Turboprops

The FAA has issued the type certificate for the new Thrush 510G agplane powered by a single 800-shp General Electric H80 turbine engine. The 510G is a derivative of the original 510P model powered by the Pratt & Whitney PT6. The new model features a number of additional improvements including a total redesign of the […]

As Piper Aircraft commemorates its 75th anniversary this year, the company on Thursday had another event to celebrate: the 500th delivery of its popular turboprop Piper Meridian to its new Florida-based owner. The Meridian has been a strong seller since Piper announced the pressurized single-engine model in 1997 as a follow-on to the piston-powered PA-46 […]

The pine trees in south Georgia sure grow tall. This was the singular thought that kept racing through my mind as we blasted across the open peanut field at 145 miles per hour five feet off the ground before pitching up at the last instant to skim over the tops of the 90-foot-tall trees, missing […]

Cessna on Monday unveiled a new, more powerful version of its Cessna Grand Caravan, one that provides a 25 percent horsepower boost over its predecessor along with some stellar performance specs to boot. Tagged as the Cessna Grand Caravan EX, the new aircraft reduces takeoff roll by 350 feet, while upping climb rate by 20 […]

GippsAero, the Australian aircraft maker, said it has successfully completed the first flight of its new turboprop single, the GA10. Powered by a Rolls-Royce 250 turboprop engine, this latest model from GippsAero is a 10-seat multirole airplane based on the piston-powered GA8 Airvan utility airplane. The first flight took place at GippsAero’s home base at […]

Cessna Aircraft has signed a strategic agreement with the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA) Company for final assembly, sales and customer support of Cessna Caravans in China for the Chinese market. What does that mean exactly? Cessna wants to make it very clear: Caravans for the Chinese market will continue to be manufactured in […]

In attempting to understand the Piaggio P.180 Avanti II, you need to begin by forgetting everything you thought you knew about turboprop-powered airplanes. The idea behind the Avanti has always been remarkably simple and completely outside the turboprop box. Think of the Avanti II as a jet with props and you’ll be close to the […]

At Sun ‘n Fun Socata unveiled a new model designation for its TBM 850 turboprop — dubbed the TMB 850 Elite — with a new convertible seating configuration for greatly improved cargo carrying capability. The configuration change, which takes only 15 minutes to make, takes the center seats, which normally face to the rear in […]

Ikhana Aircraft Services has received an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate that promises to keep older DHC-6 Twin Otters flying well beyond their design life limits. The California company’s process re-manufactures the DHC-6 fuselage, extending it with an additional 66,000 hours/132,000 cycles of fatigue life. “We are providing an essentially new aircraft with a full useful […]

A story that appeared Wednesday in The New York Times — but which actually dates back more than a year — reported on a U.S. Air Force program that takes lightly used, corporate-configured King Airs and turns them into spy planes — the newly named Liberty MC-12, which are used to gather intelligence on enemy […]