And all new-production twins feature more crashworthy structures than were required in the glory days, so some crashes are more survivable today. 

There are, as you are doubtless aware, fewer than 10 twin-engine models in current production, some of those built in very small numbers. Piper did not sell any of its once-popular Seneca models last year, and Beech sold 15 Barons. Worldwide, twins accounted for fewer than 100 sales, and that has been the case for nearly 20 years now. 

Twins still have their fans. Buyers of Beech Baron G58s and Diamond Aircraft DA-62s are shelling out well over a million for one of these gems, and they do so not only because they believe in the additional redundancy, performance and utility these planes offer, but also at least in part because multi-engine aircraft ownership still carries with it a level of status on an altogether different plane. 

—Isabel Goyer

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The post Our 2021 Roundup Of Light Twin Aircraft appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

For reasons that are both easy to understand and completely counterintuitive, the four-seat, piston-powered airplane has, for decades, dominated the GA marketplace. And it continues to do so, even though the number of pilots who buy these planes as a transportation tool has slowed dramatically, mostly in lock step with the slowing of the overall GA piston market. The tens of thousands of personal planes sold every year in the ’60s and ’70s, the true heyday of flying in the United States, has turned into fewer than a thousand planes in a good year, and the two dozen or more available models have shrunk to just a handful.

That four-seaters should be the prototypical GA ride makes sense to pilots—but to few others. Considering that most flights go out with one or two occupants (including the pilot), it seems a two-seat alternative would make sense. I’ve thought so for years, but the market was never developed for such a runabout. This is surprising because two-seat planes, like the Van’s RV series, dominate the kitbuilt market and have for decades. Not so in the Part 23 world.

Last year, GA manufacturers worldwide turned out 1,139 piston-powered planes. In the US, manufacturers of piston planes delivered 829, including 771 singles. Of those singles, 380 of them were Cirrus SR22s or SR20s, and 160 of them were Cessna Skylanes, Skyhawks or TTx (a single delivery).

For its part, Piper Aircraft delivered 114 four-seaters in 2018. So those three manufacturers—Cessna, Cirrus and Piper—accounted for all but 87 of the piston singles sold. Sales of six-seat (or larger) piston planes need to be factored in, as well. Piper sold 20 M350s (formerly the Mirage) and Beech handed over 15 G36s.

Internationally, it doesn’t get any more crowded. The top seller among other companies was the Diamond DA40, with an impressive (but still modest by historic standards) 45 deliveries. The bottom line is that recent sales of four-seat models are scant, and those sales are dominated by a few companies.

Moreover, the profile of the customers putting cash on the cowling for four-seat planes has shifted tremendously, as well. In the ’60s and ’70s, though it’s hard to come up with firm numbers, most four-seat piston planes were marketed and sold to private owners. That still happens in some instances, especially in the case of Cirrus Aircraft, which targets affluent pilots looking for high-tech personal transportation. The two other major players, the Textron Aviation Cessna Skyhawk and the Piper Aircraft Archer, are overwhelmingly sold to flight schools.

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There have been a couple of departures from our last roundup of four-seat planes. Textron Aviation pulled the plug on the critically acclaimed but slow-selling TTx (formerly the Columbia, among other names), and it ended production of its problematic diesel-powered 172 JT-A. Piper announced this spring that it was no longer producing its four-seat retractable landing gear Arrow model, though the company acknowledged that it could and likely would restart production if a substantial fleet order materialized.

Another major change in the marketplace is the drying up of the piston-single retractable gear market. Beech sold 15 Bonanzas, and Mooney sold seven each of its Ovation Ultra and Acclaim Ultra, and that was about it. There are a couple of emerging retractable-gear models. The Pipistrel Panthera has been inching toward certification for a few years now—is this the year it gets it done? —and Diamond’s exciting DA50 retractable-gear single is looking as though it might get the company’s attention after sitting on the back burner for the past several years. Both planes are included at the end of this roundup as being on the horizon, thought if you’ve been in aviation very long, you know that the horizon is usually much farther away than it looks.

The other big wild card in this whole four-seat equation is the Part 23 rewrite—I guess we’ll have to come up with another term that now it’s been rewritten. These liberalized certification standards have been adopted but not put into practice much. As such, the new FAA standards will allow manufacturers to wrangle approval for their light planes by using industry consensus standards, much the same way as it’s done in the LSA world but with more FAA oversight. Will these changes result in more Part 23 four-seaters (or any other type, for that matter)? We’re just not sure. But in the LSA segment, this certification approach has resulted in an impressive number of new designs.

Lastly, there remain two big stumbling blocks for the return of the four-seat market to anything resembling its former glory. First, and most obvious to the consumer, is that these new planes are expensive, not just in dollar numbers, but even when adjusted for inflation and other factors. Second, the manufacturers aren’t getting rich on these planes, either. Everything they use to build these planes, including the labor, is more expensive, too.

One ray of hope is, ironically, the aging of the piston fleet. With the introduction by Garmin and a few others of game-changing avionics retrofit options for owners of older planes, which is a lot of us, there’s suddenly new life for these planes. That doesn’t mean they’re getting any younger though, just that they’re more useful to us for a while longer. But the truth is, the supply of decent used planes is shrinking, and they cost a lot to maintain.  There’s nothing we can do about either of those things.

There’s also the subject of electric power. The dream of having small planes that run on battery power is great, but it’s not happening anytime soon. Four-seat planes are about twice as heavy as two-seaters, and battery power doesn’t make much sense on two-seaters, yet. Until there are major breakthroughs in battery storage capacity and/or weight, electric flight will remain more science experiment than practical solution.

Some of the four-seaters that remain in production, however, are impressive examples of how new technology can successfully breathe life into great, old designs. Cessna’s high-wingers spring to mind. Others, like the Cirrus piston singles, are new airplanes, relatively speaking at least, and show that innovation can actually create new markets.

Click the button below to see our lineup of production Part 23 four-seat singles. Enjoy.

Cirrus SR22 G6/SR22T

Okay, the Cirrus SR22 isn’t really a four-seater—it’s a four-/five-seater, but we’ll allow it since the plane’s general configuration is identical to other recent Cirrus models, but with extra room inside to add a third, smaller backseat passenger. It’s a good thing we’re counting them, too, as the SR22 is the most-produced light plane in the world. It’s not the fastest piston single in the skies—that distinction belongs to the Mooney Acclaim Ultra, but the SR22 is the most technologically advanced model available, with its built-in whole-airplane recovery parachute system, optional known ice protection, excellent exterior lighting and much more. It’s also the bestselling single in the world once again, despite a steep price of around $900,000 with all the bells and whistles. The latest model, the SR22 G6, has the Garmin G1000 NXi avionics suite, which was rare when Cirrus launched its G6, but is now in just about every new model. NXi is great, but Cirrus takes it several steps further with its Perspective keyboard controller which, with practice, cuts down on pilot workload and eases operation. The SR22 is available in a normally aspirated or turbocharged version, though most buyers go with the turbo. That would be our call, too, as the blower allows the plane to achieve its best true airspeeds when you head up to the mid-teens, where we spend most of our time when we’re flying the plane.

Niche: Premium fixed-gear transportation plane.
Bragging Points: The chute, great styling, outstanding visibility and excellent cross-country performance, high style and excellent visibility.
Tradeoffs: Premium price point, control feel that leaves something to be desired, less-than-best-in-class speed.
Base Price: $539,900; $639,900
Price Typically Equipped: $950,000
Competitors: Mooney Acclaim Ultra, Mooney Ovation Ultra
Fun Fact: Cirrus offers trade-up programs for pilots looking to up their game in an SR22 and later transition to the SF50 Vision Jet.

Specs SR22; SR22T
Main Construction: Composite
Engine/HP: Continental IO-550-N/310 hp; Continental TSIO-550-K/315 hp
Propeller: Hartzell, 3-blade, composite, constant speed, 78 diameter; Hartzell, 3-blade, composite, constant speed, 78″ diameter
Avionics: Cirrus Perspective+ By Garmin (Garmin G1000 NXi)
Top Cruise Speed: 183 kts; 213 kts
Stall, Landing Configuration: 60 kts; 60 kts
Max Range: 1,118 nm; 1,021 nm
Max Takeoff Weight: 3,600 lbs.; 3,600 lbs.
Payload (full fuel): 798 lbs.; 716 lbs.
Useful Load: 1,330 lbs.; 1,248 lbs.
Takeoff/Landing Distance: 1,082 ft./1,178 ft. (groundroll); 1,517 ft./1,178 ft. (groundroll)

Mooney Acclaim Ultra

Mooney is back in business, and its latest models offer huge improvements in comfort and utility, while taking nothing off the eye-popping speed numbers. The Mooney Acclaim Ultra is different than previous Mooneys because it has two doors—one on each side. Construction is very similar to previous sheet-metal Mooneys, with the exception of the forward fuselage section being composite, which allowed the company to add a door and make both doors substantially larger than previous portals. As a bonus, the windows are also lower for better overall visibility. How fast is the Acclaim Ultra? As they say in Beantown, it’s wicked fast, to the tune of 240-plus knots fast. To get that speed, Mooney pairs its slick aerodynamics to a 310 hp turbocharged Continental TSIO-550. The Acclaim Ultra is now standard with the Garmin G1000 NXi, so owners can get all the latest avionics goodness. In all, the Acclaim Ultra is a four-seat single that’s faster than any other plane in its segment, has FIKI ice protection as an option and is more comfortable than ever.

Niche: Premium retractable-gear personal transportation plane.
Bragging Points: Best speed in the world, greatly improved interior, comfortable seats, tremendous range.
Tradeoffs: It’s smaller inside than an SR22 or TTx, and the gear adds complexity, weight and, down the road, maintenance.
Base Price: $769,000
Competitors: Cessna TTx, Cirrus SR22
Fun Fact: The Acclaim Ultra can trace its roots back to the original Al Mooney-designed M20 of 1955, with a wood wing. It’s come a long way since then, but it’s still built in Kerrville, Texas.

Specs
Main Construction: Composite
Engine/HP: Continental TSIO-550-G/280 hp
Propeller: Hartzell, 3-blade, metal, constant speed, 76″ diameter
Avionics: G1000 NXi
Top Cruise Speed: 242 kts
Stall, Landing Configuration: 56 kts
Max Range: 1,100nm (45-min. reserve, standard tanks)
Max Takeoff Weight: 3,368 lbs.
Payload (full fuel): 384 lbs.
Useful Load: 1,000 lbs.
Takeoff/Landing Distance: 2,100 ft./2,650 ft. (50 ft. obstacle)

Mooney Ovation Ultra

When Mooney got back into business several years ago now, Job One was to reinvigorate the lineup. In 2017, Mooney got FAA approval for its Acclaim Ultra, the turbocharged version of its slick airframe. The normally aspirated model, the Ovation Ultra, came next. The company got the thumbs up for that model last year. Like the Acclaim Ultra, the Ovation Ultra gets a fiberglass shell on the forward fuselage in place of the former sheet-metal outer shell. As on the Acclaim, this gave Mooney the ability to reimagine the forward shell, adding a pilot’s side door, enlarging and lowering the windows, all without adding additional weight. Like the Acclaim Ultra, the Ovation Ultra features the Garmin G1000 NXi avionics suite. Known icing protection is available, as is air conditioning. The big differentiator between Ovation and Acclaim is the powerplant. The Acclaim, designed to fly high, relies on better true airspeeds up there without losing horsepower for its best-in-class speed. The Ovation, on the other hand, accomplishes this with more power—310 hp compared to 280 hp for the Acclaim Ultra. It works great, too. The Ovation Ultra is the fastest normally aspirated production piston single, achieving just a couple of ticks short of 200 knots true. The model also boasts tremendous range, greater than 1,400 nm, and terrific climbing ability.

Niche: High-performance retractable-gear transportation plane
Bragging Points: Fastest non-turbo plane in its class. Top-notch avionics. 
Tradeoffs: Not as roomy as its fixed-gear competition. Does its best work at lower altitudes.
Base Price: $689,000
Competitors: Cirrus SR22, Mooney Acclaim Ultra
Fun Fact: Mooney delivered seven Ovation Ultras in 2018, the same number as for the Acclaim Ultra.

Specs
Main Construction: Metal with forward-fuselage composite skin
Engine/HP: Continental IO-550-G/310 hp
Propeller: Hartzell, 3-blade, metal, constant speed, 76″ diameter
Avionics: Garmin G1000 NXi
Top Cruise Speed: 197 kts
Stall, Landing Configuration: 59 kts
Max Range: 900 nm (45-minute reserve, standard tanks)
Max Takeoff Weight: 3,368 lbs.
Payload (full fuel): 514 lbs.
Useful Load: 1,130 lbs.
Takeoff/Landing Distance: 1,600 ft./2,500 ft. (50 ft. obstacle)

The post Four-Seat Piston Singles Round-Up appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

At Oshkosh AirVenture 2019 Ameravia director of sales Mike McMann had little but good news for reporters.

The four-seat high-wing piston single, which we flew and reported on in our May 2019 issue of Plane & Pilot, is a natural rival to the Cessna 172 and Piper PA-28. And at $278,000, it’s a relative bargain for flight schools looking for a good flying trainer to add to their fleets. Delaware State recently signed on for 10 V.1s and became a designated service center for the design, too.

Enjoy these photos of the night airshow and more from EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019!

The plane is getting better, too, with dozens of fit and finish and quality of life improvements as new models come off the line. One such enhancement is the redesign of the door latching mechanism and the addition of cup holders, improvements that many pilots wouldn’t notice but that add the general sense of quality of what we in our cover story already felt was a very solid design. Also available will be the Garmin G500 TXi, a big enhancement of Garmin’s already popular display solution.

McMann also announced that a new model, the twin-engine P68R Eco, which will be powered by twin Lycoming IO-360 engines with the Garmin G1000 cockpit. The plane, targeted at training organizations, is expected to cost somewhere in the mid-$800,000 range.

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The post EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019: Ameravia V.1 Enjoying Success; Plus, A New Model Coming appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

We’d lucked out. It was a gorgeous winter afternoon in Sebring, Florida, a comic book periwinkle sky, just an insinuation of wind, and, I imagined, the kind of visibility from up higher that would allow one to make out Vero Beach on the Atlantic coast and then, upon turning, spy Sarasota on the Gulf Coast on the other side of the famously flat peninsula. It was, in short, the kind of day that comes around too seldom in Florida in January, so when it does, you just have to go flying. And that was the plan.

Across the field there was, indeed, plenty of flying going on, aircraft strutting around the pattern in the daily flybys at the Sport Aviation Expo: a yellow gyroplane zooming down and rising back up and coming around to do it again (and again); a white and red tube and rag big tire machine on short final threatening to go into a full hover; and a little composite nose gear LSA demonstrating to the onlookers the opposite—that is, just how fast it really is, the LSA regs be damned. Regardless of what’s in the air, the backing soundtrack at Sebring is the same, auto racing, the late-model sports cars rounding the track with their Doppler growls and whines, Porsches, Jaguars and the occasional Italian job, a Ferrari, maybe a Lambo, as they ricochet their laps around the world-famous Sebring International Raceway.

As much fun as driving the track is, and it is, the view from a sports car pales in comparison to that from a plane, and I was the lucky one here because I was going flying. I would, in fact, be flying in a brand-new airplane, one that’s not really new at all but was new to me and is probably new to you, as well. That plane, the Ameravia Vulcanair V1.0 (words my spell-checker rejects one and all as if to underscore how unusual the plane is), is made in Italy and imported to the U.S., where distributor Ameravia outfits them and sells them. It hopes to sell a lot of them. I hoped to find out just how good a plane it was.

As we pulled up in the shuttle bus, the V1.0 (I wonder what owners will actually call it instead of the clunky designation) caught my eye, looking shiny and pretty on the temporary ramp on this far side of KSEB, a parking area created just for the airshow overflow, which, I guess, included us today.

Admittedly, the setting seemed inauspicious, and it was, but at the same time the V.1.0’s pedigree is just that, “inauspicious.” There are around 300 of the planes out in the field, many of them in Europe. That said, I learned long ago not to judge an airplane by its history. There are some really good airplanes that for one of a handful of really important reasons never made it big, and this might just be one of them.

Speaking of which, when I said the V1.0 wasn’t really a new airplane, I meant it’s really not new, as in, it’s been around in one form or another for 50 years. And neither is the company new—well, not really.

The post The Vulcanair Is The Not So ‘New’ Kid In Town appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Engine/HP: Lycoming IO-360-M1A/180 hp

Propeller: Hartzell, 2-blade, metal, constant speed, 74″ diameter

Avionics: Garmin G500

Top Cruise Speed: 130 kts

Stall, Landing Configuration: 51 kts

Max Range: 591 nm

Max Takeoff Weight: 2,546 lbs.

Payload (full fuel): 619 lbs.

Useful Load: 919 lbs.

Takeoff/Landing Distance: 1,608 ft./1,575 ft. (50 ft. Obstacle)

The post 2018 Vulcanair V1.0 appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Seats: 6

Main Construction: Metal

Engine/Hp: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6/200 hpeach

Propellers: Hartzell 2-blade, constant speed, 72″diameter

Avionics: Garmin G950

Top Cruise Speed: 168 kts (75% power)

Stall, Landing Configuration: 58kts

Maximum Range: 890nm

Maximum Takeoff Weight: 4,548 lbs.

Payload: 521 lbs.(full fuel)

Useful Load: 1,350 lbs.

Takeoff/Landing Distance (50-ft. Obstacle): 1,415/1,560 ft.

Takeoff/Landing Distance (Ground Roll):850/546 ft.

The post 2017 Vulcanair Vr appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Like a rock star of a certain age going back on the arena circuit, rumors of the return of the light twin formerly known as Partenavia—now the Vulcanair—have echoed around the domestic GA world for the better part of a decade. The Italian aircraft was a minor hit in the States back in the early ’90s, with its clear-nosed P68 Observer model favored by wildlife, law enforcement and other agencies for its utility and economy of operation. Then, it disappeared. Fans of the era hailed it as a multi-talented performer capable of taking on roles as a bush plane, cargo carrier, trainer, even executive transport. But that was more than 20 years ago. If a comeback materialized, would the Vulcanair still have what it takes to make it in the U.S. market?

A Star Returns
Word came just before this year’s Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In that the P68 would relaunch in America at the event, and Plane & Pilot was invited to meet the enduring star during its reintroduction.

Resembling a svelte Aero Commander, N610VC, a new P68Vr retractable, was on the ramp at LAL’s Landmark Aviation with Chris Benaiges of Miami-based Americana Aviation, Vulcanair’s U.S. distributor and also Flight Design’s Southeast U.S. and Caribbean rep. Benaiges and two senior partners—Javier Cervera (www.cervera.com), a successful real estate entrepreneur and longtime private pilot, and Tony Alvarez, a retired Eastern Airlines pilot with longtime aviation business interests—formed Americana in 2012, and the Vulcanair had been in their sights since then. “We felt it could serve in niche markets nobody’s touching,” he said.

The two 200 hp IO-360 Lycomings and the fat wings together produce a 1,500-pound useful load and a 160-knot cruise speed (retract) on 19 gallons per hour, combined with takeoff and landing rolls of about 800 and 700 feet, respectively.

The thick airfoil on the P68 series, the high-wing configuration and sturdy gear make the Vulcanair comfortable on unimproved fields. Benaiges admitted this retract version might not be the first choice among V-models for bush ops, “but there’s no reason not to do soft-field, gravel-field, off-road landings,” he said, as he led the walkaround. “The airplane is really designed for that purpose. The beefy gear has no issue with that.”

Given these attributes, the question may be not if there’s room in the light-twin market for this aircraft, but what went wrong the first time around?

The Italian Partenavia P68, first produced in 1972, was designed by Luigi Pascale, a professor at Naples University; it was a departure from his earlier fabric singles designed for the club market. Pascale’s company went through several ownership changes before Vulcanair, based in Casoria, Italy, bought the Partenavia’s type certificate, design rights and trademarks out of bankruptcy in the mid-1990s. Some 450 P68s are now operating worldwide, according to the manufacturer. But in the U.S., “Nobody’s touched the market since Vulcanair got the assets 20 years ago,” Benaiges said.

A well-stocked overhead panel and beefy power quadrant give the Vulcanair light twin the look of a larger multi.

The partners’ interest was sealed at Sun ‘n Fun 2014, where they checked out a new P68 en route to a buyer in Brazil. That July, the two companies, in discussions since 2013, signed their distribution agreement. (A previous effort by an Orlando-based company to bring the Vulcanair to the U.S. was unsuccessful.)

The Vulcanair—Outside In
Nothing on walkaround is new to anyone who has preflighted a standard high wing, except you’ll need a stepladder to check the oil, as well as the fuel. This Vulcanair, like others for export, is outfitted with auxiliary fuels tanks, providing the range needed for their transatlantic ferrying. Fuel transfers from the auxiliary tanks by gravity as the mains empty, whereas the Partenavia required a transfer pump.

The sponson-like gear housings over the undercarriage on the retractable Vulcanair give the fuselage a little added swagger.

A light under the wing abeam the cabin door automatically illuminates for up to two minutes when the door is opened—the time is adjustable. The Vr’s factory-made leather seats can be tailored to customer preferences through an “almost endless” choice of leathers and accessory fabrics, Benaiges said. They can be arranged in club configuration, like the demo aircraft, or rows. Bench seating is standard for the last row, but individual seats are available as an option, and any individual seat can be removed for extra space or carrying cargo.

P68s are also available in cargo configuration, with no seats aft of the cockpit (in standard configuration, the cargo area still holds 400 pounds), special mission operations featuring a workstation for intelligence gathering equipment and two seats for monitors, and a medevac interior for patient transport.

N610VC’s seats are two-tone light gray with a stitched Vulcanair logo, accented by dark-gray carpet with off-white sidewall paneling. Every seat position has overhead LED lighting and USB charger for mobile devices, and each cabin window a sliding curtain.

The Garmin avionics suite incorporates belly cameras that display gear position.

Pilot’s Viewpoint
A pilot door is standard on the Vr, the private entrance enhancing the feeling of command when taking the left seat. The cockpit is comfortable and well-laid out and features a Garmin G950 avionics suite. This is the first P68 in the U.S. equipped with a Garmin panel; French avionics manufacturer Sagem previously supplied the glass panelware, but Garmin will provide the panels for the U.S. market henceforth. Future iterations will also have a GFC 700 autopilot; the demo aircraft is equipped with an S-TEC.

The electrical panel and environmental controls are on the upper-left sidewall. In front, the instrument panel hosts a PFD facing the pilot, an MFD in the center with the audio panel set vertically between the screens and circuit breakers placed prominently before the right seat. Light switches are in front of the pilot along the panel bottom, gear handle and flap selector in the center, and autopilot, trim and additional system controls face the copilot’s position. Like the rest of the airplane, the cockpit uses LED lighting, and pilots can select blue, as well as red or white, for night operations.

The performance numbers and around-the-clock capability got me thinking of favorite wild destinations we could load up and be at in an hour or three—the Bahamas, the Yucatan, the Keys—but the Vulcanair had to be back here on display at LAL to meet its public when the show opened at 9 a.m., so we’d settle for an aerial reconnaissance of the islands of Tarpon Springs some 45 nm WNW.

Operating The Vulcanair
Private pilots may feel they’re flying an airplane above their grade level as they reach up to push the engine start button on the overhead panel. Other-wise, start-up is basic injected Lycoming times two, left side first. Following the respective starts, bring the generator/alternators online.

Operations in and out of Sun ‘n Fun are often an adventure, and on this morning, the announcement on frequency of an impending temporary airspace closure had us hustling to get underway. For taxiing, individual thrust controls combined with the differential braking give the Vulcanair exceptional ground maneuverability, capable of pivoting 360 degrees in place. We rolled onto 9L and lined up with one notch of flaps in and fuel pumps on. Benaiges talked me through the takeoff: Throttles are advanced full on a five-count. Lightly loaded, the Vulcanair accelerates briskly. Look for 65 to 70 knots and apply back pressure. Aim for an 80-knot climbout and retract the gear once a positive rate is established. The VSI tape should register 1,300 to 1,400 fpm at sea level. At 500 feet AGL, pitch down to a climb speed of about 105 knots for better visibility and an 800 to 900 fpm climb. Turn the fuel pumps off at 1,000 feet AGL. You can keep the same climb speed and performance up to about 8,500 msl in normally aspirated engines. Upon reaching altitude, max cruise power of 80% is about 23 squared. That was 1,500 feet for us as we headed toward the coast. On the way, Benaiges showcased the Vulcanair’s gear condition verification system: The MFD can display feeds from a pair of belly cams trained on the main and nose gear, providing visual evidence of their positions.

This was our first time over the Tarpons Springs coast. The string of isles, alternately primeval and condo-studded, seemed to reflect the raw and refined natures of the P68 itself.

Whether going into rough fields or hauling executives in comfort, the Vulcanair’s capabilities make it a welcome addition to the light-twin market.

On the way back toward LAL, we stay north of Tampa’s Class Bravo for air work. The Vulcanair has a familiar feel to anyone who has time in a high-wing Cessna. Visibility is excellent, particularly over the nose, even without the Plexiglas snout of the Observer.

Keeping 2,300 rpm, we pulled the throttles back to about 15.9 inches to check slow flight characteristics. The first notch of flaps (15 degrees) and the gear can be dropped at 135 knots, though we kept the gear up, despite the bleating gear horn. At 105 knots, the flaps can be dropped to 30 and 35 degrees. All the while, our speed was bleeding off, now bouncing between 60 and 65, just above minimum controllable airspeed (MCA) at our weight. Trimmed about two degrees nose up at 65 knots, we made shallow turns to the left and right, the Vulcanair maneuvering stably.

But most pilots are more concerned about a twin’s engine-out characteristics than slow flight handling. To simulate the an engine out, after throttling both up to cruise power, in lieu of feathering the prop, we simply pulled back to 500 rpm and idle power on the No. 1 (critical) engine. Flying at about 97 knots, rudder trim compensated for the asymmetric thrust, and turns in both directions, keeping about five degrees of bank into the operative engine, were again uneventful.

Time was also flying, and the Vulcanair’s faithful fans were doubtlessly starting to gather, so we called the tower and received clearance for the Sun ‘n Fun Warbird Arrival from the south, cutting considerable time off having to fly the standard Lake Parker Arrival. Benaiges briefed me on pattern speeds, manifold pressures and flap settings. The numbers underscore the twin’s docile nature: 90 to 100 knots on downwind, 80 to 85 on base and 75 to 80 on final. And of course, we’ve got the belly cams to confirm our gear is down. Given the performance, the characteristics and capabilities, and the thin competition in the light-twin market, I’m thinking this comeback could be bigger than the first time around.

But this is Sun ‘n Fun, and the tower announces without explanation that LAL is temporarily closed. We’re told to hold in present position, five miles south of the field, number two behind a Ford Tri-Motor in sight. Initial indications are it’s going to be at least half an hour. We pull back to 20 inches and fly lazy racetracks. We won’t be back on the ground before 9 a.m. Benaiges is a little concerned, but the Vulcanair is cool and calm. It has kept fans waiting for 20 years. What’s a few more minutes?

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Vulcanair P68Vr
SPECIFICATIONS
Basic price:	869,000
2 Engines:	Lycoming IO-360-A1B6 (200 hp)
Max Takeoff Weight (lbs.):	4548
Max Landing Weight (lbs.):	4321
Std. Empty Weight (std equipped with avg optionals , lbs.):	3198
Max Usable Fuel With Aux Tanks (gals.):	177
Number Of Seats:	6
Max Luggage Weight (lbs.):	400
Cruise Speed @75%, ISA, FL80 (KTAS):	168
Best Economy Cruise Speed @ 60%, FL90 (KTAS):	155
Service Ceiling 2 Engines:	20,000 ft
Service Ceiling 1 Engine:	5000 ft
Stall Speed, Full Flaps 35, MTOW (KTAS):	58
Max Endurance @ 55% power (with 30-min. reserves, ft.):	10,000
Long-Range Cruise (with 30-min. reserves, hrs.):	5.8

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