Short final from the dark side

[Frankus1aust]

The variable pitch prop was around for a short while,,, Main advantage at cruise above say 120 knots and would certainly help on take off. I didn't see much understanding of things like checking that the setting of the fine pitch stops permitted flight at a speed well above stall speed, say 1.3% Vs without over revving the engine. If they fail it's usually into fine pitch. EXPENSIVE and more MASS. No one's forced to fit them. Could be a safety issueI'm not against turbo prop engines and even bypass jet, They are generally more reliable than piston engines. Thirsty ? Yep and most likely to remain so. Nev

In the future. with the improved ceramic coatings becoming more available we'll see them on car turbos. From there it is only a short jump to the hot end of a small gas turbine. You could imagine a small GA/RA turboprop running on kero or diesel all be it a bit thirsty. The slow part will be certification. I'm wondering if anybody is working on this now or maybe it's not worth the efforts in the existing market?

 

 

[facthunter]

I think you could forget certification. For our purposes it shouldn't be necessary if you restrict it's operations a bit A good turbocharger is potentially a jet engine. Nev

 

 

[GraemeK]

G'day Frank and belated welcome!

 

Good to catch up at the BBQ last Sunday.