Plane & Pilot 2017 Buyer’s Guide: Piston Twins

Looking for a piston multi? You've come to the right place.

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The multi-engine piston plane market is niche but offers a wide variety of aircraft, ranging from dedicated four-seat training solutions to high-end, six to seven-seat personal transportation planes.
  • Aircraft designs cater to specific niches, with models like the Tecnam P2006T and Piper Seminole excelling as trainers due to their operational characteristics and fuel efficiency.
  • More advanced models, such as the Diamond DA62, Piper Seneca V, and Beechcraft G58 Baron, focus on personal and business transportation, offering higher speeds, greater payload capacities, and integrated modern avionics like Garmin G1000 suites.
See a mistake? Contact us.
Vulcanair Vr
Vulcanair Vr

Vulcanair Vr (P68R)

You might not be familiar with the name Vulcanair, but you should be. The company builds some great performing and great handling airplanes that you might remember from when they were built by Partenavia. The top of Vulcanair’s piston lineup is the Vr, a retractable-gear, all-metal, six-seat twin with fuel-injected 200-hp Lycoming engines. The plane looks a lot like a slightly scaled down version of the Aero Commander and it has many of those same qualities, rugged build quality, competitive performance, great visibility (with its high wing configuration), and a comfortable cabin. The new Vulcanair also has late-model avionics: the all-digital Garmin G950 avionics suite with the STEC 55X autopilot. Performance wise, the P68R ain’t no slouch. It can cruise at 170 knots, land and take off in less than 1,000 feet and, with a useful load of nearly 1,400 pounds and a full-fuel payload of 521 pounds, operators can configure the plane to do shorter trips with the seats full or flights of up to 966 nm with four aboard.

Niche: Transportation

Base Price: $985,000

Competitors: Beechcraft G58 Baron, Piper Seneca V, Diamond DA62

Vulcanair VrSpecifications

Learn more at Vulcanair.

Plane & Pilot

Plane + Pilot is general aviation’s only adventure-based magazine. From where to go, to how to get there, and everything in between, your next great adventure awaits.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get the latest Plane & Pilot Magazine stories delivered directly to your inbox

SUBSCRIBE