Savannah
Role Two seat ultralight
National origin Italy
Manufacturer ICP srl, Castelnuovo don Bosco
Status in production
Number built about 2000

The ICP Savannah is a high-wing, single-engine, ultralight with side-by-side seating for two produced in Italy by ICP srl. It has sold in large numbers, particularly in Europe. The Savannah is in production, sold in both kit and ready-to-fly form.[1][2]

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 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.[3] Manufacture (both ready to fly and kits) is done in the ICP premises located in Castelnuovo Don Bosco (Piedmont, Italy), where the firm moved on September 10, 2009[4] from the original plant in Piovà Massaia.

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-style flaperons. The Savannah Advanced has a shorter, tapered wing. Early variants retained full-span leading edge slots, later replaced with vortex generators. The high wing is braced to the lower fuselage with a V-pair of struts on each side. At their base, the spatted mainwheels of the tricycle undercarriage are mounted on cantilever legs.[3][5] The Savannah can be mounted on Kevlar/carbon fiber floats; swapping from land to water gear takes about 150 minutes.[6] An alternative floatplane version, using amphibious floats, was called the Savannah Hydro.[3]

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.[3] The ICP factory may supply a rudder extension as an optional extra.

I’ve known the 701<>Savannah part of this story for many years, but only recently has the full story emerged. It needs to be told.


The Origins of both the 701 and the Savannah aircraft designs


We keep hearing the accusation that the ICP Savannah is a rip-off copy of the CH701.

Well, that’s not true at all.

This is the true story of how it all happened.


At Sun’nFun 1983, Chris Heintz and Max Tedesco, who had first met in 1980, started considering the possibility of designing an all-metal ultralight using conventional aircraft construction. At that time most ultralights were very basic tube and fabric construction.


First sketches started on scraps of paper and napkins right then, at a Lakeland café, one evening from 6 pm to midnight, with Max’s younger daughter sleeping on a chair… This was followed by six trips from Columbia to Canada by Tedesco, to work on the design with Heintz, and to check the flying characteristics of the plane, Max being a very experienced pilot, and a good test pilot. Several modifications were incorporated to the design following these test flights. That’s a considerable involvement! Max is a very modest man, so when he emphasizes to me that he contributed a lot to that process, I take that to mean a whole lot.


So the 701 itself wasn’t designed only by Chris Heintz, it was already very much a joint venture. Now that’s a surprise to all of you, eh!!!

But as Max says, “An aircraft design needs only one ‘father’, so Chris took on that roll and Max stayed in the background.


At this point we need to introduce Max Tedesco. Born in Colombia, he went to a Technical High School in Italy, studied Mechanical Engineering at MIT, then Aeronautical Engineering at McGill University, specializing in monocoque and semi-monocoque construction. He set up an aircraft factory in Colombia and built a variety of aircraft under license, often modified for agricultural spraying. These are ideal qualifications and experience to work on the design of an aircraft such as the 701. To learn more about Max have a look at http://aeroandina.com/eng/maximo.htm

http://www.aeroandina.com/eng/historia.htm


When the prototype 701 was flying, Heintz began selling plans and kits from Canada, while Tedesco returned to Colombia and commenced manufacturing ready-to-fly 701s under license to Zenair. By 1990, when I first met him at Sun’nFun, Tedesco had built 112 701s for the South American market, and had introduced in 1989, the first 80% ready kit as a world exclusive.


In those days, Zenair used to assemble a 701 during the week of Sun’nFun and fly it at the end of the air show. I noticed that the quick-build kit that we assembled at Sun’nFun in 1990 was one of those made in Colombia, not Canada....


Max is an innovative and experimental engineer, and couldn’t help seeking improvements to the 701. Any designer will know that a first prototype can almost always be improved, and evolution leads to better and better results. The 701 prototype had lots of aspects that could be improved (and it still does....) Max was never satisfied with the cutaway over the cabin and the inverted airfoil horizontal stabilizer. So Max redesigned the 701 to become the first MXP 740 in October 1992, with a longer wing, and a different cockpit construction to accommodate the carry-through centre wing section instead of the cut-away. Also, a different tail section, with a symmetrical horizontal stabilizer instead of the inverted airfoil of the 701, larger elevator, and conventional rudder on a fixed vertical stabilizer.


In Kitplanes Magazine December 1997 there’s a photograph of Chris and Max in Colombia looking over an MXP 640, Max’s derivation of the 601 which was completed in November 92. This was a month after the first 740, so Chris saw and experienced the 740 at that time. Chris had a chance to incorporate those mods, but chose to stay with the original 701, while Max went on to produce the 740’s.


At Sun'nFun 1993, Max displayed his MXP 740 and his low-wing 650, in cooperation with Zenith on their display. There was a lot of customer interest in Max's designs! But Chris and Max decided not to continue that cooperation. The 650 was equipped with a 912 with a turbo of Max's design, which attracted a lot of interest from Rotax representatives. A couple of years later Rotax came out with their 914 turbo model.


Max was exporting 740’s to an agent in Italy for the European market, and had shipped 142 ready-made aircraft there. Little did he realize that the agent had set up a factory nearby, which became ICP, and who then disassembled a 740 and copied it into a CNC machine.


SO THAT’S THE TRUE STORY OF HOW THE SAVANNAH CAME TO BE!


Credit where credit is due, eh........

Full credit must go to Max Tedesco!

He designed a great aircraft, for which others are now reaping the benefit......

Zenith STOL CH 701 designer, the late Chris Heintz, considers the Savannah an unauthorized copy of his design.[7] 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, for the European market.[8]

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.[9][10] Smaller numbers fly in North America, where the agents was Skykits Co.,[6] replaced in 2011 by I.C.P. Aviation North America, LLC (ICPANA),[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]

In 2008 an order from the Indian Air Force was expected.[3]

Variants

ICP Savannah

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2010/11[3]

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 Simonini Victor 2 engine.
Bingo 4T
Introduced 2003. 45 kW (60 hp) two cylinder horizontally opposed four-stroke HKS 700E engine.
Vimana
Introduced 2006. Current production, 2011. Optimised for STOL performance, with the Savannah ADV wing with double-slotted Fowler flaps, leading edge slats, single bracing struts and a slimmer fuselage. Powered by the 74 kW (99 hp)) Rotax 912 ULS four-stroke engine. It is marketed in North America as the Rampage.[1]
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 [14] in production in December 2020:
Savannah ADV
Model with redesigned tapered wing of 8.00 m (26.25 ft) span and 9.40 m2 (101.18 sq ft) area, with full-span flaperons. Top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph)[1][2]
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) Rotax 912 ULS flat four; 60 kW (80 hp) Jabiru 2200 flat four; or the 60 kW (80 hp) Suzuki G10 three cylinder inline.[1]
Savannah XL
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.[2][6]
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.[15] The Savannah S is the flagship model of the range.[1] Engines used in the Savannah S model include the Austrian manufactured Rotax 912,[16] the Honda-based Viking 130 [17] and the Suzuki-based Aeromomentum AM13 [18] and AM15 [19] engines.

Savannah T

Taildragger model, introduced in 2013.[2]

Specifications (XL - Jabiru engine)

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2010/11[3]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 6.60 m (21 ft 8 in)
  • Wingspan: 9.00 m (29 ft 6 in)
  • Height: 2.58 m (8 ft 6 in) with optional rudder extension 2.88 m (9 ft 5 in)
  • Wing area: 12.87 m2 (138.5 sq ft) gross
  • Airfoil: NACA 65-018 (modified)
  • Empty weight: 286 kg (631 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 450 kg (992 lb) European ultralight; experimental 560 kg (1,234 lb); Australian and New Zealand version 600 kg (1,323 lb).
  • Fuel capacity: 78 litres (20.6 US gal; 17.2 Imp gal). Australia and New Zealand version with standard long range tanks: capacity = 150 litres (39.6 US gal; 33.0 Imp gal).
  • Powerplant: 1 × Jabiru 2200 air cooled flat four, 60 kW (80 hp)80 hp
  • Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 912 ULS air partly water cooled, four cylinder, 73 kW (98 hp)80 hp

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 198 km/h (123 mph, 107 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 179 km/h (111 mph, 97 kn) at 75% power
  • Stall speed: 48 km/h (30 mph, 26 kn) full flaps
  • Never exceed speed: 230 km/h (140 mph, 124 kn)
  • Endurance: 4 h with standard tanks 8 h with long range tanks
  • g limits: +6/-3
  • Rate of climb: 6.1 m/s (1,200 ft/min) at 49 knots, fitted with a Rotax 912 ULS engine.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 60. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
  2. 1 2 3 4 Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 61. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ISSN 1368-485X
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jackson, Paul (2010). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2010-11. Coulsdon, Surrey: IHS Jane's. p. 395. ISBN 978-0-7106-2916-6.
  4. ↑ ICP srl (10 September 2009). "Inaugurazione". Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  5. ↑ Jackson, Paul (2000). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2000-01. Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane's Information Group. pp. 305–6. ISBN 0-7106-1898-0.
  6. 1 2 3 "Skykits". Retrieved 2010-11-26.
  7. ↑ Zenith Aircraft Company (n.d.). "STOL CH701". Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  8. ↑ ULM Technologie (2012). "A new collaboration between ICP and Zenair". Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  9. ↑ Partington, Dave (2010). European registers handbook 2010. Tonbridge, Kent: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85130-425-0.
  10. ↑ "UK registered Savannahs". Retrieved 2010-11-26.
  11. ↑ "ICPANA". Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  12. ↑ https://www.aviation.govt.nz/aircraft/aircraft-statistics/aircraft-models/#ref-I
  13. ↑ Volare magazine (in Italian). Vol. 328. Editoriale Domus S.p.A. April 2011. p. 58.
  14. ↑ "I.C.P. Light aircraft: Airplanes models | ICP AVIAZIONE S.R.L."
  15. ↑ "I.C.P. Ultralight aircraft Savanna S | ICP AVIAZIONE S.R.L."
  16. ↑ "Powertrains Detail".
  17. ↑ "What is a Viking Engine?".
  18. ↑ https://aeromomentum.com/am13.html
  19. ↑ https://aeromomentum.com/am15.html
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