LUISFLIGHT

Hi Doug, my friend is not a pilot, just a fan of airplanes and is not a member. As you saw I have posted some of my experience regarding the wonderful Tucano. I am an LSA pilot and just started flying 10 years ago. I begun with a ICP Savannah that I crashed because I was feeling like a Top Gun after 50 hours of flight - A very good lesson, especially because I did not really hurt myself even though I had to scrap my aircraft. Savannah's are, as we say in Italy, "good family fathers". Then I build a new Savannah from a kit. Two years later I sold it and bought a Freccia-Promecc (a very nice LSA aircraft) and recently I started a new adventure with the Tucano which is more a GA aircraft rather than an LSA, with excellent performances especially with an engine like the MW. I like Rotax, it is a very good engine but I believe it is important to try novelties other wise our world (aviation), already too much conservative, is not improving. I am doing all maintenance by myself and like to experiment a lot. I recently installed a Gemini AP and it work very well.

Hi to all members. I am new at the forum that I came to know thanks to an Australian friend who visited me in Tuscany (Italy). I am owning a TUCANO - Flying Legend and I like to share experiences with pilots all around the planet. Regards Luigi

Hi to all members. I am new at the forum that I came to know thanks to an Australian friend who came for a visit in Tuscany (Italy) last week. I noticed the small discussion on the TUCANO and the MW engine and I am willing to share my personal experience as I consider both products more than excellent. When I bought a TUCANO +6/-3 I knew I had to install a powerful engine. I tested the TUCANO with a Rotax 130HP (912 + FlyGas Turbo) and it was clear to me it was not sufficient (of course it is my personal opinion). I LOVE the TUCANO and I consider it, as my pilot friends (few are ex Military Pilots), one of the best aircraft of its category – Flying Legend did a fantastic job, the aircraft is impressive ! I proposed Flying Legend to install an MW-B25R (155 HP) and they accepted. In my opinion the MW was the right solution for the TUCANO even if it required more attention on propellers due to its high torque and power (155HP and double torque of ROTAX 912 !). First installation was made using an FP propeller especially publicised in Italy for high torque and high power. Unfortunately the HUB appeared to be weak for such powers and could only cope with lower power : after 12 hours of flight I almost lost a blade in flight ! That has been the sole problem (and a very serious one) we have had on the TUCANO and it was clearly not connected to the Aircraft nor the Engine. This has certainly created some worries and Flying Legend and MW recommend intensive testing before considering the combination suitable. This is exactly what I did. It took some time to find the right propeller and test it, but since then I have had satisfactory testing with a WarpDrive fixed pitch and a variable AirMaster and the engine and the aircraft have worked perfectly well. I am now using an AirMaster Hub (I preferred a variable pitch in flight), I personally consider AirMaster products excellent and very well made plus one of the most professional producer on the market, they are extremely serious and competent. Since testing has begun this spring I have already flown more than 50 hours without any problem and I am extremely satisfied with the TUCANO and the MW engine, I could not recommend a better solution. All these experiences took me some time since I am working on a different field and do not have more than a day a week for my aircraft, but I gained a great experience and I can say that the TUCANO is a wonderful aircraft with a very serious company behind, while MW is a fantastic, modern and impressive engine very well studied and MW has been extremely supportive and competent during the quest for a new propeller and all the testing. I will continue improving the aircraft (efficiency, ecc …) but I can already say that I am extremely satisfied by the combination of the three companies involved. I hope that my experience will be of help to those interested and I am able to share experiences with more technical info on the TUCANO or MW if necessary. Luigi Ferrando - LUISFLIGHT TUCANO-MW Owner