29 April 2022
Can a turbine engine on a light aircraft ever make sense? Usually the high fuel burn of turbine engines, jet or turboprop, means high cruising altitudes are needed to make them work cost-effectively.
But here at AERO22 are two 600kg microlights fitted with a new turboshaft engine from French company TurboTech, the JMB VL3 and Bristell B23 Turbine, with cruise fuel consumption of just 19 litres per hour. And that’s Jet A1 fuel which is available much cheaper than avgas or mogas.
Not only is TurboTech producing the 80kg TP-R90 turboshaft with an output of 130hp, but it’s also developing a turbo-generator which burns hydrogen and produces electricity for an electric aircraft. Both are remarkable achievements for a company that’s only been established five years.
Damien Fauvet, CEO of TurboTech, based at the Paris airfield of Toussus-Le-Noble, explained that the founders were all turbofan (jet) experts working for Safran, and they started the light aircraft idea as a ‘backyard’ weekend project.
TurboTech’s compact and fuel-efficient turboprop for light aircraft
What’s special about the TurboTech turboshaft and helps it achieve the low fuel burn is that it is a ‘regenerative turbine’. It’s equipped with a heat exchanger that recovers the heat normally wasted in exhaust gases and reinjects it into the combustion chamber, leading to a dramatic fuel burn reduction.
“The idea of using a heat exchanger in turbines is not new,” said Damien, “but the real challenge was to apply it to light aviation. Turbotech has managed to develop a microtube heat exchanger.”
The advantages of a turboprop are many: light and compact, reliable and vibration free, low emissions – and now reasonable fuel burn.
For use as a battery recharge system – a range extender – for hybrid aircraft, TurboTech’s turbogenerator. Photos: Ed Hicks
TurboTech’s other project is its turbogenerator, available with two power outputs, 55kW and 90kW. The TG-R55 and TG-R90 are intended for emerging hybrid-electric aircraft to recharge batteries during flight and to fit seamlessly into electrical propulsion systems.
