P2008 Making The Rounds In November

During the first two weeks of November, West Coast Sport Aircraft, a regional distributor for the Special Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) manufacturer Tecnam, will be demonstrating the P2008 advanced LSA at airports around the San Francisco Bay and Greater Los Angeles area, culminating with the "Airportfest” display at AOPA Summit in Long Beach, California.

Photo Courtesy Tecnam

The P2008 was first announced at Seabring 2010, and is the result of Tecnam's acquisition of the Composite Aeronautic Group (CAG) in 2008. The P2008 shares the same wing and stabilator construction seen in the popular P92 Eaglet and P2002 Sierra models, however its carbon fiber fuselage offers a wider cabin, larger baggage area, and smoother aerodynamic lines than its non-composite siblings, and features an electronic flight information system (EFIS) option of the Garmin G3X or Advanced Flight Systems AF4500 displays.

“We wanted it to look the best it possibly could by taking advantage of the strength and lightness of carbon fiber”, explains Tecnam North America's C.E.O. Phil Solomon, “while not losing the capability for easy repair that metal structures bring.”

Featuring a 48 inch wide cabin and true 120 knot cruise speed, the Rotax 912 powered P2008 boasts half the fuel burn of a typical Cessna 172, making it an economical alternative to larger aircraft costing twice as much both to purchase and to operate. “The P2008 is the luxury model of the LSA market.”, says Erin Hay, Director of Sales for West Coast Sport Aircraft. “We're excited to have the '08 in addition to Tecnam's already impressive lineup of light sport aircraft.”, Hay continued.

Photo Courtesy Tecnam

Starting November 1st, the P2008 will be touring airports in the San Francisco bay area before heading to Southern California for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) 2010 Summit. U.S. deliveries of the first production aircraft are expected to begin in December.

FMI: www.westcoastsportaircraft.com, www.tecnam.com