Today’s Top Pick is a 2008 Epic LT.

The Epic LT is an experimental kitbuilt ancestor of the latest certified Epic E1000 GX.

The aircraft, which probably is not what most people picture when thinking about amateur-built airplanes, generally were built in part by owners who did enough work, under company supervision, to meet the 51 percent owner-built requirement. Company experts then complete the build, so you wind up with a factory-finished product.

Known for short-field performance as well as cruising speeds that challenge some jets, the Epic LT is an attractive proposition for families that regularly take long cross-country trips. Those who cross mountainous terrain and visit high-elevation airports will appreciate the Epic’s pressurized cabin and performance in the flight levels.

The spacious, comfortable interior will keep most passengers happy while the aircraft’s impressive power makes the trip shorter than with many competing models.  

This 2008 Epic LT has 1,675 hours since new on the airframe, its Pratt & Whitney PT6-67A engine, and four-blade Hartzell propeller.

The panel features dual Garmin G3X touchscreens, a GTN 750 GPS/nav/comm, GNC 255A, dual Garmin G5 standby instruments, GMA 245 audio panel, GMC 307 autopilot with yaw damper, GTX 45 transponder, GTS 800 TCAS, and  MVP 50 engine monitor.

Pilots looking for a modern, composite, 300-knot six-seater in the experimental category should consider this 2008 Epic LT, which is available for $1.9 million on AircraftForSale.

If you’re interested in financing, you can do so with FLYING Finance. Use their airplane loan calculator to calculate your estimated monthly payments. Or, to speak with an aviation finance specialist, visit flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: We Fly: Watch Our Report on the Epic Aircraft E1000 GX
• FLYING Magazine: Epic Aircraft’s E1000 GX Earns Its FAA Type Certificate
• FLYING Magazine: Epic Aircraft Expands Service Center Network
• Plane & Pilot: EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018: Epic Aircraft Hits Big Milestone
• Plane & Pilot: Epic Earns FAA Production Certification for E1000
• The Aviation Consumer: Epic E1000: Big Power and Speed
• AVweb: Epic Aircraft Debuts Mock-up Of Production Model

The post This 2008 Epic LT Is a High-Altitude, Experimental ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The aircraft market is continuing to expand, and that means better options for the consumer. 

One of the largest growing segments in aviation is the turboprop—reliable, practical planes that fill the niche between high speed, high altitude jets and lower flying piston airplanes. 

Turboprop-powered aircraft are becoming more popular, and industry experts project that yearly turboprop sales are expected to grow by 2,450 aircraft before 2040. 

While every class of aircraft has its functions, you might be surprised how versatile and useful turboprops can be. If your business needs mean you take regular short flights to and from small airports, financing a turboprop could be a major time and money saver for you.

Turboprops Excel at Short Flights

In Europe and North America, roughly half of all private flights are less than 500 miles long. Critically, this is about the distance it takes for a turboprop to outperform a jet. 

At low to medium altitudes, turboprop engines are more efficient than jets, and cost savings of up to 40 percent are possible. Because every flight involves low altitudes at takeoff and landing, a high altitude cruise needs to be long enough for the turbofan engine to offset the disadvantage during start and landing. 

Not to mention, many people don’t realize that the speed advantage is marginal for faster jets due to the time spent ascending and descending. In a 500-mile flight, turboprops lose only a few minutes versus jets. 

If your business has you flying regularly between, say, Atlanta and Roanoke, Virginia, or Miami and Tampa, Florida, or even all the above, you’ll realistically make out better with all costs by owning a turboprop than a jet. 

Flexibility With Shorter Runways

Especially compared to jets, turboprops have exceptional short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. Due to their stability at lower speeds and the drag created by propellers, these aircraft can easily decelerate to safe landing speeds for small airports and short runways, and that means that your options for travel open up—dramatically. 

Not every business is based near a large commercial airport. If you work in agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, ministry, or a plethora of other fields, chances are, you’ll need to visit smaller towns. 

With over 80 STOL ports in the U.S. alone, as well as thousands of other small airports around the country that can safely accommodate even the most advanced turboprops, there are plenty of use cases for planes that are capable of lower speeds. 

While owning a jet may not provide enough value for your company to justify the costs, especially without easy hangar or runway access, turboprops’ versatility makes them a much easier sell. 

Low Altitude = Less Turbulence

Like we’ve mentioned above, turboprops are designed for slower speeds and lower altitudes than jets. Why does this matter for your experience?

From 23,000 to 39,000 feet, at the edge of the tropopause, airspace is generally more affected by weather conditions and can often be much more turbulent. Because turboprops typically fly below 30,000 feet while jets generally stay above, most of your flights in a turboprop will be less bumpy than the equivalent ride in a jet. 

Comfortable air might not seem like a major factor, but it is if you spend enough time in your aircraft.

Safety and Reliability

We’ve talked about the benefits of turboprops compared to higher-end jets, but how about smaller, lighter airplanes? 

While some obvious benefits apply to turboprops, such as higher cruising speed and better efficiency, it’s also important to note that turboprops are much safer and more reliable than piston-driven propeller planes. 

Due to the fact that turboprop engines involve rotating mass rather than reciprocating mass, they’re mechanically safer in the case of any failure (and also less prone to catastrophic failure in the first place). 

Equally as vital, the redundancy of twin-engine turboprop models provides an extra sense of security over single-engine planes, including most piston-driven planes. 

Lower Carbon

It’s no secret that fuel prices are increasing. The cost of running a jet will only continue as legislation, such as the European Union’s Taxonomy Regulation, disincentivizes and restricts carbon emissions and consumption in the coming decades. 

In the not-so-distant future, the aviation industry will gravitate more and more toward low-carbon emitting aircraft. 

So we arrive again at the conclusion that turboprops are a practical, forward-thinker’s aircraft. 

Check Out a Wide Selection

Due to the popularity among business charters, there are plenty of options for turboprop buyers. The market has never been better for a range of tastes and needs—everything from luxury to sport to hobby use.

Many major manufacturers are producing turboprop aircraft:

• Cessna
• Beechcraft
• Piaggio
• Piper
• Pilatus
• Daher

If you don’t know where to start, look through AvBuyer’s turboprop guides. And if you’re not sure about how much to finance and how much to put down, reach out to the FLYING Finance team today and get the process started to beat the holiday crunch. 

The post Turboprops: Perfect for a Small Business Owner appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The aircraft will replace the T-44C Pegasus, an earlier version of a militarized King Air that has been in use since 1977. The T-44C is slated to be phased out over the next year.

• READ MORE: Navy to Explore Use of eSTOL Aircraft, Issues Contract to Electra

Last week the T-54As were flown from the factory in Wichita, Kansas, to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, where they will be used by Naval Air Training Command. They will be used to train the next generation of naval aviators who may go on to fly the P-8A Poseidon, E-2D Hawkeye and C-130 Hercules.

The Navy placed an order for the aircraft made by Textron Aviation in January 2023 as part of a 2023 METS contract. 

• READ MORE: U.S. Navy Awards Contract for Long-Range, Solar-Powered Stealth Drone

“The new METS aircraft will give us the ability to train pilots across the services with an advanced platform that better represents fleet aircraft,” Captain Holly Shoger, program manager of the Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office, said at the time. “The T-54A will include the latest avionics and navigational updates, such as virtual reality and augmented reality devices, to ensure pilots are ready to face any challenges that come their way in tomorrow’s battlespace.” 

The T-54A is a pressurized turboprop with state-of-the-art avionics, including multifunction displays with a digital moving map, an integrated GPS/inertial navigation system, ADS-B, a flight management system, weather radar, radar altimeter, and a cockpit data recorder. 

• READ MORE: U.S. Navy Signs Deal with Boeing for 17 F/A-18 Super Hornets

The T-54 is expected to meet advanced multi-engine and advanced tilt-rotor training requirements for the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps through 2055.

According to NAVAIR, the T-54A will “provide advanced instrument and asymmetric engine handling training to student naval aviators selected for multi-engine fleet communities.”

Last year’s agreement initially ordered 10 King Air 260s and associated support. Deliveries for the first aircraft are scheduled between 2024 and 2026. Per the contract, the Navy may take delivery of up to 64 of the trainers.

The post Navy Modernizes Training Fleet with T-54A Delivery appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Today’s Top Pick is a 1990 Embraer EMB-312 Tucano.

Military training aircraft have been popular among aviation enthusiasts, with steady strong demand for types ranging from World War II Stearman PT-17s to North American AT-6s and T-28s. Much of the appeal has to do with power and handling. Because many of these airplanes were designed to train pilots for combat maneuvers, their performance tended to outstrip the typical civilian aircraft of the period.

Trainers have evolved considerably since the 1940s, though, and today’s models for beginners are high-powered turboprops designed to exhibit flight characteristics of jets. The Embraer Tucano for sale here arguably is the airplane that kicked off the modern era of military flight training. When it first flew in 1980 its looks were strikingly different from the trainers we were used to seeing. Today, many basic military trainers look a lot like the Tucano.

The attraction for private pilots is clear. With 1,100 hp the Tucano’s climb rate and cruise speed are well beyond most GA airplanes while its maneuverability can easily spark Top Gun dreams for everyday civilian aviators.    

This EMB-312 Tucano has 3,488 hours on the airframe, 2,360 hours on its Honeywell TR 331-12B engine since new, and 496 hours on its Hartzell propeller since overhaul.

The forward cockpit panel features a Garmin G500 avionics suite with GTN 750 GPS, Garmin SL 40 Nav/Com, L-3 Trilogy electronic standby instrument, TruTrak Sorcerer autopilot, GTX33ES transponder, GMA 35 audio panel, and  Electronics International MVP50 engine analyzer. The rear cockpit pane includes G500 avionics, GTN 750, GDL 69A, Sirius XM weather, L-3 Trilogy, and MVP50 engine analyzer.

Pilots interested in getting a taste of modern military flight training for future jet drivers should consider this 1990 Embraer EMB-312 Tucano, which is available for $1.35 million on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Finance. For more information, email info@flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: Watch: Embraer’s A-29 Super Tucano Fleet Celebrates 500,000 Flight Hours
• FLYING Magazine: Super Tucano Takes First Flight for Nigerian Air Force Program
• FLYING Magazine: Tucano Versus AT-6: Embraer and Hawker Beechcraft Trade Jabs
• Plane & Pilot: A Twirl In The Tucano
• AVweb: Beechcraft Files Lawsuit To Halt USAF Tucano Contract

The post This 1990 Embraer Tucano Is a Military-Spec ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Piper said the M700’s maximum cruise speed of 301 ktas marks it as the fastest single-engine aircraft in the company’s history of more than 87 years. The cabin-class airplane, revealed last month, is powered by a 700 hp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-52 engine and has a range of 1,424 nm. The aircraft also is equipped with the latest version of the Garmin G3000 avionics suite that includes the Emergency Autoland feature as part of Piper’s HALO safety system.

• READ MORE: Piper Lifts the Veil on the M700 Fury, Its Fastest Single Yet

“We are thrilled to announce the U.S. certification of the Piper M700 Fury by the FAA just a month after its announcement,” said John Calcagno, president and CEO of Piper Aircraft. “And there’s more to come. The Fury is just the first step in a new generation of our M-Class product line, so watch this space, as Piper’s M-Class will be expanding both above and below what we currently offer today.”

Performance is a key selling point for the M700. Piper said the new airplane can take off and clear a 50-foot obstacle in 1,994 feet, which is a 24 percent improvement over the M600SLS that it replaces. The company also said the M700’s climb rate of 2,048 fpm is 32 percent faster than that of the M600. 

Piper said it expects to complete international validations of the M700 for Canada, Europe, the UK, and Brazil during the second half of this year. The company said it plans to begin delivering the aircraft to customers in those markets before year’s end.

The post Piper Announces FAA Type Certification for M700 Fury appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Today’s Top Pick is a 1999 Pilatus PC-12​/​45.

The PC-12 single-engine turboprop was a revolutionary concept when Swiss aerospace company Pilatus developed it in the late 1980s. Most large, pressurized turboprop transports were twin-engine designs such as the popular Beechcraft King Air. Pilatus sought to demonstrate that a single-engine aircraft could provide similar reliability and performance while also operating from short,  unpaved strips.

The airplane grew to be known as a jack-of-all-trades, becoming a standard in corporate fleets, charter and air-taxi operations and in air-ambulance and other special missions. Quite a few pilots own PC-12s for personal use, often mixing business-related travel with family vacation trips. I know of at least a couple of PC-12 pilots who regularly take their families to destinations in Florida on weekends, noting how the aircraft’s speed and pressurized comfort make the trip reasonably easy compared with long-distance travel in the typical high-performance piston single.

This Pilatus PC-12-45 has 15,665 hours on the airframe, including 9,679 landings, 1,100 hours and 798 cycles on its Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67P engine, and zero time since overhaul on its five-blade propeller. The aircraft’s useful load is 3,309 pounds.

The panel includes Garmin GNS 430W and GNS 530W nav/com radios, Garmin GTX 345 and Bendix/King KT 70 transponders, Honeywell KMD-850 MFD and KRA-405B radar altimeter, Bendix/King KAC-501 WX radar, KDR-610 datalink weather receiver, Bendix King KHF-950 high-frequency com system,  

Bendix King KA-44B ADF, Bendix/King 325 autopilot, and Honeywell DME.

Additional equipment includes supplemental air conditioning, FD200CPU-7 flight display, and True Blue Power dual USB charging ports.

Pilots seeking a higher level of single-engine utility and performance, from short-field operations to high-altitude, long-distance travel, should consider this 1999 Pilatus PC-12-45, which  is available for $3.2 million on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Finance. For more information, email info@flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: Pilatus PC-12 Fleet Logs 10 Million Flight Hours
• FLYING Magazine: We Fly: Pilatus PC-12 NGX
• FLYING Magazine: Pilatus PC-12 Aircraft Meet European Noise Regs with 7-Blade Prop
• Plane & Pilot: NBAA 2019: Pilatus Unveils New PC-12
• Plane & Pilot: Blackhawk Announces Engine Program for the Pilatus PC-12
• AVweb: Ontario-Based Ornge Air Ambulance Updates Its Pilatus PC-12 Fleet
• AVweb: AirVenture 2023: Honeywell Anthem Pilatus PC-12 Tour

The post This 1999 Pilatus PC-12-45 Is a Multimission ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Today’s Top Pick is a 2022 Epic E1000 GX.

A lot of pilots eagerly anticipated the Epic E1000’s arrival on the market, and I think most would agree it was worth the wait. The pressurized, six-seat turboprop  boasts a maximum cruising speed of 320-plus ktas, putting it in the running with the TBM 960 for the “fastest single” title and challenging a few jets as well.

The Epic’s performance, which includes short-field capability, gives you an impressive operating radius and more control over where you go and when you get there. The aircraft also has many big-airplane features, from an airstair entry door to stick-shaker and stick-pusher anti-stall systems. It has the feel of a personal airliner.

This 2022 Epic E1000 GX has 205 hours on the airframe and 190 hours on its 1,200 hp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67A engine and five-blade Hartzell propeller.

The panel includes the Garmin G1000 NXi integrated flight deck, GFC 700 autopilot with flight director, coupled go-around, emergency descent protection, yaw damper, and  stall protection system with stick shaker and stick pusher. The aircraft is also equipped with synthetic vision, a GTS 825 traffic advisory system and XM Weather.

Pilots seeking the ultimate in a high-performance single with six seats and a pressurized cabin to keep family and business associates comfortable should consider this Epic E1000, which is available for $4,35 million on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Finance. For more information, email info@flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: We Fly: Epic E1000
• FLYING Magazine: Epic E1000 GX Earns FIKI Certification
• FLYING Magazine: Avantto Orders 34 Epic E1000 GX Aircraft for Fractional Fleet in Latin America
• Plane & Pilot: EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019: Epic Fast Turboprop: Big Progress Toward Certification
• Plane & Pilot: FAA Approves Epic E1000 Turboprop
• The Aviation Consumer: Epic E1000: Big Power and Speed

The post This 2022 Epic E1000 GX Is a Jet-Chasing ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The OEM’s latest turboprop contender breaks 300 knots, and clocks in at $4.1 million, it announced on Tuesday afternoon in a livestream event. The change instigating the new model number? The introduction of a 700 hp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-52 engine—replacing the flat-rated 600 hp PT6A-42A in the M600. Piper anticipates FAA type certification by the end of the first quarter of this year.

The M700 stays at its 6,000 pounds maximum takeoff weight to comply with Basic Med, as well as retaining the Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck and Halo emergency autoland system—which secured the Collier Trophy as well as FLYING’s Innovation Award in 2021.

READ MORE: We Fly: Piper M600/SLS Halo

Pushing past the specs on the M600/SLS it will replace, the M700 is projected to meet the following targets:

• Maximum range: 1,149 nm at the 301-ktas maximum cruise speed and 1,424 nm at normal cruise speed
• Takeoff distance: 1,994 ft over a 50-ft obstacle, at sea level on a standard—-a 24 percent improvement from the M600 at 2,635 ft under the same conditions
• Departure climb: 2,048 fpm—a 32 percent improvement over the M600—at MTOW
• Time to climb: 13.9 minutes to FL250, covering 34 nm and burning 97 pounds of fuel, all 25 to 35 percent improvements over the M600
• Landing distance: up to a 26 percent reduction in ground roll over the M600
• Garmin’s PlaneSync technology, adding remote aircraft status capability using the Garmin Pilot app, and database downloads while the aircraft is powered down

“The M700 Fury is a beautifully efficient, cross-country thoroughbred that gives our customers a performance-based flight experience with economics never seen before,” said Piper Aircraft’s president and CEO, John Calcagno. “We listened, and we delivered. The M700 Fury encompasses power, performance and the most advanced safety measures available today and an overall value proposition that is extremely compelling to individuals and corporate flight departments alike.”

Customers can choose from six interior schemes with updated leathers and design elements.

Following certification, U.S. deliveries will begin immediately, according to Piper, with validations with Canada, EASA, the U.K., and Brazil on the horizon next. With the sunset of the M600, the M-series now encompasses the M700, M500 turboprop retaining the PT6A-42A at 500 hp, and M350 piston-powered high-performance singles.
Look soon for FLYING’s We Fly pilot report on the M700.

The post Piper Lifts the Veil on the M700 Fury, Its Fastest Single Yet appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The TBM family of aircraft led the results with 56 TBM 960s and 910s delivered, and the Kodiak 100 and 900 utility models accounted for 18 deliveries. The numbers mark a level state overall from 2022 for the OEM, echoing the challenges still presented in the global aerospace industry revolving around both supply chain and maintaing a steady workforce.

• READ MORE: We Fly: Kodiak 900

“These figures reflect the market’s stabilization as we continue to see a strong demand for TBM and Kodiak aircraft, although challenges persist in affecting our industry—including employment and supply chain issues,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s aircraft division. “There have been efforts made to address these difficulties and improve the situation. We are seeing the results of our solutions in the employment field through internal training and the attraction of new talent. For the supply chain, the importance of delivering on time will enable us to continue seeking opportunities in a strong market.”

• READ MORE: Daher Celebrates Milestone TBM Deliveries, Kodiak Success

Daher said most of the TBMs delivered during 2023 were top-of-the-line TBM 960s, with the largest percentage going to the North American market. Among those deliveries, 43 went to the U.S. and two to Canada. The remainder of deliveries included seven in Europe, three in Latin America, and one in Asia.

Most of the 18 Kodiak aircraft delivered last year were sent to a range of private owners and “multimission operators” in North America, with the North Carolina Forest Service’s aviation division among the company’s new customers. Deliveries included the Kodiak 100 Series III, which now has a five-blade Hartzell composite propeller as standard equipment, and the larger, faster Kodiak 900, which Daher introduced in 2022.   

• WATCH: We Fly: Kodiak 100 in Training

A total of 1,187 TBMs and 339 Kodiaks had been delivered worldwide through the end of 2023, and the global fleet has logged nearly 3 million flight hours. The aircraft are supported under Daher’s newly consolidated network called TBM & Kodiak Care.

The post Daher Delivers 74 Aircraft During 2023, Reports Orders for 100 More appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The aircraft is called the M80, and the company behind it is Dutch manufacturer Maeve Aerospace, which on Monday spilled the details on its latest design. Geared for regional, 800 nm routes, the M80 is claimed to burn less fuel than a regional jet, cost less per seat-mile than a turboprop, and reduce emissions more than both. It’s expected to debut in 2031.

Maeve also announced its expansion to Oberpfaffenhofen Airport (EDMO) in Munich, where a team of 40, including several aviation experts from Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and other manufacturers, will work to develop the design.

Founded in 2021, Maeve’s mission is to remove 50 metric tons of carbon dioxide from commercial routes before 2040. It seeks to launch a globally competitive family of aircraft: one that offers game-changing energy efficiency while being perfectly suited for existing airport infrastructure.

The company plans to accomplish this by taking the best of regional jets and turboprops, both of which it says could be replaced by the M80.

“The current aircraft in place, regional jets or turboprops, are more or less all between 35 and 40 years old,” Martin Nuesseler, chief technology officer of Maeve, told FLYING. “We are doing a really aerodynamically improved design.”

Nuesseler leads engineering for Maeve and has a long history developing clean-sheet aircraft designs. He spent close to 20 years with Airbus, where he helped develop the A400M and A350XWB from concept to industrialization. In his last six years at Airbus, Nuesseler led the manufacturer’s E-Aircraft Systems business, where he worked on concepts such as the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) CityAirbus, Quadcruiser, and other zero-emission designs.

Nuesseler also spent three years as CTO of Deutsche Aircraft, where he led the reindustrialization of the Dornier 328. Much of his career has been spent studying new aircraft concepts and propulsion systems, such as hydrogen, electric, and hybrid.

The Concept

According to Nuesseler, the main limitations on turboprops today are speed and altitude: They’re typically slower than regional jets and cruise at levels that can create a bumpy ride for passengers.

Rather, their advantage is efficiency, which Maeve said it has captured to produce a “more green” turboprop with the performance and comfort of a jet. The M80 development team includes a few of Nuesseler’s former Airbus E-Aircraft Systems colleagues, who worked on designs such as the A350, A320, and A321XLR, as well as a few experts from Rolls-Royce.

“We’re flying on FL350 to 370 like a jet,” said Nuesseler. “This means you can fly fast, you can fly economically, and we are above the weather conditions, where normally the turboprops are completely impacted.”

The M80 is roughly the same length (about 89 feet) and height (28 feet) as a Bombardier CRJ 900, one of the most popular regional jets. But its wingspan (85 feet) is nearly as wide as the distance from nose to tail. Its 63,725-pound MTOW and 18,740-pound max payload lie between the CRJ 900 and the smaller CRJ 100.

The clean-sheet design also introduces a new airframe that is “aerodynamically optimized” for efficient flight, the company says. It claims the M80 will cruise at 400 knots true airspeed (ktas)—in the realm of low-end regional jets and high-end turboprops—to enable cost-efficient block times on longer regional routes. The design’s 800 nm operational range would place it at the lower end of both aircraft types, but it is proposed to meet the required IFR reserves and 3 percent contingency fuel.

However, the secret sauce is in the engines and propulsion system.

The Power System

Maeve is working with an unnamed engine OEM to develop the M80’s engine—Nuesseler said the company would announce which in the coming months. But he told FLYING it’s one of the three largest in the world, and one he’s worked with since 2018 while at Airbus and Deutsche Aircraft.

The M80’s two hybrid-electric engines introduce a unique “thermal process,” which Nuesseler said has been in development by Maeve’s OEM partner for a decade. Unlike other engines, they do not lose performance with altitude, which opens the door for electrification, he said.

The aircraft’s newly integrated hybrid propulsion system uses energy stored in 10 electric battery packs to power the engines. These are complemented by a fuel of the operator’s choosing: They can run on SAF, including the common HEFA variety, but Nuesseler described the M80 as “power-to-liquid (PtL) comparable.”

PtL is another type of SAF that is still in development, expected to be widely available by 2030. Nuesseler characterized Maeve’s PtL variant as a “hydrogen-based e-fuel” and said the company will target, test, and certify its engines to run on it.

Regardless of what fuel is used, the M80 promises to reduce emissions by more than 40 percent—half of that comes from the aerodynamics of the airframe, and the rest comes from the new engine tech and hybridization. However, using PtL is the only method that will allow operators to decarbonize completely, Nuesseler said.

“If you put this engine on a normal existing airframe, it will not work,” he said. “You need to optimize the airframe and the engine together, and this is a game changing element for a new product for the next decade.”

A big selling point for the M80 is its ability to fit seamlessly into existing aviation infrastructure. That’s because the aircraft only uses electric power during takeoff and climb—during descent, the engines are actually used to charge the batteries.

“This is the technology of the thermal concept we have,” Nuesseler told FLYING. “The thermal engine is an altitude optimized engine, which means the engine has quite a significant downsizing versus a normal engine, and hybridization is closing the gap on takeoff performance and climb performance.”

During cruise, only the optimized thermal system is running, which reduces fuel consumption by 40 percent, Nuesseler said. That frees up the engines to charge the batteries—which means airports don’t need to install electric chargers on the ground.

“That 20 minutes descent, with a little bit of extended power in cruise, is sufficient to recharge the battery,” said Nuesseler.

The Maeve CTO added that the M80 could also charge at the gate using normal electric ground support, and that the company is in discussions with a few airlines about which solution they’d prefer. A final decision will be made closer to 2030, but both options would enable two-day turnaround times.

The Vision

According to Maeve, the M80’s combination of turboprop efficiency, new airframe, and high performance propulsion at altitude reduces fuel burn during cruise by more than 40 percent compared to regional jets. Specific fuel consumption is estimated at 2 liters per passenger per 54 nm in cruise. Electric-boosted takeoff and climb, meanwhile, is predicted to reduce the aircraft’s NO_X and noise emissions near ground level.

At the same time, the 80-seat aircraft is believed to reduce seat-mile cost by 20 percent compared to equal-sized turboprops, or by 25 percent versus comparable regional jets. Maeve says the design is optimized to achieve best-in-class standards for passenger capacity, range, and lead time.

Per Nuesseler, the M80’s trip cost is “very, very good” because it has less fuel constraints than even the latest turboprops, and operations are cheap enough for it to replace both turboprops and regional jets. The latter, however, is the company’s focus—it expects most trips will span 200 to 800 nm, where swapping out regional jets can create the biggest impact on sustainability.

“We think that when you look at the market to replace CRJs, Q400s, [E-175-E2s from] Embraer and all this equipment, the distribution will be more or less 40 percent North America, 30 percent Europe, and 30 percent Southeast Asia,” Nuesseler told FLYING.

Nuesseler views eVTOL air taxi operations as “completely separate” from Maeve’s vision. Although he worked on the CityAirbus design and is cordial with the CTOs of German eVTOL manufacturers Lilium and Volocopter, he described the aircraft as expensive, niche, and operationally limited due to conditions such as weather. He also fears they won’t fit into existing airport infrastructure and capacity.

Rather, Maeve’s focus is payload efficiency: the energy required to transport a person from Point A to Point B. The M80, Nuesseler said, reduces that requirement by 20 to 40 percent, while eVTOLs can increase it exponentially.

The Maeve CTO said that ten years ago, the conversation was around zero emissions at all costs—even if that meant requiring five times the energy. But he predicted that energy requirements will eventually catch up with the industry, and many eVTOL companies will not survive.

“When you look to full electrification, when you look to hydrogen, you significantly increase the energy you need to transport people,” said Nuesseler. “We are focusing on energy reduction in the future.”

The M80 is still nearly a decade from entry into service, but Maeve has a “very detailed integrated product development plan” in place to get there. At a glance, the extended concept phase will conclude in mid-2026, followed by the first prototype flight in 2028, certification in 2030, and commercial launch in 2031.

Though eVTOL air taxis are expected to hit the market in 2025, Nuesseler said Maeve plans to extend the concept phase in order to ensure smooth sailing post-concept.

“We are sure our product positioning is so well recognized—we’re also in the first contact from the airlines—that we like to be robust in the implementation of the requirements from the airlines to make the detailed specification of this aircraft very good, and to be robust before we close the concept phase.”

Ultimately, Maeve intends to certify the M80 as a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Standard CS-25 aircraft. The design includes a few new technologies, such as the batteries and hybrid engine concept. But the company has already developed roadmaps for adapting the new features to existing rules. Nuesseler said he doesn’t anticipate any surprises.

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The post The Efficiency of a Turboprop, the Performance of a Jet: Meet Maeve’s M80 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.