The Partenavia P.68, now Vulcanair P68, is a light aircraft designed by Luigi Pascale and initially built by Italian Partenavia. It made its first flight on 25 May 1970, its type certification was granted on 17 November 1971 and was transferred to Vulcanair in 1998. The original six-seat high-wing monoplane is powered by twin piston engines and is used for light transport and training, the P.68 Observer is an observation aircraft variant, and it was developed in a stretched, 10/11-seat twin turboprop derivative.
Development
The type certification for the P.68 "Victor", a twin piston engine, high wing monoplane with fixed tricycle landing gear was applied for on 22 January 1969. The Partenavia P.68 was designed as a six-seat light transport and trainer powered by two Lycoming IO-360 engines, it made its first flight on 25 May 1970 at Naples. The type certification for the 9.20 m long P.68 was granted by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority on 17 November 1971 for an 1860kg MTOW. It was approved by the FAA on 7 December 1971. After a 300 h of flight tests, production was to start in May 1972 in a new plant at Naples Capodichino Airport at a rate of three aircraft per month. The prototype was built at Arzano, Italy, production began with 14 pre-production aircraft at new facilities in Casoria, Italy. The longer, 9.35 m P.68B "Victor" certification was applied for on 18 October 1973 and granted on 24 May 1974 for a 1960 kg MTOW. Its fuselage was lengthened to create more space in the cockpit. Both derived from the P.68B and 9.55 m long, the P.68R "Victor" has a retractable landing gear and was certified on 31 July 1978 while the P.68C has a nose allowing a weather radar, larger fuel tanks and increased weights, and was certified on 23 July 1979 with a 1990 kg MTOW. The P.68C-TC, certified on 29 April 1980, has turbocharged, Lycoming TIO-360-C1A6D engines. The 9.43 m long P. 68 "Observer", derived from the P.68B with a transparent fuselage nose, adapted systems and larger fuel tanks, was certified on 12 June 1980. The observation aircraft for law enforcement were initially conversions of existing aircraft by German Sportavia-Putzer. The 9.90 m long, fixed gearAP68TP-300 "Spartacus"was certified on 10 December 1983 with two Allison 250-B17C turboprops and a 2600 kg MTOW. the nine-seater development was helped by Aeritalia, the prototype first flew in 1978 with a retractable undercarriage. The 9.15 m long P.68TC "Observer", a P.68 "Observer" with turbocharged engines, was certified on 18 June 1985. The 10.89-11.27 m long, retractable gearAP68TP-600 "Viator", with two Allison 250-B17C turboprops, has a 2850-3000 kg MTOW and was certified on 16 October 1986. The 9.54 m long P.68 "Observer 2" is a P.68 "Observer", with increased weights, upturned wing tips and modified systems, and was certified on 30 November 1989 for a 2084 kg MTOW. Based in Casoria, Naples, and already manufacturing Partenavia spares, Vulcanair acquired the type certificate, aircraft spares and the former production plant in Milan for L1.4 billion in April 1998. The type certificate was transferred on 25 November. Vulcanair offers the P.68R, P68C, P.68C-TC, P.68TC Observer, P.68 Observer 2 and AP68TP-600 Viator.
Variants
Variant
Certified
MTOW
Engines
Length
Built
P.68 Victor
17 Nov 1971
1860
IO-360-A1B6
9.20 m
14
P.68B Victor
24 May 1974
1960 kg
IO-360-A1B6
9.35 m
>190
P. 68 Observer
12 Jun 1980
1960 kg
IO-360-A1B6
9.43 m
>21
P.68R Victor
31 Jul 1978
1960 kg
IO-360-A1B6
9.55 m
1
P.68 Observer 2
30 Nov 1989
2084 kg
IO-360-A1B6
9.55 m
P.68C
23 Jul 1979
1990 kg
IO-360-A1B6
9.55 m
>114
P.68C-TC
29 Apr 1980
1990 kg
TIO-360-C1A6D
9.55 m
P.68TC Observer
18 Jun 1985
1990 kg
TIO-360-C1A6D
9.15 m
AP68TP-300 Spartacus
10 Dec 1983
2600 kg
Allison 250-B17C
9.90 m
>13
AP68TP-600 Viator
16 Oct 1986
2850-3000 kg
Allison 250-B17C
10.89-11.27 m
>6
Operators
Military and government operators
Civil operators
Incidents and accidents
The P.68 was involved in 86 accidents and incidents reported in the Aviation Safety Network wiki database, including 58 hull losses. September 11, 1983: A P.68C, N29561, performing an aerobatic display broke upin flight during an airshow in Plainview, Texas as horrified spectators watched. The NTSB report revealed that analysis of the video showed the aircraft performed a fly-by over the runway, exceeding its Vne speed by 27 knots. The pilot then executed a sharp nose-up pitch change of about 8 degrees, which spiked the aircraft's dynamic load factor to 8.3Gs and caused both wings to fail in the main spar just outside both engine nacelles then separate from the aircraft, which then began rotating, causing the rear fuselage to twist along its length between its cabin and empennage. The aircraft then plummeted 250 feet down just beyond the group of spectators.
