Four Ways our TPE331 Engine Elevates Performance

Even though it has more than 125 million hours of flight time under its belt, the TPE331 continues to set new performance standards for turboprop aircraft engines. That’s because Honeywell keeps on improving the TPE331 to meet the growing demands of its operators, which include regional airlines, military services and private operators in every corner of the world.

We’ve delivered more than 13,000 TPE331s since the engine first flew on an Air Force C-45 in 1964. The engine has changed a lot over the last 55 years. What hasn’t changed is its reputation as one of aviation’s most successful turboprops, with proven power, reliability and economy in any application.

Here are four of the engine’s most notable performance characteristics:

Faster climbs. The TPE331 has the power you need to climb fast, even with a full load of passengers. That’s a good thing when you regularly take off with 15-20 passengers and land with zero. In other words, when you operate a skydiving service like SkyDance SkyDiving, which installed a TPE331-12JR engine on its Cessna Caravan a couple of years ago. The aircraft now goes from takeoff to 13,000 feet in about 15 minutes. But even if you don’t cater to people eager to jump from a perfectly good airplane, you’ll appreciate the power you’ll experience when you upgrade your aircraft with the TPE331, which has one of the best climb rates in the category.

Shorter takeoffs. With a Honeywell TPE331, you can takeoff safely with just 1,500-1,800 feet of runway. Independent comparison tests between an aircraft equipped with a TPE331-12R and one outfitted with another turboprop showed a 26 percent improvement in takeoff distance with the Honeywell engine. The TPE331 needs less runway because it’s more powerful, with 665-1,920 thermodynamic shaft horsepower available, depending on the model. It also has earned the reputation for quicker throttle response and a great power-to-weight ratio.

Better reliability. Compared to competing engines, the TPE331 requires less maintenance and is easier to service. For example, Alaska Seaplanes and Wings Airways, which operate under some of the harshest conditions imaginable, extended their average time between overhauls from 1,000 to 7,000 hours by upgrading their Cessna Caravan and five De Havilland Twin Otters to the TPE331-12JR and TPE331-10R engines. Operational hour costs dipped 70 percent and average overhaul costs were reduced by 58 percent.

Improved economy. The TPE331 has the best fuel-efficiency in its class, which means both a longer operating range without refueling and a better bottom line for your operation. In fact, the Honeywell engine burns 10-15 percent less fuel than competing engines. Maintenance costs are also substantially reduced, since the Honeywell turboprop has overhaul intervals nearly twice as long as its main competitor (7,000 vs. 4,000 hours).

As the first propulsion engine developed by Honeywell, the TPE331 helped establish us as a leading provider of turbine engines for all kinds of aircraft and helicopters. Honeywell engineers work hard every day to make sure our original turboprop (now with multiple enhancements) will meet the needs of operators for many more years.