Interviews with Sentidosdesign

The main idea for the Cicaré 8 was to translate the historic manufacturing quality and maneuverability of Cicaré into a modern aircraft design. We wanted to preserve that visceral bond that has always defined Cicaré’s helicopters, making the pilot feel interconnected with the machine.

The future plans focus on consolidating the aircraft's positioning across international markets. From a design perspective, the Cicaré 8 platform will serve as a benchmark for upcoming models. Additionally, we are already improving a new version of the same aircraft equipped with a more powerful engine.

The design development spanned two years of continuous iteration alongside Cicaré's composites team, engineers, mechanics, and Augusto Cicaré himself. It involved an initial phase of conceptual sketching, followed by digital surface modeling to get the files fully ready for CNC machining and mold tooling production.

The project was a commission developed in my role as an industrial design consultant for Cicaré S.A.. The main challenge was to evolve our previous single-seat ultralight model into a side-by-side two-seater configuration. We wanted to create a new paradigm in the ultralight segment by merging their legendary mechanical reliability and aeronautical heritage with a world-class design. We share a design philosophy based on the simple, the essential, and the pure.

​The helicopter is manufactured, commercialized, and distributed globally by Cicaré S.A., an internationally renowned institution in the helicopter industry. As the industrial designer responsible for the styling, cabin definition, and exterior surfaces, I operate as their dedicated design consultant, while the factory holds the manufacturing infrastructure and global commercial rights to deliver the aircraft to international customers.

​I have been working with Cicaré since 1991, starting as a technical hand-drafter when I was just 14 years old. Later on, after graduating as an industrial designer, I naturally became the team's designer. Having worked side by side with Augusto Cicaré for so many years, I have learned immensely and feel like a vital part of the company. Designing this aircraft was an organic step for me, as I am deeply involved not only in the industrial design but also in the company's strategic decisions.

The design is mainly influenced by Augusto Cicaré, whose practical philosophy focused on efficiency and simplicity. Additionally, the project draws inspiration from minimalist industrial design and automotive and motorbike studios, emphasizing clean surfaces and emotional geometry. We also took visual cues from movies and anime characters, with nature remaining the ultimate design reference.

The target audience includes private aviation enthusiasts, sport pilots, flight training academies, and corporate operators seeking an agile, cost-effective, and safe aircraft. Users who value not only mechanical excellence and low operating costs, but also demand fit and finish, safety, and reliability.

While most ultralight helicopters appear intricate or purely utilitarian, the Cicaré 8 features a fully enclosed, sculptural carbon fiber cabin. The interior feels like a sports car rather than a basic cockpit, offering a wide field of view and a level of fit and finish rarely found in this weight class.

The name directly honors the historic brand identity of Cicaré. The number "8" denotes its specific place within the product generation.

The development relied on a multi-platform design workflow. Initial concept ideation was captured through digital sketching over the existing platform photos and drawings. The exterior fairings and interior layout were developed using CAD surface modeling.

The most unique aspect is the canopy architecture and its seamless structural integration. We managed to create a large, wrap-around panoramic windscreen that provides exceptional visibility while maintaining a fluid profile. The design integrates distinct automotive-style features and surface treatments rarely achieved in this aircraft segment.

This project was a deeply collaborative synergy between design and specialized technical teams within the company. I worked directly with Augusto "Pirincho" Cicaré and the company’s R&D team, including aeronautical engineers, mechanics, composite materials manufacturing team, and management. This close relationship was crucial to ensuring that every surface met both functional requirements and the company's market goals.

Technology is deeply embedded in both the creation and execution of the Cicaré 8. The cabin utilizes carbon fiber composites to minimize empty weight while maximizing impact protection. During development, 3D surface modeling was key to generating the precise files needed for mold tooling.
However, the true paradigm of this project lies in avoiding over-engineering. Guided by Cicaré’s philosophy, where others introduce technical complexity, we relied on intuitive problem-solving to find the most direct, simple, and efficient path.

Building upon our previous aircraft data, we conducted an anthropometric percentile analysis (5th to 95th percentiles) within the 3D model to evaluate pilot statures, analyzing reach zones, line-of-sight angles, and control clearance. Additionally, the metallic airframe structure was validated through both digital simulations and physical tests. Consequently, the layout and engineering of the composite material assemblies were adapted to build upon that structural foundation.

The greatest challenge was uncompromising weight management to keep the aircraft within international ultralight limits. Simultaneously, within a compressed one-year timeline, we had to translate our concept into production-ready tooling while balancing functionality, ergonomics, costs, and flight requirements. This process ran in parallel with real flight tests, demanding design adjustments.

I had been following the competition's newsletter for years, always admiring the quality of the winning designs. Although I felt my work was competitive, participating seemed distant due to the high standards and costs. However, a dear friend who truly believed in my work surprised me with a nomination ticket. I fully committed to the opportunity, dedicating time to the presentation: refining the images, texts, and documentation.

Although I already had experience in CAD modeling, this project was a milestone because it was our first time using my 3D files directly for CNC mold production instead of manual prototyping for all the fairings assemblies. This required a much higher level of precision.
However, the most valuable lesson was learning to trust my own design convictions. This time, I stood firm behind my innovative vision for the helicopter. It was a challenge to overcome past conventional boundaries, but the company management recognized that it was exactly what allowed the aircraft to achieve great global reception and success.

Winning the Platinum A' Design Award is a wonderful validation of our team effort. Augusto Cicaré began developing his first helicopters in 1958 in a small Argentine town. He had no resources and worked since the age of nine to support his family. Despite this, he built an aircraft legacy that spanned many different models. I joined his journey in 1991, evolving from hand-drafting and mechanical 3D modeling to eventually designing.
I took full responsibility for the Cicaré 8’s interior and exterior fairing design with absolute confidence. We knew we had to compete against global aerospace giants. And today, seeing this aircraft recognized internationally is an immense honor. It celebrates a legacy of humble craftsmanship that started in a small town and has now reached global success.

I run Sentidosdesign, a very small, independent industrial design and visualization studio based in Argentina. I specialize in mobility, vehicle styling, and architectural and industrial visualization. Additionally, we develop corporate identity and graphic design for companies, including custom vehicle graphics and livery design. Our core philosophy revolves around delivering design precision and strategic concept design for both local initiatives and international clients.

For me, design is the balance between art and technique. It is the practice of synthesis and functional honesty. It is not about applying a superficial layer of styling to an object, but about uncovering the most efficient, integrated, and simple solution to a complex human or technical problem. True design must establish a seamless dialogue between the user, the material, and the environment, ensuring that form never compromises safety or performance, but rather optimizes them.

My favorite design is the Cicaré 8 Ultralight Helicopter. It represents the ultimate summit of my career because of its technical complexity and the depth of the industrial design challenge. For this project, I took charge of the conceptual design starting directly from the metallic chassis and managing the entire 3D modeling process for both the interior and exterior of the cabin. While I already had extensive experience working on the brand's previous aircraft models, this was the first project in which I personally developed the advanced 3D models required for direct CNC milling of the manufacturing molds. Shaping an aircraft aimed for certification demanded a perfect alignment between fluid 3d modeling surfacing and rigid mechanical engineering boundaries. Seeing the helicopter fly beautifully while achieving world-first international safety certifications, and now receiving this prestigious global recognition, is a deeply rewarding validation of our design work and philosophy.

My focus is strictly centered on human-centered ergonomics and engineering boundaries, analyzing every product from the inside out. I dedicate my energy to studying user perception, and natural physical comfort during operation. I work directly over the actual mechanical layouts to ensure the resulting aesthetic is perfectly integrated with structural realities, maintenance accessibility, and manufacturing methods. At the beginning of any development, I always question and rethink the entire situation from scratch. My goal is to simplify everything, as I believe this deep simplicity and honesty naturally produce a balanced, attractive result.

Designers carry a responsibility to shape a more sustainable and efficient future. We must actively move away from ephemeral commercial trends and focus on creating long-lasting, purposeful products. Personally, I channel this responsibility through my own open-source endeavor, which focuses on innovating and reinventing new bicycle typologies to democratize urban transportation through functional, shared global knowledge.

I do my best work by embedding myself directly into the client's internal marketing, engineering, manufacturing, and workshop teams right from the very beginning of a project. While complex industrial and aerospace developments demand deep multidisciplinary collaboration, my methodology is to work side-by-side with the technical personnel. This co-design approach allows me to absorb their realities first, so I can individually manage the industrial design phases in perfect alignment with their structural execution and tool behaviors. By designing together with their team from day one, we ensure absolute cohesion and an optimal final result.

My design process is a highly iterative, hybrid workflow that moves constantly between analog intuition and digital precision. I always start by analyzing and questioning the initial situation from scratch. Once the fundamental core problem starts arising, I transition into freehand sketches to rapidly explore character and proportions. As a strong concept emerges and the client is in line with that, I move into advanced parametric 3D modeling, sculpting the surfaces directly over the actual mechanical components and engineering constraints. This constant interplay allows for fine-tuning, ensuring that overall performance is verified simultaneously from the inside out.

My primary advice for the next generation of designers is to actively step away from the digital screen and immerse themselves directly on the workshop floor. True innovation in complex industrial design cannot be achieved only through superficial sketches or isolated digital rendering. Young designers must integrate into multidisciplinary teams and physically work with materials and machinery. Understanding the raw physics of constraints, manufacturing limits, and tool behaviors firsthand, while concurrently learning to manage real production times and manufacturing costs, is what transforms a conceptual stylist into a rigorous, respected professional capable of bridging the gap between artistic vision and complex engineering.

The absolute best part of being a designer is the endless learning cycle and the thrill of creation. Every project forces you to master something new, whether it is an emerging technology like AI, advanced software, or entirely different industries. In my career, I have jumped from helicopters and graphic identity to commercial vessels and modular architecture. There is an immense, almost magical satisfaction in closing your eyes to imagine how something should look and function, detailing it piece by piece through drawing and 3D modeling, and finally seeing it built and operating in the real world.
On the negative side, many clients still misunderstand the complexity of our discipline, often reducing design to mere decorative drawing or trying to dictate the shapes themselves. This makes it consistently challenging to communicate the real strategic value we bring to a business and, consequently, to establish fair commercial fees for our technical expertise.

My most important and transformative professional experience has been my continuous, decades-long collaboration with the late Augusto "Pirincho" Cicaré and his exceptional team. Working side-by-side with him since 1991 allowed me to fully absorb his vast empirical knowledge regarding physics, material dynamics, and mechanical criteria. He possessed an unparalleled intuitive precision. This intense technical exchange, combined with introducing him to the power of parametric 3D modeling and sitting next to him to bridge analog wisdom with design workflows, deeply defined my methodology as an industrial designer. Furthermore, the aircraft we build are true masterpieces of engineering; every single model presents a unique challenge and a profound professional satisfaction.

My focus is to expand the global reach of Sentidosdesign by taking on complex challenges in mobility, technical product development, and visualization.
In collaboration with Cicaré, we are currently conceptualizing next-generation aircraft models.
Concurrently, I am committed to driving my open-source sustainable mobility initiative forward. This project focuses on reinventing bicycle typologies to solve overlooked ergonomic and urban issues, creating low-cost, highly efficient transport solutions for people whose daily needs are not yet properly met by existing market alternatives.

We are continuously prototyping new aviation concepts with Cicaré. I´m also involved in collaborating with a shipbuilding company on the design of commercial fishing vessels and port facilities.

In parallel to that, I am advancing the engineering files for our open-source sustainable mobility project. This initiative focuses on reinventing bicycle typologies to address specific ergonomic and transit needs. Right now we are working on three distinct solutions:

Duetta: A compact tandem bicycle designed to optimize urban space and democratize shared transportation, offering a highly agile and practical alternative to standard, oversized tandem configurations.

Cargo: A dedicated utility bicycle engineered to maximize front loading capacity and stability, facilitating heavy or volumetric cargo transit in dense urban centers without compromising rider maneuverability.

Quadrupedal: An alternative human-powered vehicle that completely redefines the interaction between body and machine. Inspired by the kinematics of quadrupedal animals, it breaks the conventional bicycle paradigm by transforming all four limbs into active driving motors. Rather than seeking extreme optimization for competition, its core purpose is to maximize comfort, ergonomics, and a comprehensive, full-body workout within recreational environments.

Prospective clients, manufacturers, and international collaborators can easily explore our portfolio, review our latest visual assets, and get in direct contact with us through our official digital landing page or professional network links:

- Official Website: https://sentidosdesign.com/hello/
- LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/indaleciosabbioni/

The evolution of Cicaré’s visual language through the Cicaré 8 project was not an exercise in rebranding, but rather a process of distilling a legacy built over six decades of pioneering ultralight aviation. Having collaborated closely with Augusto "Pirincho" Cicaré since 1991, the designer has inherently absorbed the company’s core engineering ethos: a profound commitment to simplicity and functional honesty. Modernizing the brand required honoring these artisanal foundations while simultaneously introducing contemporary industrial design. The design decisions were guided by a shared admiration for a select lineage of automotive and aerospace icons that prioritize mechanical transparency and efficient performance.The modernization was achieved by applying rigorous industrial design methodologies to Cicaré’s proven mechanical logic. This was executed through a digital workflow where the cabin's 3D model was developed and sculpted directly over the 3D model of the helicopter's actual mechanical components. Rather than forcing an arbitrary or merely beautiful sketch onto the aircraft, this integrated approach allowed for a continuous, millimeter-by-millimeter fine-tuning of every dimension, surface, and cutout. Every design choice was rigorously verified simultaneously from the interior for pilot ergonomics and from the exterior for aerodynamic character. While the company’s earlier prototypes were defined by their raw, essential nature, the Cicaré 8 elevates this DNA by treating the cabin as a sophisticated, aerodynamic semi-monocoque shell that protects the pilot without obscuring the machine's inner integrity. By maintaining the exposed tubular tail structure, the design preserves the tactile, "honest" aeronautical DNA that pilots associate with the brand, while the carbon fiber cabin introduces fluid, modern surfacing. This synergy ensures the aircraft feels like a natural successor. A machine that respects its artisanal heritage but is perfectly equipped for the current demands of global air mobility.

The German LTF-ULH certification represents a historical milestone, as this new regulatory framework was drafted in part around the innovative characteristics of the Cicaré 8 itself, a few years after the aircraft had already entered production. Rather than forcing a complete redesign to match predefined constraints, the core design was so robust that it only required minor, highly strategic adaptations to fully comply with the stringent international safety standards. This landmark type certification in Germany has also paved the way for ongoing certification processes in major global markets, including France, Spain, and the United States, cementing the aircraft's role in the global democratization of light aviation. To satisfy these strict regulatory requirements, specific structural and ergonomic refinements were integrated into the cabin architecture. A specialized fire protection system incorporating an aluminum-faced thermal barrier was installed to isolate the cockpit from the engine bay. Inside the cockpit, automotive-grade four-point safety harnesses were integrated to maximize occupant restraint. Furthermore, ensuring absolute isolation between the cabin interior and the mechanical bay to prevent the ingress of temperature and dust required sealing all control rod passages. This functional demand was resolved by designing bespoke bellows for the control linkages, proving that strict international airworthiness standards can be met through clean, incremental design modifications without compromising the aircraft’s original aesthetic integrity.

The seamless cohesion between Cicaré’s sixty-year analog heritage and modern, aerospace-grade precision was made possible by an underlying foundation of mutual trust and deep professional respect. At the inception of the Cicaré 8 project, the relationship between the designer and the company had already spanned more than twenty years of continuous collaboration. This unique history granted the designer an intimate understanding of the brand's core values, prompting the company's management to provide absolute creative freedom to completely oversee and shape both the interior and exterior identity of the new cabin. Because the designer was entirely trusted to appropriate the project, the modernization process was never treated as an external aesthetic imposition, but rather as an organic maturation of the brand's historical DNA.This purposeful integration materialized through a rigorous digital workflow where advanced technologies served, rather than conflicted with, the artisanal legacy. It is worth noting that while the founder, Augusto Cicaré, lacked formal academic engineering degrees or computer numerical control machinery, he possessed an extraordinary, intuitive precision. He was famously capable of balancing complex mechanical systems "by eye" much faster and more accurately than automated devices. This culture of empirical excellence was later professionalized as factory engineers incorporated quality management systems, advanced software, and high-precision suppliers. By sculpting the carbon fiber semi-monocoque cabin directly over the 3D geometry of these time-tested mechanical systems, the digital layout became intrinsically bound to the analog hardware. The advanced composite structures complement, protect, and elevate the traditional craftsmanship. By leaving the reticulated airframe exposed at the rear, the design celebrates mechanical transparency, transforming a multi-material engineering puzzle into a unified aeronautical statement.

The creative dialogue regarding the structural configuration of the tail boom was a fundamental decision for the aircraft's identity. The initial project brief naturally pushed for a fully enclosed, continuous fuselage that integrated the cabin and the tail into a single fluid volume, heavily influenced by existing marketplace trends and conventional competitor architectures. However, the designer felt that forcing a continuous composite shell over the entire length of the aircraft resulted in artificial, structurally redundant, and visually and physically heavy for an ultralight category helicopter. Instead, the designer envisioned a clear separation: allowing the sculptural carbon fiber cabin to close its form cleanly upon itself, while boldly exposing the reticulated steel and aluminum airframe struts toward the rear.During the development, the technical team debated the possibility of manufacturing a completely new tail boom out of composite materials instead of the traditional aluminum tubes. However, the final decision to retain the exposed tubular structure prioritized pure functional reliability. In highly dynamic components like the tail boom, which must withstand severe vibrations from the high-rpm drive shaft and tail rotor, the team chose to stick with a mechanical architecture already validated by thousands of proven flight hours. The designer was confident that showcasing this exposed mechanical heritage (a signature trait of the brand) would create a powerful visual contrast. By advancing a detailed 3D mockup, the designer demonstrated that the advanced composite cabin could act as the visual protagonist while being beautifully seconded by the raw mechanics of the aircraft, ultimately achieving uncompromising weight reduction and a far more purposeful, lightweight aeronautical stance.

Rather than stemming from formal, structured market research interviews, the empathetic foundations of the Cicaré 8 were forged through countless informal dialogues, shared technical challenges, and decades of close interaction between the designer and the entire Cicaré ecosystem, including the founder, his sons, factory engineers, assembly technicians, and flight instructors. This long-term immersion allowed the designer to absorb a vast repository of tacit operational knowledge. The most profound insight gained from this human-centered relationship was that a truly successful aircraft cabin must be designed as a holistic, multi-user ecosystem, balancing the strict needs of the pilot in flight with the daily realities of the workers who manufacture, assemble, and maintain the machine.This integrated understanding guided and carried on the entire design strategy, shifting the focus from a purely aerodynamic shell to an optimized, highly functional spatial architecture. This shared knowledge manifested in measurable ergonomic and functional improvements across every stage of the aircraft's lifecycle. To enhance the pilot’s experience, the cabin geometry was sculpted to optimize ingress and egress while maximizing interior spatial comfort and panoramic visibility during takeoff, cruising, and landing. Concurrently, the layout was developed in direct alignment with the technicians' feedback, ensuring that critical mechanical systems remained easily accessible for initial factory assembly and subsequent field maintenance. By integrating these diverse human factors into the millimeter-by-millimeter digital modeling of the carbon fiber cabin, the Cicaré 8 achieved a cohesive balance where flight performance, ease of manufacturing, and user-centered ergonomics coexist naturally.

Achieving direct visibility of the landing skid tips within a fully enclosed carbon fiber capsule required a meticulous digital analysis of pilot perception. Using advanced 3D modeling, the designer integrated ergonomic mannequins simulating the 5th and 95th percentiles to map the precise visual cones of pilots of different statures. This digital layout enabled precise calculation of what the pilot sees from the seat, defining the optimal glazed zones for forward, lateral, and ground visibility, while mapping the blind spots caused by the aircraft's internal mechanics, instrumentation, and the operators' own limbs. Once these non-negotiable visibility parameters were established, the functional transparent areas were analyzed from the exterior. To provide the critical line of sight toward the skid tips without creating a fragmented appearance, a secondary set of specialized windows was seamlessly integrated into the lower section of the cabin, beneath the main glass surfaces.The final morphology of the semi-monocoque cabin and its window cutouts emerged organically when these strict engineering boundaries crossed paths with the organic silhouettes from the designer's moodboard, including small predators and sci-fi characters. This human-centered experience deeply influenced the designer's broader philosophy, reinforcing that ergonomics must act as an active driver of form. In lightweight aviation, visual openness directly impacts situational awareness and safety during critical flight operations. Therefore, a successful cockpit architecture should not treat the physical enclosure as an isolated shell, but as a protective one that actively maximizes the user's sensory connection with the external environment.

For an industrial designer based in Argentina, operating far from the traditional global technological hubs and dominant aerospace markets, winning the Platinum A' Design Award is a profound validation of creative direction and technical execution. Receiving such a prestigious international accolade confirms that the design methodologies and rigorous attention to detail applied by a small company in collaboration with a local studio are fully aligned with the highest global standards. It provides a massive boost of creative energy and professional confidence to pursue future complex mobility challenges.While the long-term commercial impact on the aircraft's specific niche market remains to be seen, its inclusion in international platforms drastically alters the project's professional visibility. It proves that world-class aircraft innovation does not require the massive infrastructure of traditional industry centers; instead, it can be achieved through focused execution and a strong collaborative relationship. Far from being a limitation, this geographic detachment fosters a unique resilience and an unbiased, highly focused design perspective. This international recognition positions the designer as a highly capable global collaborator, effectively opening doors to advanced mobility projects worldwide by proving that top-tier design excellence is defined by vision and execution, regardless of geographical location.

The multi-material strategy of the Cicaré 8 reflects a deeply tested structural philosophy that the company has refined over decades. The integration of aluminum 2024 T6 for the tail boom, SAE 4130 chromoly steel for the reticulated airframe, and composite materials for the cabin is part of a legacy of empirical experimentation started by Augusto Cicaré in the 1960s. Since his earliest prototypes, the founder routinely melted aluminum, tempered steel, developed flexible fiberglass rotor systems, and fabricated his own engines and hydraulic layouts. Therefore, combining diverse material systems was already embedded in the company’s manufacturing heritage.The Cicaré 8 represents the direct evolution of the Cicaré 7, the brand's previous flagship aircraft, which had thoroughly validated this specific combination of steel, aluminum, and fiberglass. However, the Cicaré 7 maintained a certain continuity of form extending toward the tail boom. In developing the Cicaré 8 as the new market standard, conventional commercial logic suggested that the only obvious improvement was to create an entirely enclosed fuselage, hiding or replacing the tubular tail with a continuous composite shell. The technical team even evaluated manufacturing a new tail entirely out of composite carbon fiber.Nevertheless, the decision to retain the exposed tubular tail boom strongly favored functional safety. In dynamic structural sections subjected to intense torsional stress and high-rpm vibrations from the tail rotor shaft, sticking to the ultra-reliable, flight-tested metallic architecture was paramount. Philosophically, the designer convinced the team that exposing the reticulated frame would celebrate the brand's mechanical transparency. By shifting the cabin material from fiberglass to carbon fiber exclusively for weight optimization, the modern composite shell acts as a sophisticated aesthetic protagonist, beautifully contrasted and seconded by the raw, honest, and time-tested aeronautical engineering visible at the rear.

Collaborating closely for decades with a visionary like Augusto "Pirincho" Cicaré and his extraordinary team is a profound privilege that deeply shaped the designer's professional methodology. Beyond his exceptional humility and human values, Augusto possessed an unparalleled empirical understanding of physics, material behaviors, and dynamic component stresses. He was so intimately connected to his craft that he could accurately predict how a component would deform or react under mechanical loads long before simulation data existed. A key milestone in this relationship was introducing him to the potential of parametric 3D modeling software; although he never operated the computer directly, sitting side-by-side to iteratively map out mechanical layouts and cabin interfaces established a beautiful bridge between analog wisdom and digital precision.The most essential capability for realizing a project at this level of ambition is developing a deep technical empathy for materials and manufacturing processes. For emerging industrial designers aspiring to contribute to technically complex projects, the most valuable advice is to actively integrate into multidisciplinary teams where hands-on, practical execution takes place. True innovation in design cannot be achieved by remaining isolated behind a digital screen or producing detached aesthetic sketches. Young designers must immerse themselves in the workshop floor, physically interacting with metals, composites, and machining tools. Understanding the raw physics of constraints firsthand is what transforms an industrial designer from a superficial stylist into a rigorous, respected collaborator capable of bridging the gap between artistic vision and complex engineering without compromise.