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Vulcanair V1.0: A Skyhawk Competitor

However, the Partevania purchase got Vulcanair the rights to the P68, a Luigi Pascale-designed twin that found a market in the training and light transport segments. It's powered by a pair of Lycoming IO-360s. Vulcanair lists six variants of the P68, including the P68R retractable and two Observer versions, one of which features a glazed nose for observation and patrol work. A stretch version of the aircraft, called the A-Viator, is powered by Rolls-Royce 250B turboprops and carries nine passengers and two crew. There are 49 P68s in service in the U.S., including three turboprop versions, according to the FAA registry.

Paul Bertorelli
Verified

Two data points in what passes as conventional wisdom are that there’s a looming pilot shortage and that the world will need a big fleet of trainers to fix it. The Italy-based Vulcanair wants a piece of that action and has been touring a Lycoming-powered four-place trainer called the V1.0 as an entre into the trainer biz.

If it looks like a slightly shrunken, boxy version of the Cessna 172, that’s no surprise because given the laws of physics and aerodynamics, any sketch-pad rendering of a high-wing trainer will look like a Skyhawk, even if the struts are optional.

Paul Bertorelli

Paul Bertorelli is Aviation Consumer’s Editor at Large. In addition to his valued contributions to Aviation Consumer, his in-depth video productions on sister publication AVweb cover a wide variety of topics that greatly contribute to safety, operation and aircraft ownership. When Paul isn’t writing or filming, he’s out flying his J3 Cub.