The Montaer MC01: One of the 1000+ SportPlane Profiles Destined For The Next SportPlane Resource Guide

E-I-C Note: The eSPRG and ANN staff have been working furiously, behind the scenes on a new All-Digital, Next-Generation, SportPlane Resource Guide.

In addition to nearly 100 'How-To' chapters, dozens of appendices, THOUSANDS of videos and images, and other fonts of SportPlane knowledge, we estimate that some 1000 or so SportPlanes and Sport Aircraft will eventually be profiled. Herewith; a sample profile of one of the many, many, MANY aircraft coming up for the next eSPRG... while also noting that the published eSPRG profiles will also include even more info, pictures, data and (where possible) detailed and carefully critical Report Cards detailing the capabilities and suitability of the manufacturer and the aircraft in question. We have a massive job ahead of us... and the first few hundred pages, of the 2000 or so that we expect to publish online, will hit the AeroVerse in just a few weeks... Don't miss them! YOUR suggestions and comments about this, and other concepts and formats, planned for the eSPRG are not only welcomed, but STRONGLY encouraged... after all, we're doing this for YOU... the current and future SportPlane reader, owner, builder, and pilot.

Striking and stylish, Montaer’s MC01 suggests a modern reimagining of Cessna’s famed 177 Cardinal. Notwithstanding it’s braced, semi-cantilever wing and ample stabilator, the MC01 evokes the selfsame visceral sense of moving while standing still engendered by the lean and clean Cardinal.

Designed by Bruno de Oliveria, built by Brazilian airframer Montaer, and imported to the states by Montaer USA, the MC01 is at once generously spacious, pleasingly powerful, and eminently accessible.

The MC01’s four-place cabin is accessible via three lightweight but sturdy composite doors—two large, forward-opening front doors and a third, smaller door just aft of the aesthetically-pleasing confluence of the aircraft’s starboard wing-brace and solid-aluminum main landing-gear strut. The cabin’s roominess and comfort are surpassed only by the durability of its welded, 4130 molybdenum-steel-tube passenger safety cell with solid-metal rivet construction. The fabrication of such a structure is more time-consuming than the pulled-rivet architecture typical of most Part 23-certified metal aircraft.

Power is delivered to the MC01’s ground-pitch-adjustable, three or optional four-blade propeller by Rotax’s potent, 141-horsepower, 915iS engine in a turbocharged and intercooled configuration. Even higher-output mills—such as Continental Aerospace’s 150 to 205-horsepower Titan powerplants—can be wedged into the MC01’s engine bay.

Diverging from Light Sport convention, the MC01 forgoes center or side-stick controls in favor of the dual-yoke configuration familiar to and favored by pilots trained in legacy general aviation aircraft the likes of Cessna’s 172 or Piper’s PA-28 Cherokee Warrior. The MC01’s familiarity is further enhanced by its steerable nose wheel, dual toe brakes, electric flaps, and center-mounted throttle and choke controls.

The MC01’s 1,320-pound maximum gross takeoff weight comprises the aircraft’s 800-pound empty weight and 520-pound useful load. It must be borne in mind, however, that useful load—within the aerospace context—includes the MC01’s 36-gallons (216-pounds) of usable fuel. Fully gassed the MC01 manages a range of 780-nautical-miles.

At 104-knots and 117-knots respectively, the aircraft’s cruise and Vne speeds are unremarkable. The MC01’s stall performance, however, impresses. In a clean configuration, the machine stalls at 45-knots; while in its Vso configuration, the MC01 stalls at a leisurely 39-knots.

The entry-level MC01 is priced at $169,900.

FMI: https://www.montaeraircraft.com/