Tecnam Unveils Rivale Concept at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026, Full Aircraft Debut Set for AERO Friedrichshafen April 2027

Tecnam used the opening night of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 at Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) to preview a new personal-flying concept, now confirmed as the Rivale, a name the company says reflects its philosophy that its only real competitor is itself. The full flying aircraft is not expected until a planned debut at AERO Friedrichshafen in Germany in April 2027.

What crowds saw at Oshkosh was a sculptural mock-up representing the front fuselage section, fabricated in stainless steel and weighing approximately 1,500 kilograms. The installation incorporated real hardware: a custom MT-Propeller, a custom-built Continental CD-300 engine, and Garmin's newly introduced G2000 Prime avionics suite. The CD-300 is a 300 hp twin-turbocharged V-6 diesel running on Jet-A fuel. The G2000 Prime is described as Garmin's first flight deck to combine dual 14-inch touchscreens, Autoland, and Smart Glide in a high-performance piston aircraft. Tecnam managing director Giovanni Pascale commented on the concept at the unveiling.

Alongside the Rivale installation, Tecnam displayed three production aircraft. The P2012 VIP was shown in a 6+2 cabin layout offering a seventh seat in place of an entry galley's fridge and espresso machine, an optional rear restroom, electronically dimmable windows, and seats that recline, slide, and rotate on six axes, powered by Lycoming TEO-540 FADEC engines with full-authority electronic engine control requiring no manual mixture control. The P2010 Gran Lusso, Tecnam's single-engine luxury model, cruises at approximately 135 knots and features a Garmin G1000 NXi panel, GFC 700 autopilot, and a center-mounted FMS; the displayed aircraft had been updated from a Mid-Continent MD302 standby instrument to a Garmin GI 275, and is available with either the Continental CD-170 full-FADEC diesel engine or a Lycoming IO-390, with an optional fully integrated Tecnam air conditioning system on the IO-390 variant. The P2006T twin-engine trainer was shown alongside a preview of its Next Generation update, which adds a right-side door and an updated interior, and is powered by twin Rotax 912 iSc3 engines, marketed as a complex-training platform offering retractable gear, constant-speed props, and multi-engine time at single-engine operating economics.

Tecnam was founded in 1986 by brothers Luigi and Giovanni Pascale following the nationalization of their earlier company, Partenavia, by the Italian government. Operating from its headquarters in Capua, Italy, the company has delivered more than 8,100 aircraft to customers in over 65 countries.

Showing a fixed, non-flying fuselage mock-up more than half a year before a promised flying debut is a way for a piston-aircraft manufacturer to seed interest and gather reaction without exposing an unfinished airframe to flight-test scrutiny. Building the mock-up around real propulsion and avionics hardware — the Continental CD-300 diesel and Garmin's new G2000 Prime — lets Tecnam signal a concrete technical direction rather than a rendering, while leaving structural and aerodynamic details undisclosed until closer to certification.

In the light personal and training aircraft segment, engine and avionics choices announced at this stage typically anchor supplier relationships for years before the type reaches market, since certification programs are built around a specific powerplant and flight-deck combination. Diesel engines running on Jet-A, like the CD-300 and the CD-170 already offered on the P2010 Gran Lusso, matter to operators in regions where avgas supply is constrained, and pairing that with a next-generation touchscreen flight deck suggests Tecnam is positioning the Rivale toward buyers who already expect that combination in its existing P2010 and P2012 lines.

The next concrete marker is the planned full flying-aircraft debut at AERO Friedrichshafen in April 2027, which will show whether the fuselage shape, weight, and hardware demonstrated at Oshkosh carry through to a certifiable design. Until that debut, performance figures, pricing, and a firm certification timeline for the Rivale remain unstated.