Range Map
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Payload vs. Range
Fuel on board
Cargo
nm
Range
Trip Preview
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We do not have a cruise speed on file for this aircraft, so there is no honest time or cost to give you for this leg.
En route
Fuel burned
Direct cost
Fuel cost
Tanks run dry about past before at this burn.
Mission Profile
- Complex
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Estimated Ownership Costs
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About the Blackshape Prime
Overview
The Blackshape Prime is an Italian carbon-fiber tandem two-seater: an all-composite, retractable-gear single that wraps a military-trainer silhouette around a 100 hp Rotax. Built in Monopoli from autoclave-cured pre-preg carbon, the BK100 airframe is light and stiff enough to cruise near 148 knots on the naturally aspirated 912ULS, burning roughly 4.8 gph of mogas. It flies in the US on an Experimental certificate: the Prime holds no EASA or FAA type certificate, its retractable gear having kept it out of the classic Special-LSA category, so it is a factory-built airplane operated Experimental rather than a certified one.
The Prime is bought for how it flies and looks, not for what it hauls. Two tandem seats, a snug cabin, and a useful load that forces a two-people-or-full-tanks choice make it a weekend and proficiency airplane for the pilot who wants a fast, striking single and will accept Experimental status and low-volume Italian support. A buyer who needs a certified airframe for a flight school, or genuine two-plus-baggage capacity, wants the Gabriel instead.
Key Features for GA Buyers
- Fighter-trainer feel. Tandem seating under a bubble canopy gives a front-seat, stick-and-rudder experience closer to a jet trainer than a typical two-seat cruiser.
- Carbon efficiency. The pre-preg composite airframe reaches about 148 KTAS on roughly 4.8 gph of mogas – fast for the power, and cheap to feed.
- Sport-pilot reachable. Under the 2025 MOSAIC rule the Prime is sport-pilot eligible; because it has retractable gear and a controllable-pitch prop, a sport pilot needs the matching Sec. 61.327 endorsements to act as pilot in command.
- Ballistic parachute. A Junkers whole-airframe recovery chute is fitted, adding a recovery option that few trainers in this class offer as standard.
Trade-offs
- Tight on payload. With about 388 lb of useful load, two adults and full fuel put you near the 472.5 kg (1,042 lb) weight limit – this is a two-people-or-full-tanks airplane, not both.
- Not a certified aircraft. Experimental status limits some training and commercial uses and shapes insurance and resale; buyers who need a certified airframe should look at the Gabriel.
- Narrow cockpit. The roughly 31-inch (80 cm) cabin is snug; the tandem layout trades side-by-side comfort for the trainer sightline.
- Complexity to maintain. Retractable gear and a constant-speed prop add inspection and service burden beyond a simple fixed-gear LSA, and the Rotax carries calendar-driven rubber-and-hose and parachute-repack costs.
See Also
- Blackshape Gabriel – the certified 160 hp Lycoming sibling on the same carbon airframe Compare
- Shark 600 – another composite retractable two-seat cruiser, Rotax turbo power Compare
- Pelegrin Tarragon – a carbon-fiber retractable two-seater in the same fast-glass class Compare
Technical Specifications
Dimensions & Weights
- Height
- 8 ft
- Length
- Source: manufacturer figure 24 ft
- Parking area (ft²2)
- 1,030 ft²
- Max Takeoff Weight
- Source: manufacturer figure 1,042 lbs
- Max Landing Weight
- 1,042 lbs
- Useful Load
- Estimated/derived; not a published figure 388 lbs
- Fuel Capacity
- Source: manufacturer figure 17 gal
Performance
- Cruise Speed
- Source: manufacturer figure 148 KTAS
- Never-Exceed (VNE)
- Source: manufacturer figure 165 KIAS
- Approach Speed
- Estimated/derived; not a published figure 54 KIAS
- Stall, Clean (VS1)
- Estimated/derived; not a published figure 40 KIAS
- Range
- Source: manufacturer figure 680 NM
- Rate of Climb
- 1100 fpm
Engine
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Sources
Where the figures on this page come from. Blackshape Prime specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.
Similar to the Blackshape Prime
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