Where turboprops rule

They have sexy good looks, go fast, fly high, and carry no small amount of status and snob appeal. But for most missions, turboprops are the platforms of choice. There’s plenty of evidence to indicate that the typical stage length of any turbine airplane—from the largest global jet to the smallest turboprop—averages somewhere around 500 nautical miles. That’s why turboprops outsell jets on both the new and used markets.

The most recent General Aviation Manufacturers Association report notes that, compared to 2015 deliveries of new aircraft, 2016 turboprop shipments outdid those of both piston and jet airplanes. Piston shipments (with 1,004 aircraft) were down 4.9 percent; jets (with 661 deliveries) were down 7.9 percent over 2015’s numbers. But turboprops (with 576 deliveries) eked out a 3.4 percent increase over 2015 shipments. And the used market is awash in good, recent-model turboprops at reasonable asking prices.

With typical trips of 500 nm, it makes more sense to use turboprops. These airplanes thrive in the mid-20,000-foot altitude range, where their cruise speeds are highest and their fuel burns remain comparatively low. Fly a jet on a 500-nm trip and you’ll burn a lot of fuel climbing to FL300 and beyond, where cruise fuel burns are most economical. And chances are you won’t be cruising long before it’s time to descend for the landing.

This is one reason why turboprops fit in so well in the European airspace structure. The high altitudes are crammed full of airliners, so turboprops are coveted by operators who have the mid-level altitudes more or less to themselves. And now comes news that the regulation-happy European Union has gone so far as to expand its approval of single-engine turboprops to include commercial missions in instrument meteorological conditions and at night. That’s a first, proving that even the strictest regulators now recognize that charter flying in Europe’s often-rotten weather need not require the economic burdens of a second engine.

—Thomas A. Horne, Turbine Pilot Editor