GE will build Textron Aviation’s new engine in Czech Republic

GE Aviation has selected the Czech Republic as the location where it will build a new engine for Textron Aviation’s planned single-engine turboprop.

The company said in a post Monday on its GE Reports website that it will use part of GE’s $400 million investment in Europe to create a turboprop development, test and engine production headquarters in the eastern European country.

It said the center will have more than 500 workers and engineers who will manufacture the engine for Textron Aviation and other manufacturers beginning in 2020. GE Aviation is calling the new engine the GE93 and said the 1,300-shaft-horsepower engine will have a 20 percent lower fuel burn and 10 percent more cruise power than comparable turboprop engines.

GE in 2008 acquired Walter Aircraft Engines in Prague, a manufacturer of turboprop engines, which provided the company expertise in engines for aircraft other than business and commercial jets, for which it is widely known.

Textron Aviation said last summer it planned to develop a “clean sheet” single-engine turboprop with a range of more than 1,500 nautical miles that would fly faster than 322 mph, or 280 knots.

Based on those specifications, the new airplane would compete directly with an airplane such as the Pilatus PC-12, a Swiss-built single-engine turboprop with a 1,500-nautical-mile range and a top speed of 280 knots.

Textron Aviation and GE Aviation jointly announced the new engine in November at the National Business Aviation Association Convention in Las Vegas.

Textron Aviation has said it plans to have a “single engine turboprop article” at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture show July 25-31 in Oshkosh, Wis.

This story was originally published January 18, 2016 at 6:31 PM with the headline "GE will build Textron Aviation’s new engine in Czech Republic."