11-blade propeller takes flight
German-based high-performance and noise reducing propeller systems manufacturer MT-Propeller performed the first test flight of its new 11-blade propeller installed on a Piper PA–31T1 powered by Pratt & Whitney PT6A-135 turbine engines.
MT-Propeller holds more than 220 supplemental type certificates worldwide for certified and experimental aircraft and manufactures OEM propeller systems for companies like Diamond Aircraft, Pipistrel (acquired by Textron in 2022), Tecnam, Extra Aircraft, and Lancair.
The 11-blade system, when paired with a low-revolutions-per-minute powerplant like a turbine or electric engine, “opens new possibilities for performance, efficiency and noise,” the company said in its statement.
You can learn more about the 11-blade system and watch videos of the test flights on the company’s website.
The company offers two-blade to seven-blade hydraulically controlled variable-pitch propellers and two-blade to four-blade electrically controlled variable pitch propellers. In 2019, the company tested a nine-blade propeller design; however, neither the nine-blade nor the 11-blade propeller is offered for sale at this time.
