On the Record with
STEVE LORANGER, PRESIDENT & CEO, HONEYWELL ENGINES, SYSTEMS & SERVICES

Honeywell is unveiling a new business aircraft engine here at NBAA-the TFE731-50-and says it has two more powerplants on the drawing boards: a miniature APU for business aircraft and a successor to its LT101 turboshaft engine for helicopters.

Speaking with Show News just minutes after giving the go-ahead for the TFE731-50 on August 29, Steve Loranger, president & CEO of Honeywell's Engines, Systems & Services business, said this is the first time Honeywell has launched an engine on spec without an application.

"This sends the strongest message we can provide to the industry that we are committed to business aviation," Loranger said.

He does, however, expect an application to materialize soon for the 4,900-pounds-takeoff-thrust engine that fits snugly between the 4,250-pounds-thrust TFE731-40 that powers the Falcon 50EX and Gulfstream 100, and the higher 5,000-pounds-thrust ­60 on the Falcon 900EX.

Loranger would not comment on suggestions that the ­50 might be a perfect fit for the new Gulfstream 150, but said Honeywell sees a couple of "very interesting applications" for the new engine, as well as a potential for retrofit programs.

The TFE731-50 takes the ­60 core and turns down the temperature to enter service with 2,500 hours before inspection on the hot section, and 10,000 hours before compressor overhaul. The ­60's very efficient wide-chord damperless fan will be cropped and its gear ratio changed to match slightly different speed requirements. Like other TFE731-20/-40/-60 engines, it will feature a single-channel digital electronic engine control with hydromechanical backup, improved carbon seals, and an externally replaceable N1 speed detector.

The result, according to Loranger, will be an engine with a specific fuel consumption much better than others in its class and matching that of the TFE731-5, but with 600 pounds more thrust.

The engine will fit in the nacelle of the ­40 engine, Loranger added.

Honeywell has already developed the fan and expects to bring the engine to certification in the relatively short time span of just 18 months.

The TFE731 engine family has racked up 53 million flight hours since its introduction in 1972, with 46 variants powering no fewer than 26 models of business and military aircraft around the world.

Honeywell's RE50
Small business aircraft in the $3 million to 10 million price range (King Airs to smaller Citations and light twinjets) could roll off the production line in the future with two new features -- self-sufficiency and cool cabins. All thanks to a new, lightweight, low-cost APU being developed by Honeywell.

"We've been able to develop high-cost small APUs in the past, but they weren't popular for low-cost business aircraft," said Steve Loranger, president & CEO of Honeywell's Engines, Systems & Services business. "But our new RE50 pioneers low-cost technology and simplicity to bring value to the customer."

Fabrication costs have been the big barrier to a low-cost APU, especially a small one in which the bearings and cooling have to be just as sophisticated as on the bigger versions, and tolerances just as tight.

The RE50 uses turbocharger technology and very simple fuel controls. New technology eliminates the need for oil, and introduces air bearings and a cantilevered rotating group.

Weight is only 50 to 60 pounds before installation. "You can just about hold it in your hand," said Loranger.

New Engine
Honeywell may reassert itself in the most popular sector of the helicopter market with a new 500 shp class turboshaft engine to replace its LTS101, which powers the Bell 222, some versions of the Eurocopter AS350 Dauphin, and the U.S. Coast Guard's HH-65A Dolphin variant of that aircraft. The LTS101 is rated up to 735 shp.

"The light single/light twin sector of the helicopter market will represent 80% of unit sales over the next decade, with some 4,500 aircraft," Steve Loranger, president & CEO of Honeywell's Engines, Systems & Services business, told Show News. "We can capture some of it if we can do a reasonably attractive derivative engine to address twin-engined power needs up to 1,200 shp or so."

The new engine will, however, be a derivative only in terms of architecture -- all the technology will be new, Loranger explained.

Honeywell inherited the LTS101 turboshaft engine in the merger with AlliedSignal, which had bought Lycoming in 1994 and spent the next several years working hard to overcome the engine's dismal reliability record. "The LTS101 is now highly respected," said Loranger. "Its reliability has more than doubled."

The new engine, which does not yet have an official name, is expected to be launched once Honeywell has finalized its design.