I got to fly a brand new Tecnam Bravo LSA today. Pretty neat little plane. Has a 100hp Rotex engine with a 5800 rpm readline! The geared engine seemed a little weird to me. It seemed impossible to lock in an rpm.
The center stick control was very light and positive. I liked it. The rudders, connected to a steerable nose wheel, were very heavy. I didn't like that.
This plane was pretty well loaded with 2 Great Lakes Aviation screens. It was beautiful VFR in the Atlanta area today, so I scarcely looked at them. I'm pretty sure though the PFD needed some adjustment 'casue it sure didn't correspond to the actual attitude of the plane.
Getting it slowed down and descending for the pattern was difficult. For one thing the engine was idling at 2800 rpm. I think it's supposed to be less than 2000, so I putting out thrust I didn't want. Plus the composite construction is probably quite slippery. The book said you're not supposed to slip with any flaps, so I didn't. I wanted to and needed to though.
The book says best TD speed is 40kts. At that speed roll out is minimal. I made 2 TO and Ldgs that went pretty well with a light crosswind.
Visibility is quite good (for a high wing plane
), and it was relatively quiet. It seemed pretty comfortable, and there is plenty of fore/aft seat adjustment available. The trim, both rudder and elevator, is electric with 4 little pushbuttons on the top of each stick. No manual trim at all.
The plane was delivered by the distrubutor Thursday (came down from Michigan I believe.) They definitely sent it with some squawks - throttle adjustment and avionics, so they need to work on their QC a bit. The owner was pressing them for delivery (already a couple of weeks late), but that's no excuse.
Overall this is a fun, responsive little airplane.
The center stick control was very light and positive. I liked it. The rudders, connected to a steerable nose wheel, were very heavy. I didn't like that.
This plane was pretty well loaded with 2 Great Lakes Aviation screens. It was beautiful VFR in the Atlanta area today, so I scarcely looked at them. I'm pretty sure though the PFD needed some adjustment 'casue it sure didn't correspond to the actual attitude of the plane.
Getting it slowed down and descending for the pattern was difficult. For one thing the engine was idling at 2800 rpm. I think it's supposed to be less than 2000, so I putting out thrust I didn't want. Plus the composite construction is probably quite slippery. The book said you're not supposed to slip with any flaps, so I didn't. I wanted to and needed to though.
The book says best TD speed is 40kts. At that speed roll out is minimal. I made 2 TO and Ldgs that went pretty well with a light crosswind.
Visibility is quite good (for a high wing plane
), and it was relatively quiet. It seemed pretty comfortable, and there is plenty of fore/aft seat adjustment available. The trim, both rudder and elevator, is electric with 4 little pushbuttons on the top of each stick. No manual trim at all.The plane was delivered by the distrubutor Thursday (came down from Michigan I believe.) They definitely sent it with some squawks - throttle adjustment and avionics, so they need to work on their QC a bit. The owner was pressing them for delivery (already a couple of weeks late), but that's no excuse.
Overall this is a fun, responsive little airplane.
