Mahindra’s Airvan 10 Turboprop Certified

A new workhorse 10-seat single-engine turboprop is on the verge of hitting the market after India's Mahindra Aerospace announced U.S. and Australian certification of the Airvan 10.

With a price of around $1.7 million, the utility turboprop is well suited in parts of the world where avgas is hard or impossible to come by. It is targeted as a competitor to pricier turboprops, namely the Cessna Caravan and Quest Kodiak, with performance adequate to get many of the same jobs done.

“This certification comes as a cornerstone for civil aviation,” said S P Shukla, chairman of Mahindra Aerospace and Group President-Aerospace & Defence for Mahindra Group. The approvals “enhance our global reach further, with specific focus on large markets for regional connectivity such as India and Africa.”

With initial certification in hand, Mahindra plans to address region-specific enhancements to the airplane ahead of first customer deliveries early next year. The market introduction for the new turboprop is being supported by GippsAero, a Mahindra subsidiary in Australia and the original designer of the airplane.

The Rolls-Royce M250-powered model, boasting a useful load of 2,300 pounds (1,400-pound full-fuel payload) and cruise speed of 145 ktas, is a follow-on to the piston-powered eight-seat Airvan 8, which Mahindra’s aircraft business unit in Australia produces. Certified in more than 42 countries, over 220 Airvan 8s are in service.

(This article has been updated with the correct price of the Airvan 10.)