The Tecnam P2009 is a single engine, high wing two seat ultralight built in Italy but aimed at the US market. It is the first Tecnam aircraft to incorporate major composite

Composite material

Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...

 components. The first delivery was made in December 2009.

Design and development

The P2008 is a conventionally laid out strut braced high wing monoplane

Monoplane

A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...

 aimed specifically at the US market. Resembling the earlier Tecnam P92

Tecnam P92

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 and P2004

Tecnam P2004

-See also:...

 in general appearance, the P2008 differs by introducing a carbon fibre fuselage

Fuselage

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...

 and integrated fin

Fin

A fin is a surface used for stability and/or to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media, . The first use of the word was for the limbs of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices...

. The wings and tailplane are all metal. It can be adapted to LSA

LSA

-In law:* Law and Society Association* Law Society of Alberta* Legal Services Agency* List of CFR Sections Affected, a list of new revisions to the US Code of Federal Regulations.-Science and technology:* Late Stone Age...

, ultralight or ELA1 categories.

The wing leading edge

Leading edge

The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air; alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil section. The first is an aerodynamic definition, the second a structural one....

 is straight except for some pinching at the root and the wing has constant chord over about the inner 60% of span. Outboard, the trailing edge

Trailing edge

The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge rejoins. Essential control surfaces are attached here to redirect the air flow and exert a controlling force by changing its momentum...

 is tapered; the straight wing tips are slightly upturned. Frise ailerons on piano hinges span the outboard sections and the inner sections are spanned by slotted flaps. There is a single lift strut

Lift strut

Nearly all biplane aircraft have their upper and lower planes connected by interplane struts which divide the wings into bays braced by diagonal wires...

 on each side, attached to the lower fuselage. The P2008 has a low set all-moving

Stabilator

A stabilator is an aircraft control surface that combines the functions of an elevator and a horizontal stabilizer...

 constant chord tailplane with an anti-balance tab. The fin is swept and the rudder

Rudder

A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...

 moves above the tailplane.

The P2008 is powered by a Rotax 912S flat four piston engine driving a two blade propeller

Propeller (aircraft)

Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...

. The cabin seats two side-by side with a door each side and baggage space behind. The cabin and cabin doors are wider than on earlier Tecnam high wing aircraft. Its fixed tricycle undercarriage has spring cantilever

Cantilever

A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...

 main legs and a castoring

Caster

A caster is an undriven, single, double, or compound wheel that is designed to be mounted to the bottom of a larger object so as to enable that object to be easily moved...

, non-steerable nosewheel on a compressed rubber suspension. Ground steering is achieved by differential braking. All wheels have speed fairings.

The first flight was on 30 September 2008.

Operational history

The first P2008 was delivered to the US in December 2009. By November 2010 six had been registered in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Italy, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 and the USA.

Specifications