First Slovenian-Made Very Light Turboprop Aircraft

The first very light turboprop aircraft built in Slovenia successfully completed its maiden flight at Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport (LJMB) in Maribor, Slovenia, with test pilot Nejc Faganelj at the controls and test pilot Mirko Anželj overseeing the flight from the ground.

Before the flight, Faganelj said, “I’m really excited that for the first time, I’m taking in the air a Slovenian produced aircraft, made by Gogetair, with a turboprop engine. So let’s see how it will go.”

Afterwards, Faganelj had this to say: “The first flight went above expectations. The airplane works really smoothly and I’m really happy to see how it will go in the future.”

Borut Mernik, Turbine Project Manager said, “After every flight, we analyze technical data which we get the parameters from different telemetry systems in order to optimize the engine. So the difference between the first flight and the last flight is about a 20% increase of engine efficiency.”

Mernik also said the telemetry data from the test flights are used to optimize the aircraft as a whole, and to achieve a better aircraft durability, reliability, and the performance of the powerplant package.

Second test pilot Aleš Štimec said, “This concept impresses me because it is the first very light aircraft with the turboprop engine that I fly, and I’m very pleased with this project because this is a very specific engine with very specific solutions.”

The aircraft is powered by the Turbotech TP-R90 turboprop that has a patented regenerative system that captures exhaust heat to reduce fuel consumption and lowers operating costs over the lifetime of the aircraft.

The TP-R90 is capable of running on Jet-A1, diesel, and biofuels, providing operators flexibility and cost savings while also aligning with environmentally conscious sustainability standards.

FMI:  gogetair-aircraft.com/