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Daher-Socata TBM900 Quest Kodiak with Summit option the 25 destined for its parent company, avionics system. (EASA approved that Engineering LLC, a Russian MRO that installation in 2011.) The last listed bought the company in 2012. price for the 500 was $1.75 million. Kestrel K-350 Avic/Caiga Primus 150 The future of this program hinges China’s state-run general aviation on obtaining additional investment. company made two big moves into To date the company has received sup- GA: buying the design rights to the old port in the form of various government Epic Aircraft designs and acquiring BUSINESS grants, loans and tax credits, and some composite lightplane maker Cirrus in of these have been renegotiated recently 2011. Apparently it went to school fast, while the company pursues more pri- unveiling a mockup for a five-seat fast vate equity. The engineering work is single in late 2012. The all-composite, largely complete, some parts have been $1.24 million Primus 150, with styling TURBOPROPS fabricated, and the engine/prop/cowl more than just a little similar to the old Extra 500 has run on a test stand. The aircraft Epic Escape, is aiming for a maximum by Mark Huber today bears little detailed resemblance cruise speed of 352 knots (identical to to the original Kestrel JP10, which first the Escape), a range of 1,410 nm and flew in 2006 and was developed by the a ceiling of 28,000 feet. Power comes Gipps Airvan 10 now-defunct Farnborough Aircraft. from the 850-shp GE H85. The air- Aircraft offer value Major suppliers for the K-350 have craft made its first flight over the sum- already been selected. They include mer and deliveries could begin as early the market can’t refuse Garmin for the G3000 touchscreen avi- as next year; however, at this time the onics system and Honeywell for the order book appears slim, with signa- TPE331-14GR engine, flat-rated to tures for only eight aircraft. This is the healthiest market for new turboprops in MARK WAGNER 1,000 shp and providing a 5,000-hour years. In 2008, the last year before the global econ- TBO. The aircraft features a four- to Quest Kodiak with Summit Option omy completely shed its wheels, members of the Epic LT kit, basis for the E1000 five-seat executive interior on par with While this rugged little beast has General Aviation Manufacturers Association delivered Singles those of modern corporate jets, includ- been around for a few years, 2014 is the 538 turboprop aircraft before experiencing a steady ing high-gloss wood veneers, upscale first time you can get it with an exec- Daher-Socata TBM900 decline in those figures in the following years. Last leathers, a wide aisle and oversize utive interior. Now you can visit all The latest iteration of the TBM oval cabin windows reminiscent of a those places airplanes just shouldn’t year shipments of turboprops bounced back with was developed and certified in Gulfstream. It is just one of nine interi- go–and do it in comfort. With the exec- vigor to a record 645 aircraft and there is no short- secret over the last three years and ors Kestrel is developing, with passen- utive Summit interior, the Kodiak has age of new single- and even some new twin-engine delivered to its launch customer ger seating for five to nine people. The room for five passengers (with one models on the horizon. this past March. others will accommodate missions as pilot); more utilitarian layouts accom- Meanwhile, the used turboprop market has firmed The $3.7 million 900 is distinct diverse as medevac, cargo and a high- modate eight to nine people. substantially, with the fleet percentages for most from its predecessors with a new density configuration for eight pas- You’re not going to confuse this Hartzell composite propeller with sengers. The cockpit features sidestick with the inside of a Gulfstream. You models on the markets showing only single-digit avail- Primus 150 five dramatically swept blades and controls, a low, contoured instrument have two color choices: beige and gray. ability and high pricing as a result. According to the a redesigned spinner, winglets, new Kestrel K-350 panel with large flat-panel displays Nevertheless, the interior is comfort- aircraft pricing service Vref, a 1985 Cessna Caravan engine exhaust stacks and a subtly The Mahindra Group is a $16.5 billion and a wraparound windshield allowing able and functional. The executive inte- trades for an astonishing 93 percent of its new price; different engine air intake that has company employing 180,000 in more views of both wingtips. rior provides seats that recline, some a 1981 Cessna Conquest II twin even higher at 99 a slight twist. It is mainly the new than 100 countries. Kestrel has not released a price for cabinetry and sidewall tables. The seats percent of new; a 1991 TBM700, 85 percent of new; propeller that helps give the TBM the aircraft but it is expected to be in detach quickly and all manner of ply- a 2008 TBM850, 81 percent of new; a 2009 Piper a higher top speed of 330 knots, Epic E1000 the neighborhood of $3 million. Pre- wood sheets, motorcycles and so on Meridian 75 percent of new; and a 1990 Pilatus reduces standard-day sea-level take- Epic continues its campaign to liminary specifications include a max- can be loaded aboard through the giant PC-12, 74 percent of new. off distance by more than 20 percent, develop a certified version of the $1.95 imum cruise speed of at least 320 ktas; 49.25-inch by 49.25-inch left-hand aft improves climb rates (18 minutes to million LT kitplane. More than 46 of 1,300 nm range (pilot, five passengers, cargo door. Aft of the pilot seats, the This kind of used pricing makes new turboprops the 31,000-foot certified ceiling) and those have been delivered, but Epic maximum cruise speed at 31,000 feet Kodiak’s cabin yields an impressive 248 all the more attractive. U.S. turboprop manufacturers boosts range to 1,730 nm (45-min- THURBER MATT has decided to exit the kit business and and NBAA IFR reserves with 100-nm cu ft of volume, and the optional cargo dominate the market with a better than 80-percent ute reserve). At cruise altitude the focus its efforts on producing certified alternate); 1,200 pounds of payload pod expands that by another 63 cu ft. share and most of this output is for the export mar- Pratt & Whitney Canada P&WC mode the propeller is automat- single is powered by a 450-shp of cargo space in the rear cabin. An aircraft. The $2.75 million, 325-knot with full fuel (319 U.S. gallons usable) The basic airplane costs $1.975 mil- ket, which seems to have a better understanding of PT6A-66D burns 37 gph and a new ically feathered. Other cockpit Rolls-Royce 250-B17 driving a optional cargo pod (600 pounds maxi- E1000 features carbon-fiber construc- and 8,500 pounds mtow. lion. Add air conditioning, supple- a turboprop’s value, especially unpressurized singles torque limiter enables the use of 850 refinements include more buttons Hartzell HC-D3F-7 three-blade mum capacity) can also be fitted to the tion and Garmin G1000 avionics and mental oxygen–the airplane is not Extra 500 such as the Cessna Caravan and Quest Kodiak that shp for takeoff. on the control yokes. The yokes propeller. It features a 50-inch- aircraft, and the option of amphibious is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Can- pressurized–the underbelly cargo pod, can operate from unimproved runways. Minor changes also have been have been optimized to accommo- wide sliding aft cargo door. It floats is anticipated. At this point the ada PT6A-67A (1,200 shp, flat-rated Extra Aircraft’s long-troubled attempt the executive interior, anti-icing protec- made to the cowling airflow, land- date tablet computer devices and has a full-fuel payload of 1,400 program is several years behind sched- from 1,825 shp) turning a Hartzell to manufacture and market this light tion and some goodies in the avionics What once were almost exclusively civilian turbo- ing-gear doors (bigger and more the instrument panel now has two pounds (useful load 2,250 pounds, ule, but this summer representatives four-blade propeller. The E1000 has a turboprop single got a shot in the arm panel and the price tag is right around props are being pressed into military service by cost- aerodynamic), wings, dorsal fin USB ports and a 12-volt socket. standard fuel capacity 153 gal- from Mahindra told AIN they expect range of 1,625 nm (at 265 ktas econ- when the program was sold in May $2.4 million. The Kodiak is powered by conscious nations, also driving demand. Last year and empennage–all designed to The pilot seats now adjust in all lons), a range of 550 nm with IFR certification next year. omy cruise), 1,120-pound payload to China’s Jiangsu A-Star Aviation the 750-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada www.ainonline.com the United Arab Emirates (UAE) unveiled an armed wring the last bit of aerodynamic three axes and the rudder pedals reserves and a cruising speed of www.ainonline.com The aircraft will be built at the Gipps with the full 288 gallons of fuel and a Industry. Extra had been trying to set PT6A-34, which has a TBO of 4,000 Cessna Caravan and Air Tractor 802 crop duster at efficiency from the airplane.

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