Ordered new Tecnam P2010

455 Bravo Uniform said:
(3) dumping 2-3 quarts of oil on the garage floor in about 10 seconds to pull the car in the trailer because someone forgot the oil filter (high volume oil pump)
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That stuff usually happens after hours of mind dulling labor to repair something that's almost impossible to access.

Late in the day (like after sunset) before our car was going to make its day four last chance qualifying run at Indy in 2007, I finished reconnecting all of the oil hardlines from the oil cooler, scavenging pump, and dry sump tank to the 3.5L Honda Indy V-8. They had been removed because we had to drop the sump tank and undertray to work on the rear suspension.

The last item needed to finish was to fill the dry sump tank with seven quarts of oil, which I did. We pulled down the door, turned off the lights, and left the track.

The next morning I arrived at 6:30, and my crew chief was already there, standing next to the car and a small lake of oil that emanated from under it. He looked at me with dripping condescension, and said "Congratulations, Captain Hazelton. You've run the Exxon Valdez aground again."

I was mortified. I had improperly installed a Wiggins clamp on a hardline that connected the oil cooler to the dry sump tank. I took much sarcastic ribbing from everyone on the team, and they gleefully used my new name to do it.
 
@FPK1 now that you've got some time with your new plane, how do you like it? What kind of performance are you seeing?
 
jsstevens said:
@FPK1 now that you've got some time with your new plane, how do you like it? What kind of performance are you seeing?
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I have another 20.9 hours since bringing her home and I love it! Several times a tower or ATC asked me... Got a second? Yes... What's a Tecnam?

The GPH and cruise performance matches that of the AFM. I'm averaging under 12 GPH and best performance is right there around 11-12.

As someone noted, there is a lot of nose down trim showing/required and it's not like it's that heavy an engine, it's just the CG and the fact the wings are swept so a lot of nose down is required for a stable cruise and less drag.

Take off runs and landing are shorter than the AFM and climb performance is better, as well.

The GFC 700 autopilot is excellent and I love the Synthetic Vision. I did struggle a bit with my first G1000 NXi upgrade, wireless, via the Flight Stream 510 but finally made it work. Likely pilot error due to poor Garmin instructions and support. Sending flight plans from ForeFlight to the G1000 is quick and simple.

I have one warranty issue outstanding, reported it last week, got a ticket number and waiting for resolution. The problem is the Avionics powers on whenever I power on the Master. So the Avionics switch is useless. Apparently there is a relay that may have failed. Luckily, it failed in the on position because the Avionics are supposed to be on when you start this plane, unlike others.

I suppose the biggest issue I have with this plane is it wants to keep flying and it is difficult to slow down. I have to focus and stay ahead of the plane during descent and approaching the traffic pattern to ensure a well-established approach. I find my landings are much better with a well-established approach - just like we were taught! You land with a little power on until the last second, then touchdown on the rears and then pretty much immediately the front. It's not like a 172/182, more like a Citation (I think, I've actually never flown one).

So I'm still very much enjoying this plane I just wish I had more time. It's the greatest feeling in the world to be able to go to your plane and take off whenever you want to wherever you want without worrying about the rental schedule and coming back on time. Most of my flights now are overnights versus the $100 hamburger day flight.
 
FPK1 said:
<snip>I have one warranty issue outstanding, reported it last week, got a ticket number and waiting for resolution. The problem is the Avionics powers on whenever I power on the Master. So the Avionics switch is useless. Apparently there is a relay that may have failed. Luckily, it failed in the on position because the Avionics are supposed to be on when you start this plane, unlike others.<snip>
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The relay arrived in SoCal from Italy within 4 days! Impressive. Tecnam will pay one hour labor for the replacement. I just need to schedule an appointment with my mechanic now...
 
I'm averaging under 12 GPH and best performance is right there around 11-12.


What cruise speed are you seeing at 12 GPH?
 
FPK1 said:
The relay arrived in SoCal from Italy within 4 days! Impressive. Tecnam will pay one hour labor for the replacement. I just need to schedule an appointment with my mechanic now...
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Have you had any trouble finding a shop willing to work on it, given the brand is not well known here?
 
:) I was the resident computer geek in high school, go figure, and after watching the science teacher accept the delivery of the brand new Apple II, he asked if I had any computer advice. I said "Yep! Never buy a computer from a guy wearing a beret." (The sales guy was wearing a beret.) It was pretty sound advice.

But the Tecnam seems a lot more practical than an Apple II to me. Looks like a nice plane.
 
I've seen this plane up close. I'd encourage anyone who assumes it to be "less than" in some way to get their own look at one. It is very good looking, has fit and finish that should embarrass Cessna, and our local mechanic seems to have no concerns about working on it. Performs well against it's competitors too.
 
Seems to be somewhere between a Skyhawk and a skylane.
 
WDD said:
Seems to be somewhere between a Skyhawk and a skylane.
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Yes controllers often ask me what a Tecnam (TWEN) is...? Unfortunately, TWEN is used for nearly ALL Tecnams. I tell them I am a P2010, a single engine with performance between a 172 and 182. As I wrote earlier, sometimes when they see TWEN, they assume "Twin."
 
Avweb had a video with their rep at sun n fun. I had no idea it had a back door. Very impressive. The rep was a decent size guy and had sufficient room in the back seat. Looks better than a 172 in every respect.
 
Salty said:
I think you misunderstand me. I guess the "like that" wasn't highlighted enough.

If you're going to tie a plane down, do it so that plane won't get damaged if the tie-downs are actually needed. As shown, a lot of damage could still be done to the aircraft and worse, it might not be evident from the outside. At least if it weren't tied down at all, you'd know if it was damaged.

I don't understand why people tie their planes down loosely and without the front and rear tie downs at tension against one another. It really makes tying down mostly a waste of time.
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The flight school I attended used chains to tie down their planes and you had to leave some slack. They have been doing it that way for 20 years and now have about 10 planes. So that is how I do it with nylon tie downs. Have locking S hooks and leave some slack.

Luckily my bird is in a hangar most of the time though.
 
I've watched planes on the ramp in a microburst getting lifted up until they take out the slack, rip the heck out of the wing and then slam back down to the ground again, rinse and repeat. I'd rather leave it untied.
 
Racerx said:
I dont think that advice applies to just computers
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No kidding. You shouldn't even buy a beret from a guy wearing a beret.

FPK1 said:
Yes controllers often ask me what a Tecnam (TWEN) is...? Unfortunately, TWEN is used for nearly ALL Tecnams. I tell them I am a P2010, a single engine with performance between a 172 and 182. As I wrote earlier, sometimes when they see TWEN, they assume "Twin."
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To help with the confusion, it looks like the twin-engine Tecnam P2012 does not use TWEN for its ICAO code.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Some of my fun memories were actually non-racing but prepping for races (or the “waiting” portion of life). They involved, on separate occasions, (1) a card-board forward firewall painted black and concocted because we ran out of time to fabricate a proper safe one (20 year old smarts), (2) a track funnel-cake for sale metal sign being used as a rear firewall (with duct tape and spare seatbelts) because the car was not legal (still picture the track safety professional’s sigh of exasperation), (3) dumping 2-3 quarts of oil on the garage floor in about 10 seconds to pull the car in the trailer because someone forgot the oil filter (high volume oil pump), and (4) handcuffs and booking (no bars) related to new engine break-in.

One of my favorite images was an article in the early 1990s in National Dragster where they interviewed Cruz Pedregon. He recalled a story of the family being packed into a truck, (Suburban) wife driving, and their father Frank working on the open trailer doing a head gasket repair on the dragster while they were in route to a race at 60 mph or thereabouts. In that case the whole family was involved and kids Cruz and Tony continued in the family business.

So waiting has its own memories...
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National Dragster...the bible for many years. Got one every week in the mail.

I was a drag racer for about 15 years. 1988-2005. Started out local with a small open trailer and a low 9 second drag bike. Sold that turn key and built a dragster, took me 18 months. It had a 572" BBC stack injected on methanol and we did quick 8 races with it. Then a 632" Donovan block pontiac big chief motor, Kinsler stack injected on methanol pro stock motor in a dragster.
I have had a 26', 40' and 49' enclosed race trailers with frieghtliner truck pulling it at the end.
I worked 24/7 on race cars for at least 9 years. I went top alcohol racing with a blown hemi on the NHRA tour racing TAD for 8 years.
After gaining some sponsors we had 3 motors, 2 trans, hundreds of clutch disc, and a trailer full of spare parts. We used Brad Anderson billet heads and blocks and used to send stuff for repair to the west coast on Monday morning next day air. They would repair it and send it back next day air and I would put the motor back together either Weds night or Thurs and be at the next race on Friday. We did 6 division races and 4 national events per season.

One time early on when I did not have so many spares I removed a damaged head in the trailer that needed welding while Scott my crew guy drove the truck home on a Sunday night so I could get it to UPS Monday morning.

Once I got a sponsor the pressure was on to make the races no matter what and we did. Until in 2003 when we had a big wreck on TV espen2 at the time. Totaled a rear engine dragster. It was totally rebuilt and painted by the sponsor who was a paint supplier in 90 days.
It is a hard life, racing.
Then I spent 10 years restoring cars, lot's less pressure there.
Then the last 6 years it has be aviation, love it because there is very little pressure after finishing my flight training.
Yes I am still learning aviation, will be forever.

We overhauled the engine after every pass on the dragstrip. New upper rod bearings because I used them to tune the motor. new clutch pack, oil, plugs and more. Chris the blond hair kid was my clutch guy, he already had the clutch out in this picture.
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That is me getting into the car for warm up checkout.
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All 6 heads fresh ready for the season.
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The low points of racing...
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I am sorry FBK1 for the hi jack, I thought I was on the "don't deserve it's own thread" thread.
Thanks for sharing your epic XC experience in your beautiful NEW Tecnam aircraft!!
 
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Salty said:
I've watched planes on the ramp in a microburst getting lifted up until they take out the slack, rip the heck out of the wing and then slam back down to the ground again, rinse and repeat. I'd rather leave it untied.
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The school does have a couple hangars and if bad weather was on the way they would stuff most of the planes inside.
 
JEB said:
I've seen this plane up close. I'd encourage anyone who assumes it to be "less than" in some way to get their own look at one. It is very good looking, has fit and finish that should embarrass Cessna, and our local mechanic seems to have no concerns about working on it. Performs well against it's competitors too.
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Yes it's a very nice plane! Love the way it flies and I have over 2500 miles / 60 hours on it! And it has great ramp appeal!

I'm surprised the P2010 is not more popular in the US because the 215 HP model was over $100,000 less expensive than a Cessna 172.
 
Jim K said:
Avweb had a video with their rep at sun n fun. I had no idea it had a back door. Very impressive. The rep was a decent size guy and had sufficient room in the back seat. Looks better than a 172 in every respect.
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Yes a backdoor dedicated to the backseats! And a cargo door, as well.

When I picked up the plane and my safety pilot and I had some transition training, one of us was always in the backseat. In and out is so easy and there is so much room in the backseat it's incredible!
 
Gary Ward said:
It is a hard life, racing.
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Exactly. It is a lifestyle, not a hobby and a lot more than a job. It is a 24/7 life and the only thing that matters is getting to the track. Racing cost me several relationships. I would miss family get togethers because to me it was more important to get to the race.

One time we loaded the car onto the trailer, tied it down, painted it then took off for the race track... During the race, the track bar broke on the rear suspension. The car spun into the infield, and one complete slow roll took a lot of the paint off the car...:lol::lol:

And yes, we beat out the sheet metal, repainted it and made the race the next night.
 
Zeldman said:
Exactly. It is a lifestyle, not a hobby and a lot more than a job. It is a 24/7 life and the only thing that matters is getting to the track. Racing cost me several relationships. I would miss family get togethers because to me it was more important to get to the race.

One time we loaded the car onto the trailer, tied it down, painted it then took off for the race track... During the race, the track bar broke on the rear suspension. The car spun into the infield, and one complete slow roll took a lot of the paint off the car...:lol::lol:

And yes, we beat out the sheet metal, repainted it and made the race the next night.
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I was single for 20 years and is the only way I could race 24/7. I have had more than one incident on the track, one was a fuel fire from a big wheel stand that burnt all the paint off and ruined a lot of safety equipment and wiring. I painted it refrigerator white myself and put some decals on it to make the next race.
 
@Gary Ward - I remember the red car. Division 3. I was small potatoes, just running local brackets and Regional/National Buick events (grassroots stuff). I’m honored to be in your presence. I got ND for decades. I only dreamed of what you did for years until life caught up with me. Fly safe brother.
 
Gary Ward said:
one was a fuel fire
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Fire scares me more than anything. In all the years I sold race gas and methanol we only had one fire. That happened after filling up two 150 gallon tanks in the back of the pickup on a hot, humid night. We were using an explosion resistant 12 volt pump to transfer gas, and instead of turning the switch off one of the part time helpers yanked the clip off the battery, and the resulting spark lit off the fumes.

And everyone went into panic mode so much we emptied the fire extinguishers on each other before we realized the fire was out....:lol::lol: Very light fire damage and everyone received some first degree burns of some sort, and I temporarily lost all the hair on my legs and one arm. We got lucky on that one.

Yeah, rubbin' is racin'... things happen on the track.
 
Zeldman said:
Exactly. It is a lifestyle, not a hobby and a lot more than a job. It is a 24/7 life and the only thing that matters is getting to the track. Racing cost me several relationships. I would miss family get togethers because to me it was more important to get to the race.

One time we loaded the car onto the trailer, tied it down, painted it then took off for the race track... During the race, the track bar broke on the rear suspension. The car spun into the infield, and one complete slow roll took a lot of the paint off the car...:lol::lol:

And yes, we beat out the sheet metal, repainted it and made the race the next night.
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When I was in high school I raced legend's cars and can attest to the lifestyle. On fridays it was Lake Geneva, wi. I was fast time one night and in the dash race, getting back on the gas ripped the top link from the roll cage. My dad took that car back to the shop while I ran the back up car and won. Hitched a ride with a buddy to drop my primary at the shop to load both cars up for a race saturday night in Nashville. Then ran Sunday afternoon in Kentucky. And then back to Illinois so I could go to school on Monday. Kept me out of trouble.

Was passing Nascar driver David Ragan one time and we tangled. Steering wheel ripped in my hand and ended up with a broken right scaphoid. was in a cast from my finger tips to past my elbow from July 2nd to mid November. It wouldnt heal. Probably because I kept racing. Shifting and driving with one arm wasnt the easiest.
 
Thanks 455 Bravo Uniform I am just regular guy who was dumb enough to dump all my retirement/ kids college money into racing.
I am also still in the fuel business for 35 years now. Knock on wood we have never had a fire around our bulk plants or trucks.

My race car fire was invisible as it was methanol. I wear a heavy fire suit and gloves so no burns just a hot seat.
You roundy round racers are hard core hitting all those tracks back to back like that.
 
My arm has a funny bend in it from when I roadraced motorcycles. Other races told me that you should only race if you're prepared to take all your race equipment and throw it off a cliff, I think it was fair analogy.
 
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UngaWunga said:
My arm has a funny bend in it when I roadraced motorcycles. Other races told me that you should only race if you're prepared to take all your race equipment and throw it off a cliff, I think it was fair analogy.
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This is very true^^^^ I have never gotten attached to race car parts. Because they can be gone in a few seconds. In my case 5 seconds can be all a motor last and in one case my whole car was junk in 5 seconds. Matter of fact I gave away to fans/friends all my blown up parts pretty much right away. I don't even to see or think about them.
 
FPK1 said:
The relay arrived in SoCal from Italy within 4 days! Impressive. Tecnam will pay one hour labor for the replacement. I just need to schedule an appointment with my mechanic now...
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Mechanic at KFUL replaced the Avionics relay without issue and problem resolved! Very happy with the Tecnam warranty, fast shipping of the part from Italy and approval of labor!
 
FPK1 said:
Mechanic at KFUL replaced the Avionics relay without issue and problem resolved! Very happy with the Tecnam warranty, fast shipping of the part from Italy and approval of labor!
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Is it really an Italian relay? I would have thought there would be some parts commonality with regard to an avionics relay, especially since the avionics in question is mostly Garmin.
 
asicer said:
Is it really an Italian relay? I would have thought there would be some parts commonality with regard to an avionics relay, especially since the avionics in question is mostly Garmin.
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Says made in India....

Same as this one

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/TE-Connectivity/M6106-19-010?qs=yQ2H4CKjmtjUzb8DHKO7uQ==&mgh=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwma6TBhDIARIsAOKuANwVxoMU05SD4ZtqRZrADfg2ez6F4L0fZFldSPVQlnGaxcEuaeV0GPkaAvTwEALw_wcB

Tecnam sent to me since it was under warranty...
 
Absolutely enjoyed this whole thread. Glad I discovered it late, so I could ‘binge read’ it. Congrats on your very beautiful airplane, sir!
 
Kent Wien said:
Absolutely enjoyed this whole thread. Glad I discovered it late, so I could ‘binge read’ it. Congrats on your very beautiful airplane, sir!
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Great! I'll keep it active with relevant experiences and information. I am really enjoying this plane! Have 68 hours total on it now. Headed to Mesa AZ area tomorrow for a few days...
 
First flight since having glare shield removed and relay replaced. No issues. When I rented someone else always did the test flights after any visit to the mechanic. Just kind of hit me that once you own a plane you are the test pilot after any service...

Flight to Mesa Arizona went well. Had great tail wind for a while (got up to 168 kt ground speed) then a significant crosswind. You can see crosswind on the PFD and note the crab on the plane icon on the MFD.
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Zeldman said:
Fire scares me more than anything. In all the years I sold race gas and methanol we only had one fire. That happened after filling up two 150 gallon tanks in the back of the pickup on a hot, humid night. We were using an explosion resistant 12 volt pump to transfer gas, and instead of turning the switch off one of the part time helpers yanked the clip off the battery, and the resulting spark lit off the fumes.

And everyone went into panic mode so much we emptied the fire extinguishers on each other before we realized the fire was out....:lol::lol: Very light fire damage and everyone received some first degree burns of some sort, and I temporarily lost all the hair on my legs and one arm. We got lucky on that one.

Yeah, rubbin' is racin'... things happen on the track.
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In 2004 when IndyCar was running at Nashville Superspeedway, we had a fire during a pit stop. When the vent man pulled his hose out of the fuel cell, the spring loaded sealing disc failed. When the fuel hit the headers, the spilled methanol was set on fire.

I was stationed on the wall to take the used left front tire from the crewman when the inferno started. Methanol flames are mostly invisible. I had two five gallon buckets of water behind me on all pitstops. I emptied both on the cockpit to protect the driver.

Each pit had an open 55 gallon drum of water at the back of the pit, and it just so happened there was a John Deere Gator behind the pit with a slide in self contained firefighting rig. After my buckets were empty, I quickly turned around to refill them from the barrel.

By that time, the guys with the Gator had started up the engine driven fire suppression unit. When they saw me running towards them, they thought I was on fire. The guy holding the 1" diameter fire hose proceeded to blast me from head to toe with the it. Before I got them to stop, I looked like I had jumped into a swimming pool wearing a firesuit.

By this time, the fire had long been extinguished. The driver got back in the car, we belted him in, and it was restarted. He left the pit and headed back out. I think the entire episode took just over a minute.
 
Just a quick update with me and my Tecnam P2010...

I have 133 hours on her now (in less than 8 months) and fully moved into a VIP hangar at Fullerton Airport (KFUL), California. Here is a picture of her in the hangar with an office on the left and bathroom on the right. I painted both white with red and blue stripes to match the paint on the plane.

More hangar upgrades to come...

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