GE Aviation is increasing the production of its H80 turboprop engines this year to meet customer demands.

"The H80 turboprop engine is flying on the Thrush 510G, and Aircraft Industries received its EASA certification in April for the L410 that was re-engined with H80 engines with aircraft being delivered," said Jim Stoker, president and managing executive of GE Aviation Czech. "To meet the growing demands, we are increasing production to more than 70 engines this year."

GE Aviation Czech is manufacturing the H80 engines at its Letnany facility in Prague. The site employs more than 400 employees. The employees at the GE Aviation Czech facility manage the entire lifecycle of the turboprop engine from design and development to assembly and overhaul.

The H80 turboprop engine family incorporates GE's 3-D aerodynamic design techniques and advanced materials to create a powerful, fuel-efficient, durable engine with no recurrent fuel nozzle inspections and no hot section inspection. The engines feature a service life of 3,600 flight-hours or 6,600 cycles between overhauls. The H80 engine family also offers a standard auto start and limiting unit to simplify engine start-up as well as a choice of propeller governors to allow customers flexibility in propeller selection.

The H80 engine received eight engine type certifications from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia and Uruguay. Certification efforts are underway in China, South Africa and the Philippines.

Last year, GE Aviation launched two H80 derivative engines, the H75 and H85 engines. The H75 engine is rated at 750 shaft horsepower (shp) for takeoff and maximum continuous operation, and the H85 engine is rated at 850 shp. Like the H80 engine, the H75 and H85 engines are aimed at the agricultural, commuter, utility and business turboprop aircraft segments. EASA certified the H75 and H85 engines last year with the FAA type certification anticipated this year.

In November, the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co., Ltd. (CAIGA) selected GE Aviation's H85 turboprop engine to power its Primus 150 aircraft. CAIGA's Primus 150 is a five-seat, light single-engine pressurized turboprop business aircraft with a carbon fiber composite airframe. It is one of the fastest pressurized single-engine turboprop aircraft in its class. Flight testing of the H85-powered Primus 150 is scheduled for this year.