I've been excitedly been awaiting their arrival for a decade now when the project was first announced in 2009.

After several years of not hearing anything more about it other then the prototypes were built and tested, I assumed the 9K order was what the IT world calls vaporwear.

Then in 2017, the order for 100 P2012 to 9K was signed.

The latest news I can find says that the first one for 9K was under construction in July 2018, EASE certification was granted in December 2018, and the first 9K delivery was supposed to have been in January, with 22 frames delivered overall in 2019.

I can't wait to catch a ride in one.



https://airlinegeeks.com/2019/01/03/p20 ... roduction/

https://www.tecnam.com/us/slider-home-u ... -underway/

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... 19-452186/

Their delivery timeframe was pushed back because of the government shutdown. They weren't able to continue the FAA certification process until all that nonsense was over with.

They just had a pilot other than a test pilot fly it for the first time the other day.

https://www.tecnam.com/us/slider-home-u ... est-pilot/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC9rUImdomY

WeatherPilot wrote:

They just had a pilot other than a test pilot fly it for the first time the other day.

https://www.tecnam.com/us/slider-home-u ... est-pilot/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC9rUImdomY

Just now has a non test pilot taken control!?!?! The delay due to shutdown make sense though. Thank you for the quick reply.

They look nice. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mokulele Airlines orders them someday to replace their Cessna 208 fleet.

Excited to see them as well. I work right across the street from HYA so I'm sure I'll get a good look at one on approach at some point.

I can confirm what Weather Pilot said. Government shutdown pushed their first delivery back to April/May... so, soon!!

Any update on the Tecnam P2012 Traveller deliveries? I cant find anything new searching on Google.

Jetport wrote:

Any update on the Tecnam P2012 Traveller deliveries? I cant find anything new searching on Google.

https://www.flyingmag.com/we-fly-tecnam-p2012-traveller/

They're still expecting FAA Certification later this year. First 20 produced go to Cape Air.

Cape Air has completed Acceptance flights for the first TWO P2012s!!! They will be ferried by Tecnams COO in the coming weeks. https://www.tecnam.com/slider-home-en/c ... -aircraft/

jworks158 wrote:

Cape Air has completed Acceptance flights for the first TWO P2012s!!! They will be ferried by Tecnams COO in the coming weeks. https://www.tecnam.com/slider-home-en/c ... -aircraft/

The pictures and video are nice and I like the new design livery these aircraft have.

I just saw the announcement on the Boston thread! I’m so excited and think that this aircraft will do well outside of 9K too once it goes into operation and people see it in the wild.

That is quite the gorgeous aircraft! It will be very interesting to see if these airplanes serve Cape Air as long as their Cessnas have. Does anybody have any bets on which aircraft will be replaced by these two new additions?

Tecnam P2012 receives FAA Certification.

https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/b ... tification

Cape Air P2012 Update Including initial routes:

"Tecnam will fly Cape Air’s first two Travellers to the airline’s base in Hyannis (HYA), Massachusetts, the week of Sept. 16, he said. Each flight will make at least five stops — in France, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland and Canada — enroute from Capua. The trip is expected to take four days and include 30 to 35 hours in the air."

Initial Service/routes:

The first services will be to destinations it serves under the U.S. government’s Essential Air Service program from Boston Logan (BOS), said Goddard. Examples of such routes include Augusta (AUG) in Maine or Rutland (RUT) in Vermont.

https://twitter.com/thepointsguy/status/1170076159054372865?s=20

9K really dropped the ball on the new color scheme; looks very nondescript and GA.

N766UA wrote:

9K really dropped the ball on the new color scheme; looks very nondescript and GA.

I think it looks very simple and nice.

Oooooof that’s a terrible paint scheme. It looks like it should be on a Cessna 210 that was repainted in the 90s!

That being said it’s really neat to see a small carrier work with a small aircraft manufacturer to create something unique and special. I sincerely hope these aircraft help Cape Air to improve their operation and expand in the future.

When Cape Air was shopping around their idea of a new commuter plane with the manufacturers I was surprised Piper didn’t show any interest. I was just thinking a stretched Aerostar would have been interesting to see.

The first two P2012s for Cape Air are on their way to the US! Currently in Reykjavik as I type this. Reg #'s are N133CA and N244CA for anyone that wants to track them. I assume this means they'll be arriving in HYA sometime Tuesday 9/24, or Wednesday at the latest.

The new livery looks similar to the one of their Cessna 402’s. They bought it how it looked and slapped the Cape Air logo on it because it was needed for service. Don’t remember the reg. but it’s in the northeast US right now

I noticed that 9K has been including them on their recent EAS proposals, so they're obviously confident in the new December EIS date.

I like the new livery.

Both in the air, from REK heading to Greenland; Landing at UAK.

N766UA wrote:

9K really dropped the ball on the new color scheme; looks very nondescript and GA.

well that suits the entire Tecnam order, one big dropped ball.

CFM565A1 wrote:

well that suits the entire Tecnam order, one big dropped ball.

How so? These look like very capable, comfortable aircraft that should be economical to operate and 9K got to tailor a lot of the design to fit their needs. What would you have done differently?

Out of Greenland, and heading to YYR - Goosebay, Canada.

scflyboy wrote:

Out of Greenland, and heading to YYR - Goosebay, Canada.

Looking at N244CA and N133CA on Flightrader24 and they're flying a few miles apart with N133CA leading the two aircraft.

If they're in Goosebay, Canada today, any idea of their schedule tomorrow? Is it likely they'll make it the rest of the way to Hyannis by tomorrow evening or is a Thursday arrival more likely?

PartsGuy20 wrote:

CFM565A1 wrote:

well that suits the entire Tecnam order, one big dropped ball.

How so? These look like very capable, comfortable aircraft that should be economical to operate and 9K got to tailor a lot of the design to fit their needs. What would you have done differently?

Ordered something other than and more capable than an experimental Italian plane... anything else really, preferably turbine and with a retractable gear

CFM565A1 wrote:

PartsGuy20 wrote:

CFM565A1 wrote:

well that suits the entire Tecnam order, one big dropped ball.

How so? These look like very capable, comfortable aircraft that should be economical to operate and 9K got to tailor a lot of the design to fit their needs. What would you have done differently?

Ordered something other than and more capable than an experimental Italian plane... anything else really, preferably turbine and with a retractable gear

like?

CFM565A1 wrote:

PartsGuy20 wrote:

CFM565A1 wrote:

well that suits the entire Tecnam order, one big dropped ball.

How so? These look like very capable, comfortable aircraft that should be economical to operate and 9K got to tailor a lot of the design to fit their needs. What would you have done differently?

Ordered something other than and more capable than an experimental Italian plane... anything else really, preferably turbine and with a retractable gear

What's wrong with piston and fixed gear? Cheaper to operate and obviously fits their plan perfectly.
Remember, Cape Air currently flies 92 piston aircraft (88 Cessna 402s & 4 Islanders), 4 of which are fixed gear. The P2012 is nothing really different than the Islander.

The P 2012's are more like a Cessna Caravan than an Islander in that they have an isle down the middle and the gear is fixed to the body and not the engines. Having non retractable landing isn't an issue at the low altitudes that Cape Air flies at and they have more experience w/ piston than turbine engines plus they prefer a twin over a single engine plane. The Cessna's are getting old and need to be replaced and since they have a large fleet to replace it's better to do it w/ one type for economics of scale

I would have went the caravan route over a piston.

bigb wrote:

I would have went the caravan route over a piston.

I’d prefer a G VI myself but both are very costly. Caravans were the end of Island Air, too expensive to operate on those routes

Cape Air does not want to go turbine as they have said for the past 15 years. They now have a custom made plane just the way they wanted it to be. What other Airline can say that?

CFM565A1 wrote:

PartsGuy20 wrote:

CFM565A1 wrote:

well that suits the entire Tecnam order, one big dropped ball.

How so? These look like very capable, comfortable aircraft that should be economical to operate and 9K got to tailor a lot of the design to fit their needs. What would you have done differently?

Ordered something other than and more capable than an experimental Italian plane... anything else really, preferably turbine and with a retractable gear

I also don't like that it's fixed gear, however that's not Tecnam's fault, their smaller P2006T has retractable gear.

Piston is best for cheap maintenance and quick turnarounds.

What you wanted was something that would have killed the company.

What's the issue with the non-retractable gear? It does not really matter if the economics are right. The Twin Otter also has no retractable gear and been around around successfully for 50 years . A retractable gear may save some fuel, but adds technical complexity that is wholly unnessary for Cape Air's type of operation.

It looks like they are going Non-Stop from YYR to HYA.
Flightaware showing a 0810 ADT dept out of YYR and 1145 EDT arrival into HYA.
Would be a nice day to be at HYA!

Aesma wrote:

CFM565A1 wrote:

PartsGuy20 wrote:

How so? These look like very capable, comfortable aircraft that should be economical to operate and 9K got to tailor a lot of the design to fit their needs. What would you have done differently?

Ordered something other than and more capable than an experimental Italian plane... anything else really, preferably turbine and with a retractable gear

I also don't like that it's fixed gear, however that's not Tecnam's fault, their smaller P2006T has retractable gear.

Piston is best for cheap maintenance and quick turnarounds.

What you wanted was something that would have killed the company.

Fixed gear and piston engines was a requirement that came from 9K, not the manufacturer. Retractable gear increases weight and costs money in payload and maintenance. The Caravan isn't an economical aircraft for short part 135 hops in the US. The aircraft is limited to passenger 9 seats, even though 13 is the capacity. ACK-HYA, one of their busiest routes is only 27NM, about 12-15 min average flight time, not great for a turbine engine.

SyracuseAvGeek wrote:

The new livery looks similar to the one of their Cessna 402’s. They bought it how it looked and slapped the Cape Air logo on it because it was needed for service. Don’t remember the reg. but it’s in the northeast US right now

Or more likely, 9K worked with Technam to say, "This is what we would like our livery to be". In even the earliest drawings and mock ups, it was a white aircraft with grey and blue accents, 9K's colors. Remember this is an aircraft that is 99% built to Cape Airs specs.

CFM565A1 wrote:

Ordered something other than and more capable than an experimental Italian plane... anything else really, preferably turbine and with a retractable gear

- It's not experimental, it has been designed as a passenger craft and has been certified by the FAA and EASA for that purpose.
- Turbine is less efficient, more expensive and less suited overall for their use (short hops)
- They already don't need the capabilities (range, ceiling) that this aircraft offers - why would they want to pay for more unused capability?
- They asked for fixed gear specifically because the reduced maintenance is worth more to them than whatever fuel savings they might see from a more aerodynamic profile, since their typical flights are so short.

9K is a large, niche operator with a business model built around a specific type and size of aircraft. They've helped bring to market the first piston-engine passenger plane in what... 30 years? 35? And it suits their needs perfectly - because they had a lot of input in the design process. Would a turboprop manufacturer have tailored a design to their needs for a 100-aircraft order? Most likely, but there still would have been compromises and it still would have ended up costing far more than these Tecnam birds.

I think 9K made the right choice and I look forward to seeing them fly overhead every day. I also think Tecnam has a winner on their hands and will find many orders from other small operators around the world once 9K starts proving them out in service.

scflyboy wrote:

Would be a nice day to be at HYA!

The weather here is beautiful today! I work right across the street from HYA, directly under the approach for RWY 6 so technically I have a 25% chance of seeing them land today... unfortunately their arrival time means I won't be able to break away from work to go to the most likely arrival runway, which I assume would not be RWY 6 since they're coming from the north and there's no wind to deal with. If they were coming 2 hours later I'd be able to get away... oh well! A year from now I'll probably be sick of seeing them so much... haha.

This would be a great plane for the remote towns in Alaska.

rlwynn wrote:

They now have a custom made plane just the way they wanted it to be. What other Airline can say that?

Some would say Southwest...

PartsGuy20 wrote:

9K is a large, niche operator with a business model built around a specific type and size of aircraft. They've helped bring to market the first piston-engine passenger plane in what... 30 years? 35? .

Great point and something people lose sight of.

EIS dates:
Piper Navajo: 1967
Cessna 402: 1967
BN Islander: 1967
Beech Queen Air: 1960
Beech Baron 58: 1969 (a little on the small size to be considered an airliner, but I can find reference to a few small commuters and air taxis using it)
Partenavia P.68: 1971 (barely used as an airliner)

Every other piston airliner is even older and a barely postwar design.

Aesma wrote:

CFM565A1 wrote:

PartsGuy20 wrote:

How so? These look like very capable, comfortable aircraft that should be economical to operate and 9K got to tailor a lot of the design to fit their needs. What would you have done differently?

Ordered something other than and more capable than an experimental Italian plane... anything else really, preferably turbine and with a retractable gear

I also don't like that it's fixed gear, however that's not Tecnam's fault, their smaller P2006T has retractable gear.

Piston is best for cheap maintenance and quick turnarounds.

What you wanted was something that would have killed the company.

The last line says everything perfectly.

A.net seems to hold the same delusions of grandeur as Air Zimbabwe and its ilk - the sole existence is prestige, practicality be damned.

I live in a city with Cape Air EAS flights to several smaller towns. I'd love to fly these planes. From a pilot perspective, they're well equipped and a good transition from piston singles, for people with limited multi time, and a stepping stone to higher performance aircraft and jets.

Antarius wrote:

the sole existence is prestige, practicality be damned.

I hear some a380s are available. Should be ideal for the high season.

kabq737 wrote:

That is quite the gorgeous aircraft! It will be very interesting to see if these airplanes serve Cape Air as long as their Cessnas have. Does anybody have any bets on which aircraft will be replaced by these two new additions?

They are replacing the entire fleet with them.

Once the two aircraft arrive at HYA, can someone post some photos of the new birds?

Frontier 14

Frontier14 wrote:

Once the two aircraft arrive at HYA, can someone post some photos of the new birds?

Frontier 14

See post #25 on this page.