iscover
TBM thinking follows similar lines though their biggest competitor, the Beech King Air, is of course still in production. TBM claim operating efficiencies of up to a third against the similar sized twins.
Single Engine IFR Operations
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In the coming months Industry will be asked to voice their opinion on the validity of certain single engine turbine aircraft being allowed to fly IFR charter and commuter ops. To better understand the background of this intriguing situation, Terry Wesley-Smith asks. . .
Single Engined Ifr Rpt – Fact or Fantasy
For a long time, men have dreamed of flight. But even after the development of sufficient aerodynamic knowledge to build a flying machine, the lack of suitable powerplants prevented successful flight for many years.
The powerplants available to early designers all suffered both from low power to weight ratios, and a distinct lack of reliability. These characteristics then had a direct effect on aeroplane design, so that larger aircraft were often designed to have two or more engines, either because one alone could not develop sufficient power to get the machine airborne, or because the reliability of the available engines was deemed to be inadequate. I do not know what the record for the number of engines fitted to a single aircraft is, but the Spruce Goose and Dornier Do Xeach had twelve to provide sufficient power to fly, and aircraft with eight engines are not unknown. I once heard a story concerning a previous Chairman of Rolls-Royce. Apparently the gentleman was once asked how many engines an aircraft ought to have. He allegedly replied that in his opinion, an aircraft with sufficient engines was one in which when the engineer called out ‘Captain, Sir, failure on No 27, the captain would reply ‘Which side? But then he was an engine manufacturer.
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