Initial details of US version of the Tecnam Astore Revealed

[c162pilot]

I received the following email from Eli Grimes at Tecnam yesterday. Downloaded and printed all 20 pages of the brochure, lots of information in it.

I will be at Sun 'n Fun in a few weeks and plan to do a detailed comparison between the Astore and the RV12 as I view these two aircraft as the lead to replace my DA40 with.

Good afternoon from Tecnam Aircraft!

We are excited to announce that the first Astore bound for the US, Serial #022, has finished production and is being packed to ship! It will be making it's US debut at the 40th annual Sun 'n Fun Fly-in in Lakeland, FL, April 1-6. Tecnam will be located in the Manufacturer's Display area in booth MD21, and will be showing off multiple aircraft, including the Astore, P2008, P92 Eaglet, P2006T, and more.

We want to give each client the chance to fly the Astore, and have opportunity to place their order so that they can receive their new plane as quickly as possible. We are currently working to schedule a day for demonstration flights. These flights will take place either the day before the show, the last day of the show, or the day after the show. Once we have confirmation of the date, we will contact you so that we can get you on the schedule ahead of the event and guarantee a time for your flight.

Included below is a link to the current Astore Brochure and Price List. A new version will be released at Sun 'n Fun, as it will contain brand new, state of the art avionics that will be available starting April 1st.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iphe5bmi7z63w ... 1%2014.pdf

Please feel free to contact us with any questions that you may have concerning the Astore, or any other Tecnam aircraft. We look forward to hosting you at the show, where we expect the Astore to confirm that it is everything you have been looking for in your future LSA!


Eli Grimes
Sales Agent/Marketing Manager
Tecnam North America
(804) 798-6500

[Jack Tyler]

Beautiful plane. Lots of Italian flair evident. The strong Euro is also quite evident.

[Scotsman58]

Any clues as to the "brand new, state of the art avionics" that will be available April 1st?

[c162pilot]

Based on previous comments made to me by Eli I suspect a Garmin G3X option similar to the P2008 Turbo that was shown at Sport Expo in Sebring earlier this year.

[David Pavlich]

Gorgeous airplane, a bit spendy, but you certainly get a nice airplane. And that sliding canopy is just way cool!!

David

[drseti]

I wonder if it can be flown open canopy like the Tecnam Sierra?

[Wm.Ince]

Gorgeous airplane, a bit spendy, but you certainly get a nice airplane. And that sliding canopy is just way cool!!

David

Competition with the Bristell, which is a gorgeous airplane and flies really nice.

[FastEddieB]

A very nice "little plane".

I would consider one.

But I'm still getting used to what I would call "nosebleed prices". It's just hard for me to accept prices around $200k for these little guys, but obviously some still see the value there.

Guess the market will decide how much people are willing to spend on Light Sports.

But I remember in 2007 being on the fence about spending about $75k on another nice "little plane". It seemed like a lot of money to me then, and still does.

[drseti]

But I'm still getting used to what I would call "nosebleed prices".

Eddie, i think you and I are both out of touch with financial reality. When we started flying, a nice new Cessna ran $15k, and a high-performance Beechcraft was around $19k. Today, new Skyhawks are over 300, Cherokees around 350, and Bonanzas three quarters of a million. Talk about nosebleed!

[FastEddieB]

But I'm still getting used to what I would call "nosebleed prices".

Eddie, i think you and I are both out of touch with financial reality.

Well, sure.

In 1974, I think a new C150 Aerobat was about $10,500. Of course, I was pumping gas into airplanes for $2/hr, so that was a LOT of money.

On average, prices in general are up one order of magnitude (10x) since then. A $2,000 car is now $20,000. A $40k house is now $400k. A 1¢ Fireball is now a dime (or even more!)*. I remember cigarettes for $1.99...A CARTON!!! And so on.

So, a basic little plane like the 150 might be $100k if it followed other prices. I could live with that.

It's at $200k for a Light Sport that my nose starts to bleed.

But if that's what the market wants, that's what the market will get!


*Seeing Fireballs for 15¢ I lamented to the young lady behind the counter that I remembered when they were a penny. Her response? "That was a long time ago, sir."

Ouch!

[MovingOn]

.......

[Jack Tyler]

It's a tricky business to compare past prices - or levels of wealth - with today'. See e.g. http://www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/

One way to look at the cost of something 'then vs. now' is to use a measure everyone can relate to. So building on Paul's observation, early in the 1960's the price of a Cessna was roughly the equivalent of the median cost of a house - that 1960's house with a cost right in the middle of all houses nationwide. Not so, today. That Cessna costs between 50% more than today's median house value for a Skyhawk and 100% more to buy a Skylane. So all the increased costs mandated by regulation, airspace complexity and relatively higher fuel prices aside, new aircraft really do appear more expensive today than they previously were. Now add in those other relative cost increases, and the cost of flying (not just solely aircraft acquisition) is such that it's kinda amazing we are still enjoying this avocation!
http://www.census.gov/const/uspricemon.pdf

For me at least, one major missing piece with today's S-LSAs and their nosebleed prices is utility. The buyer pays almost as much as if s/he were buying that mythical median house but is only able to carry one passenger and not much else, and then only in daytime VFR weather and in less boisterous conditions. The utility of the house has probably not changed at all, and might well have increased over time given more modern building codes. The person who is able to buy a used LSA for perhaps 1/4th the cost of today's median house - so s/he can enjoy recreational flying - seems to be making a purchase (and getting a product with commensurate part-time recreational value) much like buying an RV, boat or touring motorcycle. And if that LSA a/c can only fly 80-90 knots or only offer 2 hours of comfortable fuel endurance or only one passenger seat, that too seems commensurate with the investment and the purpose it's intended to serve: occasional recreational enjoyment via interesting but limited travel along with the joy of use. As the cost escalates past that approximate point - at least for me - it becomes less and less a rational choice except for those few with substantial excess wealth.

[Mark Gregor]

I have been anxious to reply to this post for a while!

We are very excited about the Astore. The interior will be fully finished like the P2008 and I guarantee it will look even better in person. The colors we see so far are very traditional colors. When we see the red or blue colors this aircraft will really stand out.
With the option of all three Rotax engines this will be a very good preforming aircraft. The 912 and 912i engines are very nice but the 914, there is just nothing like it!

I can easily agree all new aircraft are overpriced but the reality is that we will not see any price drop in the near future. Remember, the more we can sell to those who can afford them the quicker we can get lower priced used ones on the market!

Mark