We Fly: Tecnam P-Mentor

The next expression of a modern trainer comes from an atelier of Italian design.

Julie Boatman

Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Tecnam P-Mentor [Credit: Jim Payne]

Key Takeaways:

The Tecnam P-Mentor continues the 75-year legacy of the Pascale brothers' aircraft manufacturing, now Tecnam, as a dedicated primary training airplane.
Certified under EASA CS 23, the P-Mentor steps beyond the LSA category with its sophisticated Garmin G3X cockpit, Rotax 912iSC3 engine, and features designed for aspiring career pilots.
It offers solid and predictable flight characteristics, including responsive controls, mild stalls, and effective low-speed handling, making it a capable and enjoyable aircraft for pilot training, even on challenging surfaces.
A unique simulated landing gear lever with a warning system is incorporated to instill habits necessary for transitioning to more complex, retractable-gear aircraft.

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The courtyard of the Castello di Faicchio spans maybe 50 yards from crenellated pillar to stone post. That was wide enough for two boys—ages 10 and 11—to contest each other in a mad sprint, or to watch as their latest model glided down from a balcony perched up on its walls. Before World War II would topple portions of those ramparts, southern Italy in the late1930s didn’t provide much in terms of resources, except for the space in which the boys would construct models late into the night, hiding from their father—and sometimes to the detriment of their schoolwork.

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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