The Turbo Prop is looked over as just a prop plane. However with a turbine (jet) engines, It is just as safe as a jet. It is also is the most fuel-efficient aircraft for short-service flights. It holds 6-8 passengers, reaches cruising of speeds of 280-315 mph with an average non-stop range of just over 1,000 miles. Most turbo props feature a full lavatory. A turboprop engine is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. In contrast to a turbojet, the engine’s exhaust gases do not contain enough energy to create significant thrust, since almost all of the engine’s power is used to drive the propeller.
Turbo Prop Aircraft
- Piaggio Avanti
- TBM 900
- Beechcraft King Air 90
- Beechcraft King Air 250
- Beechcraft King Air 350
- Cessna Caravan
- Pilatus PC-12
- Pilatus PC-24
About Turbo Prop Aircraft
The propeller is coupled to the turbine through a reduction gear that converts the high RPM, low torque output to low RPM, high torque. The propeller itself is normally a constant speed (variable pitch) type similar to that used with larger reciprocating aircraft engines. Turboprop engines are generally used on small subsonic aircraft, but some aircraft outfitted with turboprops have cruising speeds in excess of 500 kt (926 km/h, 575 mph). Large military and civil aircraft, such as the Lockheed L-188 Electra and the Tupolev Tu-95, have also used turboprop power. The Airbus A400M is powered by four Europrop TP400 engines, which are the third most powerful turboprop engines ever produced, after the Kuznetsov NK-12 and Progress D-27.
Turboprops are most efficient at flight speeds below 725 km/h (450 mph; 390 knots) because the jet velocity of the propeller (and exhaust) is relatively low. Due to the high price of turboprop engines, they are mostly used where high-performance short-takeoff and landing (STOL) capability and efficiency at modest flight speeds are required. The most common application of turboprop engines in civilian aviation is in small commuter aircraft, where their greater power and reliability than reciprocating engines offsets their higher initial cost and fuel consumption. Turboprop airliners now operate at near the same speed as small turbofan-powered aircraft but burn two-thirds of the fuel per passenger. However, compared to a turbojet (which can fly at high altitude for enhanced speed and fuel efficiency) a propeller aircraft has a much lower ceiling. Turboprop-powered aircraft have become popular for bush airplanes such as the Cessna Caravan and Quest Kodiak as jet fuel is easier to obtain in remote areas than is aviation-grade gasoline (avgas).
