Honeywell's TFE731 engine is a 50-year-old aviation workhorse, with 13,000 units produced and 9,400 still in service, logging over 108 million flight hours.
It played a pivotal role in the booming business jet market of the 1970s, powering definitive aircraft like the Lear 35 and Dassault Falcon 50, and was recognized as "Aviation Product of the Year."
Designed specifically for business aviation, it introduced innovations such as improved fuel economy, extended range for transcontinental flights, and reduced noise, and has since evolved into 80 configurations.
Coming up with the right analogy to describe Honeywell’s (NASDAQ: HON) TFE731 engine can turn into a parlor game. You could say the widely used turbofan is the Lycoming O-320 of the jet world, or perhaps it is more akin to the -540 series.
If a vintage-car buff entered the conversation, the TFE731 would certainly be the Chevrolet small-block V-8 of aviation.
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Jonathan Welsh is Lead Editor of Aviation Consumer and a private pilot who worked as a reporter, editor and columnist with the Wall Street Journal for 21 years, mostly covering the auto industry. His passion for aviation began in childhood with balsa-wood gliders his aunt would buy for him at the corner store. Follow Jonathan on Twitter @JonathanWelsh4
