We still don’t know very much about Cessna’s new single-engine turboprop, except that it will be powered by the 1,300 shp GE93 engine that will be produced at a plant scheduled to be built in the Czech Republic.
GE says it will create a turboprop development, test and engine production headquarters in the eastern European country with more than 500 workers and engineers who will manufacture the engine for Cessna parent Textron Aviation and other manufacturers beginning in 2020.
GE Aviation says the engine will have a 20 percent lower fuel burn and 10 percent more cruise power than the the Pratt & Whitney PT6A series. GE in 2008 acquired Walter Aircraft Engines in Prague, a manufacturer of turboprop engines.
Textron Aviation and GE Aviation jointly announced the new engine in November at the National Business Aviation Association Convention in Las Vegas. Cessna is expected to publicly unveil its turboprop single this summer at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
