Italian GA manufacturer Tecnam yesterday announced they have appointed Moorabbin-based Avia Aviation as the first Tecnam Flight School in Australia.
Avia will establish a training and charter fleet that will include most of the Tecnam range from the P92 Echo Mk II, P-Mentor, P2010 TDi, P2006T twin and the 11-seat P2012 Traveller.
According to Tecnam, demand for their products is growing throughout the world due to shorter leadtimes, higher levels of sustainability and good local support.
One of the key components of the new Avia fleet is the P-Mentor, a two-seat IFR trainer, which is expected to be the first of type in Australia after CASA validated the type certificate on 7 October this year.
“During a visit to the Tecnam factory in Capua, this year I was most impressed with the passion, commitment to innovation, and sheer production capacity of the company," said Avia CEO Charles Gunter.
"The P-Mentor really caught my eye as the perfect trainer to complement our other Tecnam aircraft and take students from ab-initio through to a command instrument rating and or commercial license. I like the fact that the order to delivery time is in months not years, with strong local parts support.
"Operating a Tecnam single and twin-engine fleet can save up to 10 tons of CO2 for every graduated commercial pilot, something that is increasingly important to our students.”
The fleet has been supplied to Avia via Hallmarc Aviation, which is a local distributor for Tecnam aircraft.
“We have had a long association with Charles and his highly capable team," said Hallmarc CEO Michael Loccisano. "We are delighted that a leading flight school as prestigious and astute as Avia, have chosen a Tecnam fleet.
"The P-Mentor adds to AVIA’s other Tecnam models the P92 Echo MKII and the P2006T twin for training purposes and Avia operates our P2012 Traveller for charter operations.
"We expect to see other flight schools in Australia embrace Tecnam as a truly viable and green fleet replacement option.”