Training Aircraft Sector Renaissance

This is another in a series of periodic updates of activities in the training aircraft market.

A wide range of quick-paced developments are occurring in this sector from strengthening the life cycle of these aircraft to enhancing the continuum of training for prospective pilots who are logging flight hours in these aircraft to gain licenses and related certifications. These and other trends are merging to create nothing less than a renaissance in this industry vertical.

Insights for this article were obtained from front-office executives at Tecnam, Elixir Aircraft (Elixir) and Pipistrel, a part of Textron eAviation, a business segment of Textron Inc.

Meeting Customer Requirements in Different Sectors

As Tecnam’s complete aircraft portfolio evolves and matures, it is maintaining a solid presence in the civil aviation training aircraft market.

When Walter Da Costa, Chief Sales Officer, Tecnam US & Canada, provided his insights to the author this 22 May, the executive noted his company was the only OEM offering a complete product line from 2- to 11-seaters, covering US/LSA to CS-23/FAR-23 categories. Tecnam aircraft were further reported in active use by many flight schools, universities, and government institutions across more than 60 countries. the OEM’s customers included, in part: LOT Academy (Poland); Mermoz Academy (France); Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (US); Qatar Aeronautical College (Qatar); FlyBy (Spain); Professional Aviation (Italy); New Zealand Flight Academy; Royal Aero Club of Western Australia; Baylor University (US); US Aviation Academy: KC Aviation (US), and many other national and regional ATOs.

Tecnam provides one glimpse of the rapidly changing capabilities and definition of a “training aircraft.” The OEM’s aircraft designed to meet 2025-era pilot accession program requirements include:

- P2008 (US/LSA and CS/VLA) – observed by the OEM to be “perfect for ab-initio training”;

- P-Mentor – reported by Da Costa to be the only single-engine, two-seater fully IFR trainer compliant with the latest CS-23 (EASA & FAA);

- P2010 Series (4-seater, 3-door);

- P2006T MKII – Tecnam’s flagship twin-engine trainer. Da Costa pointed out, “Students and instructors consistently praise its quality and ease of handling,” and;

- P2012 Traveller – which caught the author’s attention, when the Tecnam executive said it is an 11-seat twin-engine aircraft, now in use by operators worldwide for training, charter, surveillance and airline feeder services.

The executive built the business case for aviation enterprises using the above aircraft, stating they “are particularly appreciated by schools looking for: fleet standardization; lower total ownership and operational costs; reduced maintenance complexity; proven piston engine reliability; and fuel flexibility, including MOGAS, AVGAS, JET A1 - Diesel - SAF options.”

Tecnam’s business model emphasizes the imperative to support a global customer base – a trend we are also observing for other OEMs. With distribution hubs and sales support across multiple continents, Tecnam’s support network is designed to provide nothing short of worldwide coverage. Further, “Tecnam’s aircraft support service operates through a structured and global network designed to provide prompt assistance, spare parts availability, and maintenance support to aircraft owners, operators and flight schools,” Da Costa pointed out and added, “Maintenance and warranty work on Tecnam aircraft are handled by more than 130 approved service centers worldwide, such as ACS Engineering in Scotland, all with direct links to Tecnam. In terms of spare parts distribution and collaboration, Tecnam has strengthened its customer service in key markets like North America through strategic partnerships with specialized distributors such as Southern Cross Aviation. Southern Cross provides comprehensive spare parts support, AOG (Aircraft on Ground) expertise, and logistical services for all Tecnam-certified aircraft models, including the P2010, P2006T, P2012 series and others.” To provide support beyond Tecnam’s brick-and-mortar support infrastructure, the OEM offers a Customer Portal where registered users can access service bulletins, spare parts catalogs, manuals and technical documentation.

Enter Elixir

Innovation and continuous change have been hallmarks at Elixir since the French-based OEM became operational in 2015.

Several market forces are in play to create the increasing demand for new fleets of training aircraft according to Cyril Champenois, co-founder and head of sales at Elixir. Beyond the still persistent requirement for more pilots throughout most of the world, are the aging aircraft in training organizations’ fleets. The executive explained, “The fleets of these aircraft supporting flight training were mainly manufactured in the 1960s and -70s. The average age of these fleets is about 50-years old – with aging systems operating in the 2025 airspace and obsolescence being an issue. That’s what’s driving the business for us at the moment.”

Time for a tech deep dive – first, think carbon structures. The OEM’s one product, the 2-seat Elixir, was purposely designed to use Carbon Oneshot, a technology derived from the foils, rudder, keel and other content of competitive, deep-water sailing craft in order to simplify the training aircraft’s structures. “The issue when we first designed the Elixir was the complexity of airframes in training aircraft fleets – there were more parts and more maintenance requirements, among other underlying problems,” the executive recalled, and continued, “To bring more value to the customer – to decrease operating cost and increase safety – we needed to minimize those problems. So, Elixir was the first certified aircraft in the world with the Carbon Oneshot technology.” Elixir and is customers have gained ROIs from this construction strategy. The executive noted one use case in France has generated an estimated, annual operating cost of €50/h (hour) ($USD57/h) fuel and maintenance for 500h of flight per year. “This is very competitive when you consider some aircraft at flight schools operate for about 1200h per year. The operating costs are much lower.”

Also in the technology column, the Elixir aircraft is currently powered by a Rotax 100hp electronic injection engine, which Champenois declared to be a “game changer” with its ability to reduce operating costs and CO2 emissions. The OEM envisions an upgrade to a Rotax 140hp engine to support the company’s planned entry into the recreational aircraft market. Also, in Elixir’s propulsion R&D portfolio is its efforts to field a turbine-engine- powered Elixir to be competitive in the rapidly emerging SAF market. And much further down the road the OEM is also eyeing a hydrogen-powered training aircraft.

When the author spoke with Champenois this 21 May, the company had a backlog of 80 aircraft for its main La Rochelle production site and another 300 for the US market – for which Elixir is in the final stages of gaining FAA certification for its aircraft. FAA approval will be an important milestone for Elixir as it views about “60-70% of this market residing in the US.” The executive emphasized, “We need to be there,” and pointed out the OEM’s roadmap includes optimizing its new facility in Sarasota, Florida. EASA and the UK CAA have certified.

The Electric Revolution

A rich blend of competing forces supports the business case for electric-powered aircraft to be used in pilot training programs. With many training organizations operating on the margin, affordability is at the top of the benefits column provided for these platforms. One successful OEM noted the electric aircraft entering their portfolio meet the affordability challenge, are quieter than their legacy-era, fuel-powered siblings in ATO fleets and produce zero carbon emissions. At the same time, OEMs must also traverse the regulatory agencies’ “show me” road for these new aircraft.

Pipistrel offers four aircraft in the general aviation space, the most notable being the Velis Electro (with electric propulsion), and another two, including the Alpha Trainer (powered by the Rotax 912 80 HP engine) in the light-sport/microsport sector.

Cost was an early discussion point when the author spoke with Gabriel Massey, Pipistrel’s president and managing director, this 20 May. The corporate leader emphasized, “probably one of the biggest barriers in pilot training continues to be cost” for the aspiring pilot and the prospective airline employer. Massey pointed out Pipistrel’s Velis Electro and Alpha Trainer are among its solutions to reduce the cost barriers to entry into the pilot workforce.

One important part of the Pipistrel business model to achieve cost efficiencies is ensuring the aftermarket support “is the best it can be,” the president and MD said and continued, “we have put a lot of investment in our aftermarket, for instance, increasing parts availability in the US.” Specific to the Velis Electro, Pipistrel has built up its maintenance and repair capacity, for the battery and other onboard systems to ensure that product’s long-term viability at ATOs and with other customers.

When the corporate leader spoke with CAT, the Velis Electro was operating in about 20 nations around the globe and had received regulatory approval from EASA, UK CAA and FAA among others. The watershed 2024 FAA action granted the Velis Electro a light-sport aircraft airworthiness exemption and opened up flight training in an electric aircraft within the US. Massey recalled every time Pipistrel presents the Velis to a regulator for certification it’s a new dialogue. “There’s learning. They want to understand and they want to know a lot more than about a conventional airplane, because it is new and interesting and they have their own questions we have to talk through.” Beyond regulators, Pipistrel has learned it must also educate and inform other aviation operation stakeholders, from ground support personnel to first responders, about the Velis Electro when the aircraft makes its initial flight to new airfields. “You see that every time a Velis arrives at a new location, it’s a big deal for that airport. They start to think about airside charging infrastructure and the desire to put it into their long-term plans for infrastructure.”

To further expand the customer base beyond 20 countries for all Pipistrel training aircraft, the OEM has a focused distribution model, which the leader indicated “was a not a typical distribution model” with a sales focus only. “We partner with companies that have been with Textron for a long time that we know who can offer support, warranties and other contributions to get the airplane airworthy and in-country physical representation where these aircraft are arriving for the first time.”

Massey also responded to the author’s statement that electric training aircraft, in general, have their early community detractors who note these new models do not have the range and endurance of legacy-era aircraft. While Velis Electro is on its second-generation propulsion battery technology suite, the corporate leader acknowledged “the current model, as is, cannot do the entire PPL syllabus with the endurance it currently has. We know that is limiting and is part of our dialogue with potential customers and existing operators.” Pipistrel does note the Velis Electro is a great “stable mate,” a partner with a Cessna 172, Alpha Trainer or other fielded training aircraft, “where you can combine the whole training syllabus, the training program, with 70% on the Velis, 30% on something else. We see that as being a very successful model with a lot of schools that have been able to implement it and keep a high tempo on the airplane.”

Massey emphasized the Velis Electro “is a product for us that will gain incremental improvements – we have already done some of them. For example, we just satisfactorily tested Velis in -15°C (5°F) to open up the operational envelope for an electric airplane. This is a brand-new capability for an electric airplane as no other electric airplane has flown below 0°C.” All other ongoing R&D efforts for the model, including battery generation improvements, will also be retrofittable for the fielded fleet.

A Total Training Solution

Another major market development is the strengthening partnerships between the OEMs and simulation and training industry suppliers to provide a more robust training continuum for aspiring pilots – well beyond hours tallied in aircraft cockpits.

Tecnam’s expanding relations with the S&T industry include Redbird Flight Simulations and SoftekSim, which have developed devices to meet JSR-FSTD-A and FNPT II standards for: P-Mentor; P2006 and other Tecnam trainers. Tecnam’s Da Costa emphasized, “Simulators are available for all Tecnam training aircraft. They allow students to train in all weather conditions, with realistic airport visuals and navigation environments.” Tecnam also collaborates with Evionica, “offering one of the most intelligent CBT (Computer-Based Training) solutions in the market,” the OEM executive said and continued, the benefits of CBT for flight training organizations include: increased profitability and operational efficiency; enhances learning outcomes; and improved safety across all training phases.

The training continuum for aspiring pilots is also in Elixir’s rapidly evolving business plan. Champenois said an announcement is imminent regarding his company’s agreement with an unnamed S&T company to provide an ATD/FTD supporting the Elixir aircraft.

Pipistrel’s entry-level ground-based simulators and training systems provide a digital flight environment, helping pilots become well-prepared before boarding the aircraft, Massey said. “This optimizes flight hour management and reduces the need for familiarization flights, making it an efficient tool for flight schools,” the executive concluded.

On CAT’s Watchlist

Expanding logistics agreements, new onboard technologies and enhanced S&T programs complementing the aircraft are three of the many developments encouraging CAT to monitor and report on this sector’s activities.

The author may be contacted at marty.kauchak@halldale.com to obtain insights from training aircraft community stakeholders about their progress.