Tecnam Snap
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founder | Fabio Russo |
| Headquarters | Casoria , Italy |
| Products | Aircraft |
The Tecnam Snap is an Italian-made aerobatic ultralight aircraft created by designer Fabio Russo and manufactured by Tecnam located in Casoria, within the Metropolitan City of Naples. It was unveiled at the 2013 AERO Friedrichshafen exhibition. This model was intended to be offered as a fully assembled, ready-to-fly aircraft.
The Snap’s design originates from the Dallair Aeronautica FR-100 Snap!, initially produced by Dallair, a subcontractor for Tecnam. However, Tecnam assumed production responsibilities in 2013.
Design and development
Conceived as an affordable aerobatic plane with an elevated power-to-weight ratio, the Snap meets the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight classification. Its configuration includes a cantilevered low-wing, a single-seat cockpit enclosed by a bubble canopy, fixed conventional landing gear, and a single engine mounted in tractor arrangement.
The fuselage structure consists of welded 4130 steel tubing, while the wings, elevators, and fin are constructed from aluminium sheet. Components such as the rudder, ailerons, engine cowling, and fuselage skin utilize composite materials. The lower tailcone section is covered with doped fabric. The wing spans 7.20 m (23.6 ft) and covers an area of 8.30 m2 (89.3 sq ft). The tailplane is positioned low on the fuselage, and the ailerons are equipped with spades. Powerplants offered include the four-stroke Rotax 912ULS and Rotax 912iS, both enhanced by EPA Power to deliver 130 hp (97 kW) instead of their standard 100 hp (75 kW) output. An inverted oil system can be installed to facilitate prolonged inverted flight.
Tecnam does not directly market this model; sales have been conducted via its US distributor, SportairUSA. However, as of March 2017, the Snap was no longer listed for sale by SportairUSA.
Additionally, by March 2017, this design was absent from the Federal Aviation Administration’s registry of approved special light-sport aircraft.
Operational history
As of March 2017, there were no recorded registrations of this aircraft model with the United States' Federal Aviation Administration.