Turboprop Mods: Power, Performance

摘要

Its simple. It's about power. It's always about power. Check out a pilot in a new airplane and after 10 hours the first thing she'll say is that it's a good airplane but it needs more power. Aviation entrepreneurs have long recognized our hunger for a bigger rush when pushing the throttle from quiet to noisy, and have thus provided us with ever more ways to bolt on more horsepower up front. Naturally, after reliable, small turboprop engines debuted in the 1970s those entrepreneurs saw dollar signs and started hanging turboprop engines on piston airframes hoping to capitalize on pilots willing to shell out bucks for performance. Starting in the late 1970s with a one-off turboprop Bonanza, piston-to-turbine mods began to appear. Due to cost-it turned out that significant airframe mods were often necessary to handle the increased horsepower-what started out as a trickle never became more than a gentle stream. Some mods didn't cut it and faded away-the Riley turboprop Cessna 421 comes to mind- while others, such as the JetProp conversion of the Piper Malibu/ Mirage series and Silver Eagle Cessna P210 mod, were successful and enjoy a devoted following to this day.