Range Map
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Payload vs. Range
Fuel on board
Cargo
nm
Range
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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
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Estimated Ownership Costs
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About the Pipistrel Alpha Trainer
Overview
The Pipistrel Alpha Trainer is a two-seat composite Light Sport Aircraft built specifically for primary flight training, with operating costs at the low end of factory-built two-seaters. It pairs a high wing and fixed tricycle gear with the 80-horsepower Rotax 912 UL, which burns about three gallons of mogas per hour and overhauls on the same Rotax economics as the rest of the 912 fleet. A 13-gallon tank gives roughly three and a half hours of endurance and about 320 nautical miles of range. Cruise sits near 106 knots true, the airplane climbs about 950 feet per minute at gross weight, and its 1,212-pound maximum takeoff weight leaves a 551-pound useful load for an instructor, a student, and full fuel.
Among LSAs it occupies the budget-trainer slot: less airplane than a cross-country cruiser like the Pipistrel Virus SW, and built to a different brief than the all-metal Tecnam P2002 Sierra or the roomier CSA SportCruiser. Flight schools cross-shop it against the Cessna 162 Skycatcher and the all-metal Vashon Ranger R7 when the deciding factor is acquisition and operating cost per training hour. It is sport-pilot eligible under MOSAIC.
Key Features for GA Buyers
- Operating cost near the floor of the class. At roughly three gallons of mogas per hour and a modeled $30-per-hour direct operating cost, the Alpha lets a club run primary instruction without the hourly burden of a 100LL trainer.
- Forgiving training manners. Light controls, gentle stall behavior, and an honest low approach speed make it a stable platform for first solos.
- Composite airframe, simple systems. Fixed gear, a fixed-pitch propeller, and no retract or constant-speed complexity keep maintenance and student workload low.
- Sport-pilot and MOSAIC eligible. A clean stall well under the 59-KCAS sport-pilot gate keeps it flyable on a sport-pilot certificate and a driver’s-license medical.
Trade-offs
- Trainer payload, not travel payload. Full fuel and two adults is the design point; there is little margin for baggage, and the 13-gallon tank keeps legs short by design.
- Modest climb and speed. Eighty horsepower means about 950 feet per minute at gross and a 106-knot cruise, adequate for the pattern and the local practice area, slow for going places.
- Light-airframe handling in wind. Low wing loading that helps in the flare also demands more active correction in gusty crosswinds than a heavier trainer.
- Mogas logistics. The fuel that makes it cheap is not on every ramp; an owner without mogas access runs 100LL and gives back some of the savings.
See Also
- Tecnam P2002 Sierra – the all-metal, low-wing trainer for buyers who want a more durable airframe and a faster cruise. Compare
- CSA SportCruiser – a roomier S-LSA that doubles as a cross-country cruiser. Compare
- Cessna 162 Skycatcher – Cessna’s factory LSA trainer, cross-shopped on brand familiarity and parts support. Compare
- Vashon Ranger R7 – a low-cost all-metal American LSA aimed at the same training market. Compare
- Pipistrel Virus SW – the faster, longer-legged Pipistrel stablemate for buyers who want travel rather than pattern work. Compare
Technical Specifications
Dimensions & Weights
- Height
- 7 ft
- Length
- 21 ft
- Parking area (ft²2)
- 1,170 ft²
- Max Takeoff Weight
- Source: manufacturer figure 1,212 lbs
- Max Landing Weight
- 1,212 lbs
- Useful Load
- Source: manufacturer figure 551 lbs
- Fuel Capacity
- Source: manufacturer figure 13 gal
Performance
- Cruise Speed
- Source: manufacturer figure 106 KTAS
- Never-Exceed (VNE)
- Source: manufacturer figure 130 KIAS
- Max Structural Cruise (VNO)
- Source: manufacturer figure 108 KIAS
- Approach Speed
- 48 KIAS
- Stall, Clean (VS1)
- Source: manufacturer figure 49 KIAS
- Range
- 324 NM
- Service Ceiling
- Source: manufacturer figure 18,000 ft
- Rate of Climb
- 948 fpm
Engine
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Sources
Where the figures on this page come from. Pipistrel Alpha Trainer specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.
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