Catalyst turboprop passes muster with the FAA

The clean-sheet engine completed over 8,000 test hours and is set to power the Beechcraft Denali with improved efficiency and performance.

GE Aerospace’s Catalyst turboprop engine has received FAA certification under FAR Part 33, following a testing programme involving over 23 engines and more than 190 component tests. The company says it is the first centreline, clean-sheet turboprop of the 21st century and the first certified to the latest standards, incorporating more than 20 significant new requirements.

“The certification of the Catalyst engine is a significant milestone for our company,” says Riccardo Procacci, President and CEO, Propulsion and Additive Technologies at GE Aerospace. “We are now fully committed to supporting the production ramp-up of the engine towards entry into service.”

The engine completed over 8,000 hours of testing, demonstrating its performance targets. “Catalyst has been through a rigorous certification and testing process,” says Paul Corkery, Catalyst General Manager at Avio Aero. “We remain fully focused on supporting Textron Aviation as they complete the certification process for the Beechcraft Denali.”

With a 16:1 overall pressure ratio, Catalyst delivers up to 18% better fuel consumption and 10% higher cruise power than competing engines. It features two stages of variable stator vanes, cooled high-pressure turbine blades and additive-manufactured components.

Designed and built at GE Aerospace facilities in Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany, Catalyst is part of GE Aerospace’s next-generation engine portfolio shaping the Future of Flight.