B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 1 - (Page 48) NEW AIRCRAFT N BA A 2007 continued from page 46 31,000-feet certifiable ceiling and 1,000-shp (flatrated at 28°C) P&W PT6A-67B on which it can cruise for 1,618 nmi at 214 kts, maximum speed being 352 kts. Verdict: Slim chance Hall Harpoon Hall Harpoon Space does not permit coverage of all the companies specializing in administering aeronautical Viagra to out-of-breath classics. One typical supplier of the Honeywell, Pratt, Rolls or Walter magic potion is Hall Aviation of Cheraw, South Carolina, which is promoting its Harpoon as a drastic means of reinvigorating Beechcraft piston twins by converting them to a single 725-shp Walter 601D turboprop mounted in the nose. A Travel Air, B55, C55 (all WH-4 models) and P55 (pressurised WH-6) Baron have so far received the medicine. Compared with a B55 propelled by two 520-hp pistons, the Harpoon offers a power loading at max takeoff weight improved from 9.8 to 7.03 lb per horsepower. Unsurprisingly, therefore, it will climb to 10,000 feet in six minutes and cruises at a typical 230 kts at 12,000 feet, burning 43 gallons per hour. Useful load with full 176-gallon tanks is 1,275 lb; range is 750 nmi, plus reserves. Verdict: Getting there constructed of Toray composites and with a 750-shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-135A turboprop driving a four-blade, constantspeed propeller. While Experimental in category, the Evolution is being engineered to FAR Part 23 standards and offers an 814-lb payload when fully fuelled. There’s pressurisation (8,000 feet cabin at the RVSMrestricted ceiling of 28,000 feet) and an option of three-screen Piper PA-46R-350T Malibu Garmin G900X or four-screen Chelton EFIS-SV Pro 6 comprehensive avionics packages, plus Trutrak Piper PA-46R-350T Malibu digital Sorcerer autopilot with auto Last month, Piper began test flying a variant of its elevator, trim and yaw damper. Choose pressurized Malibu Mirage with fixed landing gear. from 860 nmi range at 338 kts, or 1,290 The absence of an announcement and the fact that at 270. And if it all goes pear-shaped, at least one sortie was undertaken from the Vero there’s a BRS parachute. Beach plant on a Sunday morning suggests a deVerdict: Very likely gree of secrecy. Piper has already locked down the Saratoga’s gear to produce the 6X and would seem Pilatus PC-12 Next-Generation to be considering the merits of doing the same to At last year’s NBAA Convention in Orlando, the six-seat, turbocharged, 350-hp LycomingPilatus announced that it had begun certification powered Mirage. work on the Next-Generation PC-12, more than Verdict: The jury’s not even sworn in 700 earlier versions of which have now been delivered. The business turboprop is receiving several major enhancements, including fully integrated avionics, a new cockpit design, higher performance and advanced systems. This means Honeywell Primus Apex avionics with two PFDs and two MFDs; a new cockpit environment Sreya Envoy Sreya Envoy The mix-and-match Envoy family offers three versions of a basic design to owners prepared to get their hands dirty. T op-of-the-range is the Envoy 6-LRP (six-seat, low wing, retractable, pressurized), which is represented by the prototype—due to fly about now. It will challenge the Epic LT and TBM 850 on cost and performance, says Sreya. The Envoy 6-HF (high wing, fixed gear) is the utility version and even offers tricycle (HFT) or conventional (HFC) gear options as well as a cargo door, if needed. Shorter, the Envoy 4 carries four or five and costs less than a Lancair IV, Cirrus, Mooney or Bonanza. The Epic Escape is faster, concedes Sreya, but it costs double. LRP kit price is $199,000, growing to $499,000 by the time refurbished 657-shp Walter 601D turboprop, interior, avionics, builder assistance and finishing are added. Honeywell motors of 1,100 shp come extra. Typical cruising speed is 230 kts and range is 1,000 nmi or more. Verdict: Slim chance Pilatus PC-12 Next-Generation Lancair Evolution Lancair Evolution Popular with home constructors for its family of handsome and swift composites-built light aircraft, Lancair is also the parent of the Columbia 350 and 400 certified four-seaters. At this year’s AirVenture, in Oshkosh, Lancair announced the Evolution, a retractable gear, four-place machine 48 designed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA; a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67P turboprop that delivers 15 percent more thermodynamic power for faster climbs and higher cruise speeds by utilizing single crystal CT blades and a new compressor configuration; digital dualzone environmental and fully automatic pressurization control systems for increased cockpit and cabin comfort; and a fully redundant power generation and distribution system. Certification is due before the end of this year but may just slip into 2008. Verdict: Nearly here September 25, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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