Hopefully these guys make it... https://www.turb.aero/

"Our family of turboprop engines will include 120hp, 200hp and 300hp versions..."

5 page thread over on Vans:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/s ... p?t=148635

That would be a real boost to experimentals - better reliability AND ~250 lbs less weight. However they're at least 2 years out and still in the design stages, albeit with a running prototype.

I hope they do great. That said, turbines would seem to be a tough sell for smaller aircraft that get flown only for $100 hamburgers. If someone comes up with a 6-place carbon fiber pressurized kit, that 300hp version would be really interesting.

It's good to see that they are using escrow.com to protect the deposits.

https://www.turb.aero/ta120tp-turboprop

They claim it will make 100hp on 8 gph, which is 12.5hp/gph, which is what a 7:1 compression avgas engine makes LOP.

Not sure I find that credible.

The company president is an active participant in that VAF thread, and makes note of receiving deposits from RV builders..

They're still 2.5 years out; I hope they have the financial backing to survive that long.

Thanks for the link to the VAF thread. Interesting read.

Whatever happened to the 300 hp turbine that Rolls Royce was working on about 10 years ago? I know I've asked before, but it seems to have just fallen off the earth.

I think a small lightweight turbine engine design is long overdue!

The only real offering is the 250hp Allison... expensive!

There's really no reason you can't take the simplistic design of a turbine like the Walter 601D and build it smaller.

Turbine engines are so much simpler than pistons... it really makes sense.

Rules of Thumb

A turbo prop burns 30% more fuel than a piston per HP...

A Jet burns 30% more fuel than a turbo-prop...

I agree with chip. It would be the best thing for GA right now.

A turbo prop sounds 47% better than a piston....

A jet sounds 32% better than a turbo prop.

A turbo prop sounds 47% better than a piston....

A jet sounds 32% better than a turbo prop.

Unless the piston is a round motor........Cuz they sound 105% better than the rest.

If turbines use ~30% more fuel than pistons, and jet-a is ~15% lighter than 100LL, doesn't this mean that a drop-in replacement engine will result in an airplane with ~15% less range?

Will maintenance be as expensive as it is for bigger jets? It seems like there are significant disadvantages for the GA market, with the only real & immediate advantage being that avgas is hard to find in parts of the world.

Cannot Agree
[youtube]https://youtu.be/m8TmyiHwiw8[/youtube]