32 Flight Test STEVE HITCHEN Vulcanair’s Great Contender Italy’s Vulcanair has turned a 1960s designed into a modern four-seater focused on grabbing a share of the training market. Steve Hitchen got to experience this new challenger first-hand and found much to recommend.

essna’s C172 And now a new threat to were just hitting their straps. platform the 172’s flank has emerged Now in the hands of Vulcanair, has proven from the fervent aviation area the model is rising at a time when harder to kill around Naples in Italy: the flying academies the world over than Medusa. Vulcanair V1.0. Of conventional are looking to replace entire fleets Despite the rise construction from tail to spinner, and are finding the price tags of of new four-seat the V1.0 has a mountain of appeal like-for-like replacements harder singles the 172 for those who are wistful for the to come at. has managed to simplicity of the old Skyhawk, but In February this year, local hold its crown, out- want a few mod touches without agent AirItalia presented to me selling its closest rival, Diamond’s having to wear the price tag being the first V1.0 in Australia, VH- DA-40, by 33% between 2013 asked for most new four-place VOI, for evaluation. I found and 2017, and easily holding new singles today. Like the Cessna, it the aircraft to be an unfamiliar challengers such as the is an aircraft of the future that is model that was strangely familiar; P2010 at bay. However, 2018 rooted deeply in the past. different in so many ways, but delivered a change in fortunes. Ironically, the V1.0 is itself the similar in so many others. It Although the Skyhawk SP reincarnation of a 1960s design, makes sense when you think maintained its position, its having strong heritage back to the about it: taking on the best numbers of new aircraft, this supremacy in sales shrank to only Partenavia P.66 Oscar, which had trainers the world has ever known aircraft is about $100,000 less 17%, this time having to hold off moderate success in Italy at a time requires something just as good than a C172, which means over a a resurgent Piper Archer III. when the Skyhawk and Cherokee and just as flyable, yet offers a 10-aircraft order a saving of powerful reason for making $1 million. the change. “The other advantage is that “Flying schools are our target this aircraft is more durable market; it’s a fleet replacement and more utilitarian. It’s not aircraft,” AirItalia rep Charles aiming to capture the luxury Gunter told me. For flying schools market or pretending it has a who are contemplating significant luxury car interior. It’s a durable,

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MAIN: The 180-hp Lycoming with constant speed prop gives rugged training aircraft and very also has a very short dorsal fin of average altitude, I found I could the V1.0 a best rate of climb of conventional in every respect.” compared with the C172, and the stand under the wing and stretch 900 fpm at sea level. Well, perhaps not quite every vertical stabiliser is more upright. myself up onto my toes without LEFT: There’s a lot of there, respect. But these are nuances, the my hard head putting dings in and just like the C172s of old, you’re biggest difference is that the the wing skin. Great for rainy-day unlikely to need the last stage. Walking around wing struts on VOI are anchored waiting around or keeping the UV FAR LEFT: Access to Row 2 is via From an overall point of view, the behind the front door. This rays at bay. a dedicated door hinged behind V1.0 is an all-metal, high-wing, enables the doors to open all the Tucked away under the nose the wing strut. strutted, single-engined aeroplane way, making entry to the cockpit cowl is a 180-hp Lycoming IO- with a tricycle undercart and almost effortless. Speaking of 360-M1A motor swinging a two- powered by a 180-hp engine. doors: there are three of them. bladed Hartzell CSU propeller. gives significant take-off and Sound like a familiar description? The back seat has its own door, This is another departure from climb performance advantages The temptation to describe the which is reminiscent of another the C172 formula and accounts over a C172. It’s really quite Vulcanair as a C172 clone is type recently emerged from the for much of the performance easily managed and in fact we’re quashed once you look much closer. Naples area: the Tecnam P2010. advantage the V1.0 has. Rumours recommending that 2500 RPM The V1.0 has a distinctive The undercart is your basic of a fixed-pitch version becoming be used on downwind. In that shape that sets it apart from its tricycle with a steerable nosewheel available in the next year or configuration we’re finding the main rival. The flat cockpit sides and the mains hung on flat plate so are apparently not without aircraft will perform even if don’t start tapering until they are steel springs, something Cessna foundation. the pilot forgets to set the pitch past the of the wing, abandoned in the early 1970s. “This is a CPL-ready aircraft,” control to full fine, which can the nose is flatter and the wing One feature personally very Gunter told me during the walk- happen. The pilot can go to full is of the slab variety and shorter likeable for me is the height of the around. “It’s not difficult to MAP at 2500 RPM without any than the Cessna. The Vulcanair wing from the ground. As a pilot TAS at 130 knots and the CSU issues whatsoever.”

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back to my ab initio days learning on a C150, where the tacho was in front of the instructor. Thankfully, Vulcanair’s designers included an LCD MAP and RPM repeater at the very top of the panel centre, so I defaulted to using that instead of looking over LEFT: The V1.0 to the 930. has a functional My right hand had no problems cockpit with no- reaching all the controls on the nonsense trim, but up-to-the-minute centre console, so it was easy to G500 avionics. set the power, pitch and mixture without having to stretch. The BELOW: The wing shape is very flap lever is above the centre reminiscent of the console and guarded on both side. slab-style used on The flap indicator is interesting; early Pipers. a full circular dial that works clockwise from the 8 o’clock position. This meant that when I selected flaps down, the indicator initially went upwards. Inside the box All masters are situated left of When I first sank into the left the yoke (and out of the way of seat of VOI I immediately became errant fingers) and the lights, pitot aware that the seating position was and stall warning heats switches something very different. Rather are just to the right. than sitting in front of the yoke, In all, the V1.0 cockpit is I felt I was sitting under it. It was functional and workmanlike. It’s not quite the Grand-Prix position not pretty nor swank, but when of some of today’s Light Sport you’re learning to fly an aeroplane, Aircraft, but it was definitely the trims and appointments in the lower than the Cessnas and Pipers cockpit are not what you should be the Vulcanair is aspiring to take focusing on anyway. market share from. The yoke itself is bigger than you’d expect and has the horns tilted upward and inward. It become apparent very looking for something that will “Vulcanair’s interior soon that this shape is all about take all the beatings your students designers have clearly opted clearance from the pilots knees. are likely to hand your aeroplane The other interesting thing is over a number of years, there is a for function over form” the design of the pedals. lot for you in the V1.0. With your heels flat on the floor, “The aeroplane has had a you can’t actually reach the toe significant makeover in terms of MFD right in front of the pilot, Getting going brakes. To activate them, you the avionics,” Gunter said as he with the radio panel occupied by Starting the V1.0’s Lycoming is have to positively lift your feet showed me around the cockpit. a Garmin autopilot, GTN 650 done slightly differently from a and press down with your toes. “It is a complete glass cockpit, navigator and Garmin radio. standard procedure, but those This will prevent students from however, it’s quite different to Above the stack is a back-up who have flown an Arrow will applying a bit of brake when they a G1000 arrangement, which digital artificial horizon and find it strangely familiar. Master

taxi, or worse, when they are can be quite overwhelming to speed and altitude tapes. VOI on BAT only, switches to both, touching down or taking off. a pilot introduced to it for the also has an EDM 930 engine fuel pump on, mixture to rich Vulcanair’s interior designers first time. The G500 puts the management system sitting in until the flow stabilises then to have clearly opted for function primary flight display [PFD] front of the right seat, which idle cut-off. Crank the starter over form; the cockpit is logically and the multi function display accounts for all the other round until the engine tries to fire then laid out and everything works [MFD] in front of you and then dials missing from this panel, advance the mixture to rich again. with the minimum of fuss. If the other instruments are where such as the MAP, RPM, temps By that time the Lycoming should you are looking for a dazzling you’d expect to find them in a and pressures, amps, exhaust gas be purring along. The rookie Porsche-quality auto interior conventional analogue aircraft, temperature and fuel flow. mistake is to forget thereafter to with Ghia-inspired trims and except that they are all digital.” In truth, I found it annoying turn on the ALT master. seats, look away now and go and The instrument panel is having the manifold pressure As we made the long taxi down buy a Mooney. However, if you’re dominated by the G500 PFD and and tacho so far away. I took me to the holding point for Lilydale’s

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FROM LFFT: The are a fraction heavier than most four-seat trainers, but the V1.0 still rolls very nicely around the longitudinal axis. The V1.0 gave me that “old- shoe” feeling very quickly.

runway 18, Gunter stepped me “Typically you climb out at through the take-off techniques about 80 knots, full power unless and speeds. you’re going into an en route “The aeroplane will virtually fly situation, then set 26/2600, from nearby bushfires. The visibility the Vulcanair. Australian Flying itself off the ground,” he pointed but in the circuit keep it at full was on the minimums, restricting checked out both the Cessna and out. “We recommend 14o (one open throttle.” the size of our playground and Piper aeroplanes in a comparison stage) of flap for take-off, however And that’s exactly the way it completely eliminating any chance several years ago (Australian Flying if you add five knots to the take- happened. VOI displayed virtually of doing stalls; however, there is still January-February 2014), and off speed it is quite acceptable to no tendency to wander on take-off a lot to check out even when you’re found the Archer would run at take-off with flaps zero. and with the nosewheel unloaded, limited to 2000 feet. around 33 lph at 5-7000 feet and “Rotate at 65, aiming for lift off and only the two of us on board, The first thing we did was a the C172SP at 27 lph. Gunter at 70 and climb out 75-80 knots. she chose her own moment to go series of long runs to check the is confident that flying schools When you’re clear of obstacles flying, just as Gunter hinted she cruise performance. I set power will be able to budget on the and over 70 knots, retract the would. Once the flap was tucked at 24/2400 on the EDM 930 and V1.0 returning them 28 lph, but flaps. Like all high-wing designs, away and the trim set, it was like trimmed VOI for level flight. that was not something we could when the flaps come up there is the Vulcanair was taking us flying, This was the first pleasing thing. confirm in the air thanks to the less downforce on the tail, so there not the other way around. The trim wheel is beautifully low ceiling. will be a tendency to pitch down. As we climbed out to the training However, the trim is just about area, it became obvious that this “It was like the Vulcanair perfect in the way it responds and was going to be a truncated flight just one backward movement of test. The day was humid, the cloud was taking us flying, not the trim wheel will see it right. low and the air infused with smoke the other way around.”

located and rolls easily forward Rolling around Specifications and backward, making slight trim Rolling the Vulcanair through adjustments easy. 45o banks is a bit of a free-kick Wing Span 9.98 m In cruise, a check of the 930 for the average pilot. The Overall Length 7.23 m showed that at 24/2400 we had a weight is nothing to remark on Overall Height 2.77 m TAS of 114 knots for a fuel flow and the elevator demands not Cabin Width 1.06 m of 37 lph with the mixture still a lot of back pressure to keep Typical Empty Weight 738 kg rich-of-peak. That is well short of the nose in place. There is a MTOW 1155 kg the performance predicted in the bit of rudder needed, but none Max Landing 1100 kg handbook, accounted for by our more or less than pretty much Max Useful Load 400 kg lack of altitude. every other aircraft in its class. Fuel Capacity 190 l usable “At 5500 feet, you’d probably If you’re looking for a bit of Service Ceiling 14700 ft set cruise power at FOT and 2400 excitement or challenge in the TO dist (clear 50 ft obstacle) 400 m RPM,” Gunter told me. “At that handling, then you’ll go home T/O dist (ground roll) 244 m altitude you can expect to see very disappointed in the V1.0. Max Climb Rate @ SL 900 fpm around 125 KTAS. If you go up to But that’s exactly what is needed Max Cruise Speed @ 6000 ft 132 kt 7-9000 feet, you can expect 130.” in an aircraft that aspires to be the Cruise Speed @ 6000 ft 128 kt That being true, the V1.0 will next generation of basic trainer, VNE 179 kt turn-out a competitive TAS to an and that being the case, Vulcanair Landing Distance (ground roll) 190 m Archer III or C172SP. The fuel has got it on the money with the Landing Dist (clear 50 ft obstacle) 480 m flow is still a bit of a challenge for V1.0. It’s the sort of aeroplane

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that will do as it is told without question and leave you plenty of time for looking outside. I was surprised about how quickly I felt comfortable with the V1.0. Often when you sit yourself in new aircraft there is an element of unfamiliarity about them, but other than being faced with a throttle quadrant on the centre ABOVE: I found no landing vices on the V1.0, console rather than higher on the confirmed by repeat performances in the Lilydale circuit. panel, the Vulcanair gave me that old-shoe feeling right from the start. LEFT: It looks 172-ish from a distance, but close- Throughout all moves the control up the V1.0 is clearly an aeroplane all of its own. Note the struts hinged behind the front doors. surfaces proved they were well harmonised, with the ailerons being slightly heavier than something envelope of any training aircraft remain effective in a stall. Even run it through the circuit testing. like a Warrior, but well short of the we are aware of.” with full flap it will drop a wing To cruise-descend back to the muscular feeling of an Arrow. With the cloud base eliminating a bit, but it’s not a rapid roll. It circuit, I left the prop RPM at The stabliator was very any chance of stalling, I had to rely doesn’t do anything quickly, it’s 2400 and backed the throttle to responsive in pitch, leading to me on the experience of Gunter to tell very benign and very controllable 20 inches. That gave us a stable doing a touch of over-controlling me how it handled. deep into the stall.” 500 fpm rate of descent with during some testing. “Stalling is very, very benign, It was a shame I wasn’t going to 135 knots IAS. We sat there “The gives you great akin to a Warrior,” he offered. get a chance to try that for myself, watching the ground get closer, pitch authority,” Charles Gunter “If it’s aggravated it will start to so after a flight path that could best making only minor adjustments explained, “and more importantly drop a wing, which can be picked be described as lairising, during to the mixture to make sure it means you can operate over a wide up with either aileron or rudder, which the V1.0 displayed zero stayed at 1400o on the exhaust CoG. This has the widest CoG or a combination. The ailerons vices, we headed back to Lilydale to gas temperature.

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Greasing it But is that all it takes to kill a Skyhawk? trainer market, be that brand As we hit downwind, Gunter counseled me The advantage the Vulcanair has is the Cessna or Piper. to increase the MAP to 21 inches and bring ticket price, almost $US100,000 below Schools, however, can rest assured the the prop pitch up to 2500. The latter was all its Cessna counterpart. Flying academies V1.0 will do the job; it displays all the talents about preparing for a go-around. With 2500 looking to replace multiple aircraft in needed of a simple, basic trainer that will on the prop, the MAP can be boosted to full their fleets will be taking notice about make them money in the long run. without much problem, so a missed approach now. However, the V1.0 will be up against Whether not it kills the Skyhawk may can still be effected safely even if the pilot some of the world’s great brand loyalties if depend on whether or not general aviation forgets to go to full-fine on the prop. it wants to makeAustralian_Flying_r66_beachcomber_ad_may_jun.pdf in-roads in the four-seat is 1 ready 3/12/2019 for 4:41:42the Skyhawk PM to die. Abeam the threshold, we dropped the first stage of flap. Interestingly, the V1.0 actually has no speed limitation on the first 14o of flap other than the top of the green arc, so it can be used as approach flap in the manner that larger aeroplanes do. After turning base, Gunter instructed me to ease the throttle back to 17 inches and extend the second stage. The V1.0 settled into 70 knots easily; the configuration we intended to stay in until back on the ground. A third stage of flap (42o) is there for the taking if you want to slow to 65, but you’ll find a fistful of power is then needed to overcome the drag. This is good for short- field ops, but probably not appropriate for the training environment. And in truth, that last stage is not needed. In the configuration described above, I pulled off one of the best landings I’ve done in an aeroplane for a few months. It was delightful how well it behaved in the flare, with my tendency for over-pitching miraculously C disappearing right when I needed it to. M To make sure it wasn’t a fluke, we powered Y on and went for another circuit. On landing the result was exactly the same. Consequent CM testing from another pilot gave similar MY outcomes. There was no denying it: this plane is a joy to land, which make it a lot CY more amenable to low-hour students in their CMY Courtesy Helidosa Aviation, Domincan Republic embryonic days of circuit training. K And it might just make operators happier given the risk of folding nosewheels and main gear is reduced. Is it a Skyhawk killer? WHAT DID YOU DO Several aircraft over the years have either claimed or been saddled with the epithet “Skyhawk killer”. It is interesting that LAST WEEKEND? the Skyhawk is still there and, although R66 Turbine - Starting at $906,000 challenged, is still on its perch. So, too, people around the world are starting to give that name to the V1.0. My opinion of the V1.0 is that it’s an unexciting aeroplane, but well built and well designed throughout ... just like the C172 and World’s Leading Producer of Civil Helicopters Warrior types it aspire to usurp. It handles well, is almost viceless and focuses intently on training rather than as a private aircraft, although it has some attributes attractive to that market as well.

May – June 2019 AUSTRALIAN FLYING