Tecnam Pulls Back Curtain on New Era of Personal Flying

Rain moved through Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) on the opening night of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 back in July, but it didn’t keep anyone away from the Tecnam booth. The Italian manufacturer spent months building toward the debut of a new personal-flying concept.

Plane + Pilot editor-in-chief Cayla McLeod met with Tecnam managing director Giovanni Pascale to walk the display and talk through what, exactly, Tecnam had just shown the world.

“We had a lot of people coming in to discover our new reveal, our new concept, and what Tecnam sees is going to be the future of personal flying,” said Giovanni Pascale.

Tecnam has since confirmed the name behind that concept: Rivale, a nod to the company’s stated philosophy that its only real competitor has ever been itself. The full aircraft isn’t expected to fly until a planned debut at AERO Friedrichshafen, Germany, in April 2027. What Oshkosh crowds got was a preview built to represent the design language of Tecnam’s next phase.

According to Giovanni Pascale, the display was designed to reflect Tecnam’s obsessive attention to detail. The company is pursuing more than new lines and styling for aircraft of this size but a different way of approaching the market altogether.

“Our benchmark is completely different from what you can actually see on the market,” said Giovanni Pascale. “Our intention is to become the benchmark when it comes to personal flying.”

Even in mock-up form, the installation carried real hardware. 

“Looking at the aircraft today, we’re showing off a beautiful MT-Propeller custom-made for the Tecnam Rivale,” Giovanni Pascale said.

The mock-up is powered by a custom-built version of the CD-300 under the hood, paired with avionics still hidden from view: Garmin’s latest G2000 Prime suite.

The CD-300 is a 300 hp twin-turbocharged V-6 diesel from Continental running on jet-A, and the G2000 Prime is itself brand new. It’s Garmin’s first flight deck to bring dual 14-inch touchscreens, Autoland, Smart Glide, and other turbine-level safety features into a high-performance piston airplane. Rivale, Giovanni Pascale said, will be the first aircraft certified with it.

The sculpture renders the front section of a fuselage in stainless steel, planted at the center of the booth like a monument. It is, by weight, nearly as much a statement of intent as the aircraft it previews.

“We’re looking at about 1,500 kilograms worth of materials here,” Giovanni Pascale said. “We call it ‘the sculpture’ because it took us time and effort to realize. With the logo itself, we wanted to demonstrate the level of craftsmanship that can be provided and how a simple logo can become monumental.”

It’s a fitting emphasis for a company built on family craftsmanship.

Tecnam was founded in 1986 by brothers Luigi and Giovanni Pascale, after the pair’s earlier firm, Partenavia, was nationalized by the Italian government. Four decades later, Tecnam has delivered more than 8,100 aircraft to over 65 countries from its Capua, Italy, headquarters.

Aside from the Rivale installation, Tecnam also displayed three production aircraft nearby, starting with the P2012 VIP.

Tecnam’s iconic twin engine was mainly made for regional commercial operations and regional public transportation, according to Giovanni Pascale. With the VIP version, he said, Tecnam wanted to develop a unique version made not only for charter companies and private owners. 

Compared to the standard version, the P2012 VIP is a 6+2 configuration. Giovanni Pascale described a cabin built around flexibility: A seventh seat can replace the entry galley’s fridge and espresso machine, a rear restroom is available as an option, the windows dim to adjust natural light, and the seats themselves recline, slide, and rotate on six points of movement.

“We’re trying to provide the maximum level of comfort within a twin-piston engine,” Giovanni Pascale said. “And I do believe that a configuration of this kind is unique within the general aviation market, especially for aircraft of this type.”

Up front, the VIP cabin gives way to a more familiar Tecnam workhorse setup. The showcased example was equipped with Lycoming TEO-540 FADEC engines.

“As you can see in the front, there’s no mixture control,” Giovanni Pascale said. “We have the EECS system that monitors engine activity. It’s a very big step forward. What Lycoming did with the TEO-540 version is outrageous, and it’s an incredible result. The engines are very reliable and very well protected.”

From there, the tour moved to the P2010 Gran Lusso, Tecnam’s single-engine luxury model. 

“We decided to go for this configuration to meet the many private customer needs,” Giovanni Pascale said. “At the very beginning, the Gran Lusso was developed with the Continental CD-170 only—the full-FADEC engine from Continental, jet fuel or diesel powered, single-lever FADEC system. Right now, the P2010 Gran Lusso IO-390 can also be equipped with a Tecnam air conditioning system, fully integrated with the aircraft. That is going to provide you with a great environment, especially for very hot weather.” 

Cruise speed lands around 135 knots, with the panel built around Garmin’s G1000 NXi, a GFC 700 autopilot, and a center-mounted FMS. The Gran Lusso on display also carried one of Tecnam’s newer avionics updates. 

“This was one of the latest modifications we applied,” Giovanni Pascale said. “We moved from the Mid-Continent MD302 to the GI 275.”

Behind the front seats, he added, the space is very generous. For flight mode, the seats can be configured to give ample room for pilots and passengers.

The walkthrough closed at the P2006T, Tecnam’s twin-engine trainer, sitting alongside a preview of the aircraft’s Next Generation update. 

“This one is super roomy,” Giovanni Pascale said. “The big advantage of the Next Generation version is the comfort of the extra door on the right side. The feel and look of the Next Generation is completely different.”

According to Giovanni Pascale, the P2006T NG’s real selling point is that it doesn’t fly like people expect a twin to fly. 

“When you’re talking about twin engines, most people think about how challenging they are to fly,” he said. “I personally invite a lot of people to try and fly the P2006 because it’s like flying one of our LSAs. It’s extremely easy. The management of the Rotax engines is super easy and super safe. The pilot workload is not the same as when you’re flying an old legacy twin engine. That’s a very good fit for many private pilots, but especially a very good fit for many flight training organizations.” 

The P2006T NG runs on twin Rotax 912 iSc3 engines and has been marketed by Tecnam as a complex-training platform (complete with retractable gear, constant-speed props, and multi-engine time) built around the operating economics of a single.

“There’s going to be another milestone next year, so we’re looking to present the full aircraft,” Giovanni Pascale said of the Rivale. “Stay tuned, because many details are going to arrive, and the aircraft is just behind the door.”

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