75 Pilatus PC-12s Currently Sporting MT’s The Silent 7
The world's first seven-blade propeller is currently installed on 75 European and U.S. specimens of Pilatus’s venerable PC-12, single-engine turboprop aircraft.
Developed by MT-Propeller and dubbed The Silent 7, the impressive air-screw redefines PC-12 performance, significantly improving on the climb, cruise, and even the descent characteristics of the model’s five-blade OEM propeller.
The advantages of MT-Propeller’s The Silent 7 include:
- Certified twenty-percent improvement in takeoff (roll) performance.
- Improved climb and cruise performance.
- Diminished cockpit, cabin, and overall aircraft noise.
- Smoother Operation than comparably sized (diameter) five-blade propellers.
Retrofitted with MT-Propeller’s The Silent 7, Pilatus’s PC-12 allegedly meets the highest E.U. noise regulations for unrestricted airport operations.
In April 2023, the STC for Pilatus PC-12 aircraft retrofitted with the seven-blade MTV-47 propeller was updated to reflect improvements in certified performance cited in the aircraft’s Approved Flight-Manual Supplement (AFMS). Subject improvements consisted primarily of a twenty-percent reduction in required takeoff field length compared to the originally-certified OEM values.
Converted PC-12 aircraft are eligible to receive the latest certified performance range of MT propellers.
Founded in 1980, MT-Propeller Entwicklung GmbH is a manufacturer of composite propellers for single and twin engine aircraft, airships, wind tunnels, and additional special applications. The company’s certified propeller models range from two- to seven-blade hydraulically-actuated variable-pitch propellers for aero-engines producing up to five-thousand horsepower, and two- to four-blade electronically-actuated variable-pitch propellers for aero-engines producing up to 350-horsepower. MT also produces two-blade fixed propellers.
The company headquarters are located on Germany’s Straubing Wallmuhle Airport (RBM) in Bavaria.
All told, MT-Propeller holds north of 220 STCs.
To date, MT propellers have cumulatively logged 180-million flight hours.
Pilatus’s PC-12 aircraft family is operated by corporate flight departments, individual owner-operators, fractional and charter companies, air ambulance service providers, and numerous world militaries which make use of the aircrafts’ toughness and expansive capabilities. The PC-12’s large cabin, standard cargo door, docile handling characteristics, and low operating costs make for a uniquely attractive and useful machine, at once conducive to transporting executives between major city centers, hauling cargo between remote and austere environs, and advancing tactically against threats to national security.