Departure
96%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
The Blackshape Gabriel, also styled Gabriél and known by the factory designation Bk160, is an all-carbon-fibre, tandem two-seat light aircraft built by Blackshape of Italy as a modern ab initio and advanced pilot trainer. Certified by EASA and later approved by the FAA, it combines a retractable undercarriage, a constant-speed propeller and a full glass cockpit with the kind of sporty, fighter-inspired handling that has made it of particular interest to flight schools and, through its simulator recreation, to home pilots as well.
The Blackshape Gabriel is a two-seat tandem light aircraft manufactured by Blackshape SpA in Italy, built almost entirely from carbon fibre and designed from the outset as a modern instructional type for both military and civil pilot training. It sits alongside Blackshape's earlier Prime light sport aircraft as the company's larger, fully certified trainer, pairing a conventional piston powerplant with retractable gear, a constant-speed propeller and a glass cockpit more usually associated with larger touring aircraft.
The Gabriel grew out of the experience Blackshape gained with its Prime model, a light sport aircraft that debuted in Italy a decade earlier. The Bk160 Gabriel base model was launched at the AERO Friedrichshafen trade show in April 2017, and the type gained EASA certification that year. An upgraded version, designated the Gabriel Turboprop or Gabriel-TP, followed at the Singapore Airshow in 2020. In the United States, Blackshape worked with Ameri Aircraft to import the airframe and pursue FAA approval, which was granted in June 2024, some three years after the type's US debut was reported in 2021. By that point three Gabriels were already in service as trainers within the Air France and KLM ab initio pilot training programmes, with around a dozen examples flying worldwide. In 2019 the aircraft was recognised by the historic aviation trade magazine Aerokurier as the most innovative aircraft of that year. Blackshape has also discussed cooperation with manufacturers in Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Malaysia for local production of the Gabriel through knock-down kits or full technology transfer.
The Gabriel is of all-carbon-fibre construction with tandem seating for an instructor and student, retractable, electrically actuated landing gear, and a Hartzell three-blade composite constant-speed propeller. Power comes from a 160 horsepower, fuel-injected Lycoming IO-320, though specification sheets also reference a version built around the Rotax 916 iSc C24 engine. Steering on the ground is handled through differential braking rather than a conventional nosewheel linkage. The cockpit is a modern glass environment with dual flight controls for both occupants, built around a Garmin-based avionics suite including the G3X Touch primary display and G5 standby instrument, together with autopilot and a secondary communication and navigation unit.
With its 160 horsepower Lycoming engine the Gabriel is capable of cruising at up to 150 knots, a notable figure for a trainer of its weight and power class, reflecting the aerodynamic efficiency of its lightweight carbon-fibre airframe. Blackshape markets the type's handling around precise control response and good visibility from the tandem cockpit, qualities it attributes to the aircraft's sporty, fighter-like design philosophy.
The core production version is the Bk160 Gabriel, with the Gabriel bk160TR and Gabriel 160 Leisure representing trainer-oriented and leisure-touring specifications respectively. Blackshape also offers the Gabriel Turboprop, or Gabriel-TP, an upgraded variant launched at the Singapore Airshow in 2020, alongside the firm's separate, smaller Prime light sport aircraft from which the Gabriel programme evolved.
The Gabriel has been adopted as an ab initio trainer by civil and military operators, with examples flying in the Air France and KLM pilot training programmes. Blackshape has pursued wider international uptake through proposed partnerships for local production in several Asian countries, positioning the Gabriel as a modern alternative to older-generation piston trainers that have dominated flight school fleets since the 1990s.
The Gabriel BK160-TR has been recreated for desktop simulation by Flying Fries and distributed through Orbx, modelling the aircraft's 160 horsepower Lycoming IO-320, its lightweight and aerodynamically efficient carbon-fibre airframe, and a full Garmin glass cockpit suite comprising the G3X Touch and G5 along with autopilot and a secondary com/nav unit. The simulated aircraft is capable of speeds up to 150 knots and can be flown from either the front seat or the rear, the latter offering the more demanding perspective of an instructor watching over a student pilot, making it suited to both solo flying and multiplayer instructional scenarios.