This blog is republished with the permission of Jim Savage. His website, VintageSpartanAircraft.com which features his 1939 Spartan Executive, is a must visit. What do you do to make your Spartan so shiny?  That’s a question I am often asked and the answer may be easier than you expect. Obviously, it takes quite a bit of polishing, using quality polishing supplies and good polishing techniques. Most experienced metal polishers with bare metal airplanes already know that.  The missing piece has to do with how light behaves when it reaches the airplane. Specifi ..read more

The PT6A family is a series of free turbine turboprop engine providing 500 to 1,940 SHP. BERLIN, GERMANY – MAY 21, 2014: Turboprop engine Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B closeup of a military transport aircraft PZL M28B Bryza. Polish Air Force. Exhibition ILA Berlin Air Show 2014 Covington is a Pratt & Whitney Canada certified Distributor and Designated Overhaul Facility (DDOF) for the following PT6A models: 10 -11 -20 -20A -20B -21 -25 -25A -25C -25E -27 -28 -34 -34B -35 -36 -38 -41 -42 -42A -45 -45A -45B -45R -50 -52 -60A -61 -62 -64 -65AR -65B -65R -66 -66A -66B -66D -67 -67A ..read more

The dream of touring in a turboprop of one’s own is not so far-fetched as it may seem. Words Colin Goodwin and photos Philip Whiteman. Usually ‘Old Timers’ wins it, but sometimes I delay the pleasure of reading Peter R March’s words and skip to my second-favourite section of Pilot: the dreaming department − specifically, the regular advertisements placed by Plane Trading and AT Aviation. My whole life has been spent poring over classified advertisements in car magazines, dreaming and scheming and carrying out complicated man-math calculations. Nowadays, since being bitten by the aviation bug ..read more

For private pilots and aircraft owners, the motivation behind this pursuit can be personal, but it can also be practical. Along with a love of aeronautics, pilots are also in tune with engine performance, as this does impact the overall experience. For owners of small commercial fleets, a focus on safety and efficient performance can often be the deciding factor in terms of what type of aircraft and what type of engine will provide the strongest asset. Drive or Fly a Stick This also means that many pilots have a strong preference regarding the engines they use. When PT6A turbines were first i ..read more

Australian company Amphibian Aerospace Industries will build a new version of the legendary Albatross flying boat. Australian company Amphibian Aerospace Industries (AAI) will build a new version of the legendary Albatross flying boat. Named G-111T, the “new Albatross” will feature new Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67F engines providing substantially improved performance, fuel economy and reliability. As reported by Aviacionline, the announcement of the project’s progress, including the engine selection, was made in early December after years of coordination between the company and the N ..read more

WICHITA, Kan. (Feb. 4, 2022) – Textron Aviation today announced the rollout of the first production unit of the twin-engine, large-utility turboprop, the Cessna SkyCourier, at the company’s manufacturing facility in Wichita. The new, clean-sheet design has allowed for the incorporation of the latest state-of-the-art assembly and fabrication processes and techniques into the manufacturing of the aircraft. The Cessna SkyCourier is designed and produced by Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company. “Today is a rewarding day for our employees who have worked ..read more

Pratt & Whitney Canada, a business unit of Pratt & Whitney, announced today that Diamond Aircraft has selected the PT6A-25C engine to power its new DART-750 aircraft, an all-carbon fibre tandem turboprop trainer equipped with state-of-the-art avionics. “We are pleased that Diamond Aircraft has selected the PT6 turboprop, the most popular engine in its class, to pursue its DART program,” said Nicholas Kanellias, Vice President, General Aviation, Pratt & Whitney Canada. “The selection of the PT6A-25C for the Austrian-designed and manufactured DART-750 acrobatic trainer, further asser ..read more

Maintenance time is just ahead for many operators. Shops are starting to fill out schedules for off-season work.  One of the maintenance items that is frequently discussed is the need for an engine hot section inspection.  While hot section inspection time requirements may differ by engine model, the “mid TBO” recommendation usually applies. Performance loss can also dictate the need for an inspection.  For example, the PT6A-34AG engine TBO (Time Between Overhauls) is 4000 hours, and hot sections are recommended at 2000 hours.  For the PT6A-65AG, the basic engine TBO is 30 ..read more

During the 1950s and 1960s, the aircraft manufacturer De Havilland Canada (DHC) acquired extensive experience in the construction of small and medium capacity transports with short takeoff & landing (STOL) capabilities, such as the “Otter”, “Twin Otter”, “Caribou”, and “Buffalo”. In the early 1970s, DHC decided to create a four-engine turboprop medium STOL airliner, which emerged as the “DHC-7” AKA “DASH-7”. The DASH-7 was only built in modest numbers, though it did prove useful as a military surveillance platform. DHC followed it with a twin-turboprop airliner, the “DHC-8” AKA “DASH-8”, w ..read more

“How long did you say the engine sat idle?”  What should be done to an engine to return it to service after it has sat idle for years? Answering that question requires the answer to several other questions: Was the engine preserved before it was put into storage? Was it stored in a climate controlled facility? No? Out in the weather? Were the exhaust stack(s) and carburetor air inlets plugged? Was the engine periodically run-up to operating temperature? Did it have preservative oil ran in the engine before entering storage? Please allow me to offer a few basic suggestions on short-term r ..read more