渦槳公務機過時了嗎

渦槳飛機與

渦扇飛機

差多遠？

在中國人“更新、更好、更貴”的消費理念引領下，越來越多先進的大型渦扇公務機出現在國內機場。中國人似乎并不看好機翼上掛著兩個大螺旋槳的渦槳公務機。在許多人眼中，渦槳飛機很容易讓人聯想到噪音、低速度、短距離飛行，可事實上，在歐美許多國家，配裝渦槳發動機的公務機依然是市場的主流，甚至在一些國家，很多個人和企業更傾向于選擇渦槳公務機。

在飛機發展早期，應用的都是活塞式發動機。1930年，英國人惠特爾發明了第一臺渦輪噴氣發動機。很快，飛機制造者們發現，這種渦輪噴氣發動機動力強勁，能夠產生高速的性能，相較活塞式發動機有很大進步，所以被逐漸應用于戰斗機之上，并且開始在其他飛機上取代活塞式發動機。

但是，隨著噴氣技術的發展，渦輪噴氣發動機的缺點也越來越突出，其最主要的缺陷是在低速下耗油量大、效率較低，使飛機的航程變得很短。盡管這對于執行防空任務的高速戰斗機來說并不十分嚴重，但亞音速民用運輸機對經濟性的要求非常高，這樣的缺點顯然讓航空公司難以接受。

1942年，英國開始研制世界上第一臺渦槳發動機曼巴。該機裝在海軍“塘鵝”艦載反潛飛機上。隨后工程師們發現，螺旋槳由于在吸收功率、尺寸和飛行速度方面的限制，在大型飛機上，渦槳發動機的氣動效率并不高。相比之下，渦扇發動機在這方面更為出色。所以我們看到，在波音、空客等大型民用飛機上配裝的都是渦扇發動機。但在中小型飛機上，渦槳發動機的表現并不遜色。正因如此，很多學者認為對于中小型飛機，渦槳發動機與渦扇發動機并無實質性差別。

也就是說，對于中小型公務機，掛著螺旋槳的渦槳飛機與看起來更“高大上”的渦扇飛機相比差距并不大。

渦槳公務機

在美國

美國一家公司擁有多家房屋租賃機構，大部分位于美國中西部和海灣地區。他們的渦槳公務機在去年飛行了700小時用于運輸其團隊成員。去年冬天，他們公司的兩組人員乘坐這架飛機從印第安納州出發，先后飛達維吉尼亞州、北卡羅萊納州、南卡羅萊納州的12個城市，每段行程都在95～130千米。 這架飛機的機長喬·蒙塔納說：“這架渦槳公務機就像一臺時間機器，我們的整個行程被分成了多個短途部分，每一段需要飛行12～13分鐘，下飛機后他們可以再乘坐10～15分鐘汽車抵達目的地，他們返回后我們再飛抵另一目的地。” 該公司的總裁杰弗里·L·基特爾表示：“假如沒有這架渦槳公務機，我們這趟行程簡直是不可能完成的，因為有些機場的跑道甚至不到900米長，渦扇公務機根本無法起降，同時因為冬天天氣極寒，對于活塞式公務機來說飛行又十分困難，所以渦槳公務機就成了不二之選。正因為有它，我們可以周一出發，周三就能夠回到家里吃晚餐了。”

Stratos是一家負責飛機銷售、租賃、托管等全方位服務的公務機公司，旗下擁有許多架飛機，涵蓋了渦槳公務機、輕中重型渦扇公務機等種類。他們的基本報價是渦槳公務機起價1550美元（9520元人民幣）/小時，輕型公務機 2250美元（13820元人民幣）/小時，中型渦扇公務機3450美元（21190元人民幣）/小時。

Stratos表示，其實大多數包機者的飛行時間都不多于2小時，他們通常會說服包機者選擇渦槳公務機，因為性價比很高，能以較低的價格獲得與渦扇公務機同樣的舒適體驗。但是，大部分包機者并不清楚渦槳、渦扇公務機的區別，服務人員這時候就負責對這些客戶進行講解，因為“這樣他們下次包機時就可以在飛機上做出明智的選擇了”。

在Stratos看來，如果往返行程在500海里（926千米）以內，渦槳公務機是最經濟的選擇，例如從美國的邁阿密到巴哈馬的拿騷。而且，渦槳公務機可以在較短或沙石跑道上起飛、降落，這樣可以到達一些情況并不太好的機場。但是因為飛行速度慢，如果對到達時間有要求，那么包機者最好還是選中型渦扇公務機。另外，因為渦槳公務機很難爬升到9000米以上，所以可能會遇到氣流顛簸，如果要更舒適，那么還是選擇渦扇公務機。就內艙設置而言，渦槳和渦扇公務機則沒有區別，可以做到一樣豪華、奢侈。甚至Stratos公司，還擁有幾架堪稱世界上最豪華、最安全的渦槳公務機。

世界著名魔術師大衛·科波菲爾也是渦槳公務機的使用者。他在巴哈馬群島擁有11個島嶼，其中一個被他打造成了度假勝地。他通常從美國的居住地拉斯維加斯乘坐龐巴迪挑戰者300抵達巴哈馬，再乘坐賽斯納大篷車或皮拉圖斯PC-12到他的島嶼的跑道上。“因為我的島嶼面積的限制，我不可能降落和停放大型飛機，小型且經濟的飛機顯然是更好選擇。”他說。

渦槳公務機在中國有發展前景嗎？

在過去10年間，全球共有一萬余架公務機交付，其中渦扇公務機和渦槳公務機的比例大約是3：1。根據航空咨詢機構美國Teal集團關于公務航空的第21期年度分析報告預計，在2011～2020年的10年間，全球將有14905架公務機陸續交付，其中包括11167架渦扇公務機、3153架渦槳公務機。

隨著近50年的發展，渦扇公務機關鍵技術的先進性和成熟度都達到了較高水平，舒適性和快捷性也優于渦槳公務機，所以渦扇公務機仍將是主流，據預測，其未來市場價值還會由現在的50%上升到60%～65%。在亞洲和中東區域，客戶也更偏向于價值較高的高端公務機。

中國公務航空集團董事局主席廖學峰解釋：“中國對高端公務機的需求非常正常，從目前的消費狀況看，購買公務機的中國企業通常是超大型企業，他們的業務范圍很可能遍及全球，這樣他們就會選擇航程更遠的大型公務機，而且中國的版圖也很大，有些城市之間的飛行距離也很遠。就算在美國，經濟全球化了以后，越來越多的人也選擇遠航程公務機了。”

但是在北京航空航天大學通用航空產業研究中心主任高遠洋看來，渦槳公務機的諸多好處也不應忽視。其實與中國的汽車市場一樣，航空市場也會經歷從幼稚到成熟的過程，隨著購買公務機的人數增多，需求不同，無論渦扇公務機還是渦槳公務機都會有其市場。而且，從環保角度看，渦槳公務機的燃油消耗量低，也不失為環保主義者的好選擇。

中航國際公司高級經濟師王之陽也持同樣的觀點，他認為，隨著私人消費的理性回歸，未來中國富豪對公務機的偏好將從高端機向中端機過渡，渦槳飛機的物美價廉也會讓其保持超過10%的年均增長率。

渦槳飛機的應用領域更廣泛

Altitude航空包機公司旗下擁有多家渦槳飛機，包括皮拉圖斯PC-12、賽斯納大篷車/征服、仙童梅特羅Ⅱ/梅林、比奇空中國王200/300/350等。在他們看來，渦槳飛機非常適合企業、政府包機。這些飛機也被廣泛應用于澳大利亞皇家飛行醫生服務隊、空中救護車、警察、海關、軍隊、礦業公司等，更不用說大多數地區的航空公司也對其青睞有加。

像歐洲航空安全局（EASA）曾向法國達索公司的多用途單發渦槳飛機TBM 700和800型頒發多用途許可，這樣它的客戶可包括政府機構、軍事機構、民用代理機構和承包機構。

德事隆公司也介紹，他們旗下的單發渦槳飛機賽斯納208大篷車除可用作客、貨運輸外，換裝專用設備后，還可用于空中滅火、空中攝影、農業噴灑、邊境巡邏、跳傘、空投物資、醫療救護和監視飛行等任務。

在中國，很多渦槳飛機還被用來當作了教練機。比如比奇C90雙發渦槳飛機就被青島九天學院、珠海中航飛行學校、民航大學朝陽飛行學院、新疆天翔航空學院、鄂爾多斯通航公司等用于高級教練機。

比奇空中國王350i

比奇公司在渦槳飛機領域已經耕耘數十年，自從1964年制造了第一架空中國王C90之后，他們一直在雙發渦槳公務機市場處于領先地位。在德事隆公司收購了比奇公司之后，比奇將憑借雙發渦槳飛機的優勢，繼續改進發展空中國王飛機，并開發新的單發渦槳飛機。

在過去的一年中，空中國王系列取得了良好的銷售業績，目前共有6500架空中國王在105個國家運行。尤其是大運力的350飛機，是該公司渦槳飛機中最為暢銷的機型，空中國王350i是最新改型。它的客艙集豪華性、娛樂性和靈活性于一身，并憑借卓越的燃油效率和低廉的每座千米運行成本成為當前最“綠色”的公務機之一。憑借其出色的靈活性和經濟性，空中國王350同時可以兼任多項任務。全球有超過3000架比奇350飛機在執行特殊任務，其中中國民航校驗中心就使用3架空中國王350執行飛行校驗任務。

空中國王350i公務機的雙套中央俱樂部式豪華客艙可以坐滿8名乘客；加溫加壓、飛行中可存取的行李區是同級別機型中最大的，可攜帶520千克的行李。它應用普惠加拿大公司的PT6-60A發動機，使它的最大速度達到580千米/小時，而最低巡航速度可低達290千米/小時，在這種速度條件下可持續巡航5～6小時。

去年，空中國王350i獲得了一筆105架的訂單，該份訂單屬于Wheels Up俱樂部。Wheels Up俱樂部創始人兼CEO肯尼·狄克特說：“非常高興能和比奇公司合作，我希望能夠利用這些飛機發展創造性的私人航空業務，為旅行者提供更好的服務。”

約翰迪爾作為世界最大的農機設備公司，《財富》雜志全球500強之一，也是空中國王350的使用者之一，他們從二戰后不久就開始使用商業飛機進行業務往來。他們在其主要生產地巴西使用空中國王350。“對于約翰迪爾來說，公務機是一個偉大工具。除了巴西本土，我們還飛往南美其他地區，包括阿根廷、烏拉圭、巴拉圭、智利、秘魯、哥倫比亞和玻利維亞。”飛行員費邊·利夫拉門圖說。

比亞喬 P180系列

比亞喬P180最吸引人的一定是它獨特的外形，鴨翼、后向螺旋槳、中間粗的機身造型，似乎處處彰顯了它意大利的血統。它的這種造型結構被稱為三升立面結構，可以讓這種相對較小的公務機在遇到氣流時保持穩定，減少空氣阻力達34%。

比亞喬P180也配裝了普惠的PT6-66B發動機，最大巡航速度在402節（745千米/小時），最遠2778千米的航程，最大飛行高度將近12000米。其最新型號P180 EVO安裝附加油箱提高飛機航程后，航程增加了518千米，搭載4名乘客航程達到3278千米。在北京出發的話，假如乘坐4名乘客，這款公務機幾乎可以勝任國內任何著陸點，甚至周邊國家。它采用了最新的設計低噪音螺旋槳，加裝了翼梢小翼系統，采用全新飛機起落架、全新空調系統、全新奢華內飾，具有更高的安全性能，并且優化了飛機保養性能。

其擁有與同類機型相比更高的客艙，達到了1.75米，是唯一乘客可以在客艙站立的渦槳公務機。

除了軍民運輸，這款飛機還能夠擔當空中急救任務，其從VIP內飾改裝為單個擔架的空中急救構型僅需1.5小時。另外，在校驗任務中，它也是一把好手，意大利國家飛行校驗中心目前就使用P180作為其飛行校驗機型，它同時也為其它眾多國家提供飛行校驗服務。

比亞喬P180中國總代理中美歐亞航空公司執行總裁張洪超介紹，目前P180已在全球累計交付233架，機隊累積無事故飛行超過800000小時。利用率最高的飛機飛行超過1000飛行小時，與同級別飛機相比這一成績是其2倍。

在大中華區，P180進入兩年之內獲得65架訂單，意向訂單41架，其中確認訂單14架。有2架確認訂單屬于環天俱樂部，另2架則屬于耀萊航空，還有10架屬于香港一家公司，交付之后將用于其在美國的公司運營。去年，成龍曾經乘坐環天機隊的比亞喬P180，他表示這架飛機非常平穩、舒適。

派珀 馬利布·子午線

十幾年前，派珀公司在同款雙發活塞飛機馬利布·幻影的基礎上，開發了單發渦槳公務機馬利布·子午線，業內十分不解，認為他們是在正面競爭，而且昂貴的開發費用幾乎將派珀公司推到了金融危機的崩潰邊緣。但是，如今市場證明，派珀公司的做法是正確的，子午線已經成為他們的明星產品。

子午線配裝普惠 PT6A - 42A發動機，性能優越，最大巡航速度能夠達到475千米/小時，最大巡航高度可達9144米，最大航程則達到了1674千米。其客艙有6個乘客座位，只有一個駕駛員座位。

《飛行》雜志主編羅伯特·高耶在駕駛子午線之前都是駕駛活塞式飛機。剛開始駕駛渦槳飛機時，他有些害怕，認為這是個又大又復雜的家伙，而且飛得更快，還比活塞式飛機貴至少4倍。但是，經過了諸多小時的飛行，他感覺渦槳飛機的振動比活塞式發動機飛機小得多。“很多公務機用戶將振動劇烈作為不買渦槳飛機的理由，但是對比看看空中國王等類飛機的銷量，就發現這種理由是不成立的。”他說。

曾經有歐洲包機公司對自己的子午線進行可靠性、操控性的統計，發現在幾年當中他們從未因飛機的機械故障原因取消過航班，如果搭乘4位乘客，子午線可以達到700千米的航程；如果是2位乘客，航程則可更多。該公司認為，像子午線一類的小型渦槳公務機會更受歡迎，因為與通常的公務機相比，它能夠真正地削減出行成本，并且不會犧牲舒適性和安全性。一位負責人表示：“有的客戶甚至自己擁有一架空中國王200，但是在少于500千米的航程中仍愿意在我們公司租用子午線，因為他們覺得單發比雙發更加節省成本。”

皮拉圖斯 PC-12NG

“如果你中了彩票，要買一架什么飛機？”在羅伯特·高耶看來，盡管這個問題的答案會因個人喜好有所不同，但是通常得到的答案都會是皮拉圖斯PC-12NG。事實上，PC-12NG并非在其領域獨一無二，派珀的馬利布·子午線、達索TMB850都是它的競爭對手，還有其他能裝載9個人左右的中小型公務機，如賽斯納獎狀CJ2或CJ4、比奇空中國王系列、巴航飛鴻300等。但在一定程度上，PC-12NG確實是能夠想象到的完美目標。

它能勝任高原、沙漠、草地及雪原等復雜環境的起降，在很多沒有跑道的荒野，PC-12NG一樣游刃有余，這都讓它成為了舒適、耐用的代名詞。同時，它也并未因為耐用而犧牲掉了奢華感，為了使PC-12NG機艙具備多功能性，皮拉圖斯和寶馬設計團隊建立了合作關系，為皮拉圖斯飛機設計了一系列機內裝飾。

PC-12NG相較以往的型號采用了普惠PT6-67P發動機，動力更加強勁，起飛、攀爬速度也更快，能以每分鐘585米的爬升速度上升到9000米的高度，并以518千米/小時的速度巡航，最大有效航程甚至能夠達到3389千米。如今，PC-12 NG被廣泛采用，包括紅十字會、澳大利亞皇家航空醫療服務隊、加拿大皇家騎警、美國空軍以及世界上其他的組織，可以勝任多項任務。

When you browse online or flip through magazines， you may often come across photos of classy， luxurious， and modern Gulfstream G550， Legacy 650 or other business jets owned by Chinese jetsetters， just as much as you see in old movies aircraft with two fans attached to their wings， but they look more modish.

In the jet family， aircraft with fans outside the engines is called turboprop， and those with fans inside the engines called turbofan. Chinese consumers are more into turbofan than turboprop presuming that the former is safer， more advanced， and more comfortable， while the later only reminds them of the old movies of Clark Gable. But is it really the case？ Is turboprop business jet out of fashion in Europe and the U.S.？ How is it different from turbofan aircraft in terms of performance and operating cost？ And what is its appearance in China？ The answers， as we elaborate below， may come as a big surprise.

Turboprop v.s. Turbofan

As Chinese buyers seek “newer， better， and pricier” goods， more and more large-sized turbofan business jets have entered China， and turboprop business jets， with two sets of fans hanging below the wings， are not even among their options. Turboprop is often associated with noise， low speed， and short range， but in many parts of Europe and the U.S.， turboprop business jet remains a major player in the market， or even the preferred choice for many individuals and enterprises. In the eyes of many experts， there is no substantial difference between turboprops and turbofan engines.

Early aircraft had all been powered by piston engines until the 1930s when an Englishman called Frank Whittle invented the first turbojet engine. Soon afterwards， aircraft manufacturers saw the powerful thrust and resulting high-speed performance of turbojet engine， and began to apply the technology to fighters and other aircraft in place of piston engines.

But as the technology evolves， its shortcomings， such as high fuel consumption and low efficiency at lower speed had also been discovered. Although not a big issue for high speed combat aircraft， the poor economics of turbojet makes it unacceptable for civil airlines.

The first turboprop engine， named Mamba， was developed by the British in 1942 to be equipped on Gannet， an anti-submarine carrier borne aircraft. Engineers later found out that turboprop engines are not aerodynamically efficient on large aircrafts due to constrains in energy conversion， size and speed compared with turbofan engines. That is why large aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus equip their aircraft with turbofan engines while small and medium-sized aircrafts are mostly equipped with turboprop engines. Many researchers therefore conclude that for small and medium-sized aircraft， turbofan and turboprop makes not much differences.

The same is true for small and medium-sized business jets.

Turboprop Business Jets in

the U.S.

A property dealer in the U.S. which has leasing agencies in the major parts of the Mid-west and the coastal areas last year flew its turboprop business jets for 700 hours to transport its team members. In the winter， two teams of the company took the jet from Indiana and flew to 12 cities in Virginia， North Carolina， and South Carolina， each trip between 95km and 130km. Joe Montana， Captain of the aircraft said： \"The turboprop business jet is like a time machine， dividing our itinerary into many short flights of 12 to13 minutes. Then they could get to their destination in 10 to 15 minutes by car， and return for the next destination.\" Jeffrey L. Kittel， CEO of the company said， \"Without this turboprop business jet， it would be impossible for us to complete the journey， because runways in some airports are less than 900m long， too short for turbofan business jets to land or take off， and the extremely cold weather makes it difficult for piston aircraft to operate. Turboprop is therefore the only viable choice. And thanks to this aircraft， we could depart on Monday and return home for dinner on Wednesday.\"

Stratos is a business jet operator that offers a whole range of services including the sales， lease and management of business jets. With a mixed fleet of turboprop as well as light， medium and large turbofan business jets， it offers jet charter service from 1，550 USD/hour for turboprop， 2，250 USD/h for light turbofan， to 3，450 USD/h for medium-sized turbofan. For customers who fly less than 2 hours， Stratos would often persuade them to opt for the more value-for-money turboprop business jets because they provide the same level of comfort as turbofan business jets but at a lower price. For charter service users who do not know the differences between turbofan and turboprop， their sales team would be ready to offer explanations so \"they would make the right choice for their next charter\". According to Stratos， if your trip is less than 500 miles or 926km， such as from Miami to Nassau， or if you are flying to airports with gravel runways or short runways， turboprop business jet would be the most economical option. But if you are tight on time or if you want less turbulence and more comfort， turbofan business jets would be more up to the job， since turboprop aircraft could not climb above turbulence to an altitude of 9，000km. There is no difference in the cabin， though. You can furnish a turboprop as luxurious and extravagant as you like. In fact， Stratos owns some of the world's most luxurious and safest turboprop business jets.

David Copperfield， the world-famous magician， also flies with turboprop business jets. He would often fly from his residence in Las Vegas to Bahamas， where he owns 11 islands， one of which has been built into a resort， by Challenger 300， and then change to Cessna Cavaran or Pilatus PC-12， which could land on the runways on his islands. \"Because the limited size of my islands could not allow take-off and landing of large jets， smaller and more economical jets are better choices.\"

Market Potential for Turboprop Business Jets in China

Among the more than 10，000 business jets delivered over the past 10 years， about 3/4 is turbofan jets and 1/4 turboprop. The 21st annual Teal Group Business Jet Overview forecasted that during 2011-2020， 14，905 business jets will be delivered worldwide， of which 11，167 will be turbofan and 3，153 will be turboprop.

Turbofan business jet will remain the leading player because of its mature and advanced technologies developed over the past 50 years. The future market value of turbofan business jet， which is a preferred choice in Asia and the Middle East， is likely to rise from 50% today to 60%～65%.

“The preference for high-end business jet in China is very normal， because currently， business jet buyers are often super large enterprises likely with business all over the world. Longer range large business jets are therefore selected to meet the needs of global travel， not to mention the vast territory of China. Even in the U.S.， more and more individuals are opting for longer range business jets in the age of economic globalization，” observed Liao Xuefeng， Chairman of China Business Aviation Group.

Many advantages of turboprop business jets， however， should not be overlooked， argued Gao Yuanyang， Director of the General Aviation Industry Research Center of Beihang Unviersity. Like the automobile market in China， it takes time for the aviation industry to mature. As the number of business jet buyers increases， and their needs diversify， there will be enough market for both turboprop and turbofan business jets. Turboprop business jets would also be a good choice for environmentalists with its low fuel consumption.

Wang Zhiyang， Senior Economist of AVIC International echoes Gao’s opinion. He believes that as the craze for luxury cools down， the preference of China’s rich people will move from high-end to medium range business jets. Turboprop aircraft， with its high value for money， will see a 10% average annual growth.

Beechcraft King Air350i

With decades of know-how in turboprop， Beechcraft has been a leading player in the twin-engine business jet market since it introduced the first King Air C90 in 1964. After being acquired by Textron， it continues to leverage its strengths in twin engine turboprop to improve the King Air series and to develop new single engine turboprop aircraft.

With another year of good sales， there are now 6，500 King Air in service in 105 countries. King Air 350， which offers the largest capacity， is the best selling aircraft in the family. Its update version， 350i， offers luxury， entertainment and flexibility， and is one of the “greenest” aircraft to date with high fuel efficiency and low seat kilometer cost. King Air 350 is capable of multiple tasks， with over 3，000 flying special missions around the world. The Flight Inspection Center of CAAC， for example， owns 3 King Air 350 for flight inspection purposes.

The King Air 350 can seat 8 passengers with its luxurious double club configuration， and carry 520kg of baggage with the largest pressurized and air-conditioned luggage hold in the class. The 350i， powered by Pratt Whitney Canada’s PT6-60A engines， boasts of a maximum speed of 580km/h， a minimum cruise speed of 290km/h， and 5 to 6 flying hours at the lowest speed， which means， theoretically， it could fly between any two cities in China or from China to Southeast Asian countries.

Last year， King Air 350i is awarded a single order of 105 from Wheels Up Club. “We are excited to cooperate with Beechcraft，” said Kenny Dichter， CEO of Wheels Up Club， “I hope to use these aircrafts to develop creative private aviation services and offer better services to travelers”.

John Deere， the world’s largest agricultural machinery manufacturer and a Fortune 500 corporation， is also among the users of King Air 350. They have been flying with business jet since the WWII for business activities. King Air 350 is used in its main production base， Brazil. “For John Deere， business jet is a great tool. Apart from domestic Brazil， we also fly to other regions of South America， including Argentina， Uruguay， Paraguay， Chile， Peru， Colombia， and Bolivia.”

Piaggio P180 Series

The most eye-catching aspect of the Piaggio P180 must be its look， featured with canard， propellers behind the cabin， and a fat belly， displaying its Italian lineage. This three-surface structure could support the small jet’s stability during turbulence and reduce drag by 34%.

Powered by PT6-66B engines， Piaggio P180 has a maximum cruise speed of 402 knots （745km/h）， a range of 1500 miles， and a maximum altitude of 39，000 feet. Its improved version， P180 EVO， is equipped with extra fuel tanks and offers an additional range of 280km， capable of flying 4 passengers for 1770 miles – i.e. from Beijing to any destination in China or to some neighboring countries. The P180 EVO also features the latest low noise propellers， winglets， brand new landing gears， a new air conditioning system， luxurious interior， better safety， and optimized durability.

With the most shoulder space in the class， it is the only turboprop business jet that allows passengers to stand straight in its 1.75 meter tall cabin.

Apart from military and civilian transportation， the aircraft could also be used for emergency relief. It only takes 1.5 hours to change its VIP configuration into a single stretcher air ambulance. It is also a good choice for flight inspection， used by the National Flight Inspection Center of Italy and inspection centers of many other countries.

According to Zhang Hongchao， Executive President of CAEA Aviation， the chief representative of P180 in China， there are 233 P180 in service today with 800，000 hours of accident-free flying. The most utilized P180 has flown more than 1，000 hours， 2 times that of aircraft in the same class.

Only two years into the Greater China market， P180 has earned 41 option orders and 14 confirmed orders， of which 2 belongs to the Freesky Club， 2 to Sparkle Roll Airlines， and 10 to a Hong Kong based company for its U.S. operations. Last year， after flying the P180 of Freesky Club， Jacky Chan， a world famous movie star， commented that the aircraft is stable and comfortable.

Piper Malibu Meridian

Over a decade ago， Piper Aircraft started to develop a single engine turboprop business jet based on its twin-engine piston aircraft， Malibu Mirage， a surprise move for industry insiders who thought they were creating competition on the same line of product. Although the high RD costs nearly drove Piper to the brink of financial crisis， it is proved today by the market that they did the right thing – the Meridian has become their star product.

Equipped with a PT6A-42A engine， the Meridian has a maximum speed of 475km/h， a maximum cruise altitude of 9，144km， and a maximum range of 1674 km. The aircraft can seat one pilot and 6 passengers.

Robert Goyer， Editor-in-Chief of the Flying magazine， used to fly piston aircraft before switching to Meridian. He was a little scared when he first flew the turboprop， which is big and complex， fast， and 4 times more expensive than a piston aircraft. But after many flying hours， he felt that the vibration of a turboprop is much less than a piston aircraft. “Many business jet users decide not to buy turboprops because of too much vibration， but if we look at the sales volume of turboprops like King Air， we will know the claim is not well founded.”

A charter operator in Europe once studied the reliability and maneuverability of its Meridian fleet and found out that they had never cancelled a flight due to technical failure. The aircraft can fly 700km with 4 passengers aboard or longer with 2 passengers. The operator believes that small turboprop aircraft like the Meridian would be more popular because it could reduce travel cost without sacrificing comfort and safety. “Some of our customers own a Beechcraft King Air 200， but they are still willing to lease our Meridian for trips below 500km because they understand single engine aircraft is more cost saving than twin engine.”

Pilatus PC-12NG

“If you win a lottery， what aircraft would you buy？” The answer may vary due to individual preferences， said Robert Goyer， but more often than not， the answer he got is Pilatus PC-12NG， although it is not the only product in the class， others include Malibu Meridian， Dassalt Falcon TMB850， and other small and medium-sized business jets that could seat 9 passengers， such as Cessna CJ2 or CJ4， Beechcraft King Air series， and Embraer Phenom 300. But to some extent， PC-12NG is indeed the ideal choice.

The aircraft could take off and land in complex environment such as plateau， desert， pasture， and snowfield. Even in the wildness where no runway is available， PC-12NG could still be operated as easily. Its name is synonymous with comfort and durability， without sacrificing luxury. To create a versatile cabin， Pilatus partners with BMW to create a series of interior designs for the aircraft.

Unlike its predecessors， PC-12NG is equipped with a more powerful PT6-67P engine that enables faster take off and climbing， at 585meter/minute to an altitude of 9，000km. It could fly as much as 3，389km at a cruise speed of 518 km/h. Today PC-12NG is widely used by the Red Cross， the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia， the Royal Canadian Mounted Police， the U.S. Air Force， and many other organizations for various purposes.

U-Jet： How many PC-12 has been delivered worldwide？

Li Yinghan： Worldwide， more than 1，400 PC-12 has been delivered， of which 900 are to the U.S.， followed by Australia. The aircraft has been in service for 20 years since its launch in 1994.

U-Jet： How many orders has PC-12NG got from China？

Li Yinghan： We have 10 option orders from China.

U-Jet： What are the unique strengths of PC-12NG？

Li Yinghan： The most distinguished strengths are its safety and fuel efficiency. Single engine turboprop is safer than multiple engine aircraft. The unit operation cost of PC-12NG is only about 4000RMB， much lower than twin-engine aircraft in the same class， but offers equivalent flying experiences.

U-Jet： Why is single-engine aircraft safer？

Li Yinghan： According to a report by National Transport Safety Board （NTSB） of the U.S.， the number of accidents caused by engine failure of twin engine aircraft is 4 times that of single engine aircraft. The engines of twin engine aircraft are placed on both sides of the central line， when one engine breaks down， the climb force of the aircraft will drop quickly by 80%， and the out-of-balance trust may cause deviation or rolling of the aircraft. If either engine fails during take-off or at low altitude， there is hardly any time for pilots to take actions. By contrast， if the engine of a single engine aircraft fails， there won’t be unbalanced thrust. All the pilot need to do is to focus on gliding it to safety rather than struggling to control the aircraft.

Another surplus for single engine aircraft is that it has a much lower purchase， operation and maintenance cost compared with twin engine aircraft.