The ICP Savannah is a high-wing, single-engine, ultralight with side-by-side seating for two produced in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

ICP srl ICP srl is an Italian wiring harness, automotive brake wear indicator and aircraft manufacturer founded by Tancredi (Edi) Razzano in 1980 and originally based in Piovà Massaia. The company relocated to Castelnuovo Don Bosco in Piedmont on 1 ...

. It has sold in large numbers, particularly in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. The Savannah is in production, sold in both kit and ready-to-fly form.

Design and development

The Savannah is a conventionally laid-out two-seat aircraft which can be bought in ready-to-fly or kit form. It is commonly registered as a

light-sport aircraft A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a fairly new category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictio ...

in the United States and as an ultralight in some other jurisdictions and is considered a microlight aircraft in New Zealand. It has much in common with the Zenith CH 701 designed by the late Chris Heintz (1938–2021), though the Savannah has a different empennage; later versions have further diverged from the Zenith, particularly in the wing design. Manufacture (both ready to fly and kits) is done in the ICP premises located in Castelnuovo Don Bosco (

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

), where the firm moved on September 10, 2009 from the original plant in

Piovà Massaia Piovà Massaia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Asti. Piovà Massaia borders the following municipalities: Capriglio, Cerreto d'Asti, Coc ...

. Structurally, the Savannah is a metal semi-monocoque. Most variants have a constant-chord wing like that of the Zenith, with flaps and ailerons combined into

Junkers Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Germ ...

-style flaperons. The Savannah Advanced has a shorter, tapered wing. Early variants retained full-span leading edge slots, later replaced with

vortex generators A vortex generator (VG) is an aerodynamic device, consisting of a small vane usually attached to a lifting surface (or airfoil, such as an aircraft wing) or a rotor blade of a wind turbine.spatted mainwheels of the

tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle ge ...

are mounted on cantilever legs. The Savannah can be mounted on Kevlar/

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

floats; swapping from land to water gear takes about 150 minutes. An alternative floatplane version, using

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

floats, was called the Savannah Hydro. Savannahs have been powered with a variety of small engines in the 35–70 kW range. The cabin seats two side by side under the wing, the newer XL version having increased width and enhanced glazing. Aft, the fuselage is flat-sided, with the underside rising towards the tail. The rectangular tailplane and elevators, which use a conventional airfoil unlike that of the Zenith, are set at the top of the fuselage, with the rudder running between the elevators to the keel. Fin and rudder are straight-tapered and slightly swept. The ICP factory may supply a rudder extension as an optional extra. Zenith STOL CH 701 designer, the late Chris Heintz, considers the Savannah an unauthorized copy of his design. Despite this, ICP and Zenair began a partnership in 2012 whereby ICP assembles the ready-to-fly version of the low wing Zenair 650Ei, an evolution of the

AMD Zodiac The Zodiac is a family of Canadian all-metal, two-seat, fixed landing gear airplanes that first flew in 1984. The aircraft have been produced as kits and completed aircraft by Zenair in Canada and Zenith Aircraft Company in the US.Vanderme ...

, for the European market.

Operational history

Sales, beginning around 2000, had by 2010 reached 650 aircraft or kits. As of mid-2010 there have been about 513 Savannahs and Bingos on the registers of European countries west of Russia. Smaller numbers fly in North America, where the agents was Skykits Co., replaced in 2011 by I.C.P. Aviation North America, LLC (ICPANA), and elsewhere. In Australia and New Zealand, the 600 kg version of the Savannah XL and Savannah S are growing in popularity. As an example, as of March 2022 there are three types of Savannahs on the New Zealand aircraft register. This includes eight VG models, two XL models and 23 S models for a total of 33 Savannah aircraft. Currently, there are another seven S models under construction in New Zealand. In Australia, the best estimate is that there are in excess of 100 completed Savannahs flying; many more are under construction. It is expected that the total number of ICP aircraft (all models, mainly Savannah and Bingo) produced exceeded 2,000 units by the end of 2011. In 2008 an order from the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

was expected.

Variants

''Data from'' Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2010/11 ;Bingo 503:37 kW (50 hp) two cylinder in line, two-stroke Rotax 503 engine. ;Super Bingo:First flown 19 October 2001. 68 kW (92 hp) two cylinder in line, geared Simonnini Victor 2 engine. ;Bingo 4T:Introduced 2003. 45 kW (60 hp) two cylinder horizontally opposed four-stroke

HKS 700E The HKS 700E is a twin-cylinder, horizontally opposed, four stroke, carburetted aircraft engine, designed for use on ultralight aircraft, powered parachutes and ultralight trikes. The engine is manufactured by HKS, a Japanese company noted for ...

engine. ;

Vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also mentio ...

:Introduced 2006. Current production, 2011. Optimised for

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

performance, with the Savannah ADV wing with double-slotted Fowler flaps, leading edge slats, single bracing struts and a slimmer fuselage. Powered by the )

Rotax 912 ULS The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, later ...

four-stroke engine. It is marketed in North America as the ''Rampage''. ;Savannah "Classic" with leading edge slats :Introduced in 1997. Production of the "Classic" model has ceased because leading edge slats are inefficient due additional drag; this aircraft is no longer available from ICP. This leaves the following five Savannah variants in production in December 2020: ;Savannah ADV :Model with redesigned tapered wing of span and area, with full-span flaperons. Top speed of ;Savannah VG :Introduced 2004. This is essentially the "Classic" but with leading edge slats replaced by vortex generators and a slightly different wing profile introduced to gain a faster cruise with very little sacrifice to the stall speed which now 50 km/h (31 mph). Engine choices: 74 kW (99 hp)

flat four; 60 kW (80 hp)

Jabiru 2200 The Jabiru 2200 is a lightweight naturally aspirated, pushrod four-stroke, flat four, air-cooled aircraft engine produced by Jabiru Aircraft. Design and development The conventional direct-drive engine is fitted with an alternator, silencers, ...

flat four; or the 60 kW (80 hp) Suzuki G10 three cylinder inline. ICP Savannah (5718645886)

;Savannah XL :Introduced in 2009. As Savannah VG but with cabin width increased to 1,130 mm by bulged, transparent doors; a transparent cabin roof was also introduced for flight safety; this model received a windscreen with a more aerodynamic slope and revised cowling lines. The XL was the first to be installed with rudder pedals that can be adjusted up to 100 mm. The XL model is known in North America as the Savannah VGW. ;Savannah S :New model introduced in 2010, with rounded tail fuselage corners. The S is derived from XL (and therefore retains the 1,130 mm cabin width, fully transparent doors; the safer, transparent cabin roof, adjustable rudder pedals, the more aerodynamic, raked windscreen and the XL's integrated cowling lines). This model also does not have the 'corrugated' fuselage sides found on all the previous Savannah models. The Savannah S is the flagship model of the range. Engines used in the Savannah S model include the Austrian manufactured Rotax 912, the Honda-based Viking 130 and the Suzuki-based Aeromomentum AM13 and AM15 https://aeromomentum.com/am15.html engines. Savannah T :

Taildragger Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

model, introduced in 2013.

Specifications (XL - Jabiru engine)

References

External links

ICP official website

ICP North America official website
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