If in case you have a regional turboprop plane and need that it was a bit extra hybirdy, RTX could possibly accommodate you. The corporate is creating a mixed thermal/electrical propulsion system that not solely will increase effectivity however will be retrofitted into current plane.
With their excessive torque, excessive effectivity, and 0 emissions, electrical motors appear to be a sexy possibility for plane propulsion. Sadly, additionally they have disadvantages that at present limit them to area of interest functions corresponding to very small commuter plane carrying just a few passengers or restricted cargo.
The principle subject is power density. Inside combustion engines use gasoline with an power density no less than 20 instances higher than electrical batteries per unit of mass. In consequence, a big portion of an electrical plane’s weight and payload capability could be taken up by batteries, limiting most all-electric designs to ranges of lower than 150 nm (172 miles, 278 km).
RTX
Worse. Batteries are useless weight. As a standard plane burns gasoline, it turns into lighter throughout flight, enhancing vary and effectivity. An electrical plane, nonetheless, stays the identical weight from takeoff to touchdown, which means a lot of the remaining cost is spent merely carrying the batteries themselves. Thermal administration challenges and the pressure on ground-based charging infrastructure add additional issues.
Electrical propulsion nonetheless has clear benefits, although. The query is benefit from them with out sacrificing efficiency.
To discover this, RTX subsidiary Pratt & Whitney Canada is working with Collins Aerospace and the Canadian authorities to develop a hybrid turboprop engine for medium-sized regional plane. The RTX Hybrid-Electrical Flight Demonstrator reached a big milestone on March 3, 2026, when its built-in propulsion system and batteries efficiently operated at full energy in a check cell in Longueuil, Quebec.
For these acquainted with automotive hybrids, this technique works in a different way from designs utilized in autos just like the Toyota Prius. In these programs, the interior combustion engine costs batteries that then energy the electrical motor. That’s not the method taken within the RTX demonstrator.
As a substitute, the companions have mixed a by-product of Pratt & Whitney’s 1-MW PW127XT turboprop engine with a 1-MW Collins Aerospace electrical motor. By a specialised gearbox, each energy sources can drive the propeller shaft concurrently, sharing the workload moderately than working sequentially.
RTX
The essential thought is to simplify the ability curve of the thermal engine by supplementing it with the electrical motor. As a substitute of the engine having to rev up for takeoff and climbing, the electrics can kick in and assist increase the engine because it runs at a roughly fixed throttle. It additionally provides the pilot the choice of as much as 2 MW of energy on the contact of the throttle. As well as, the motor can do double responsibility as a generator throughout descent, placing a partial cost again into the 200-kWh H55 battery system, which helps to stability the books on the finish of the day.
The objective is to provide a lighter engine with an general discount of gasoline consumption of 30% and 20% decrease upkeep prices. It could possibly additionally make issues a bit greener as a result of RTX claims that the brand new system can run on 100% Sustainable Aviation Gas (SAF).
However the social gathering piece is that the brand new system would not want a brand new plane to accommodate it. One gross sales function is that the companions declare that it may be retrofitted into current regional plane, which ought to make it enticing to operators who need to go inexperienced whereas sustaining or enhancing the underside line.
Floor testing will proceed all through 2026, with flight testing scheduled to happen at AeroTEC in Moses Lake, Washington, utilizing a modified De Havilland Canada Sprint 8-100 experimental plane.
“Folks don’t need to fly an empty airplane full of batteries. What we’re keen on is lowering the power per passenger-mile,” stated Rémi Robache, a Pratt & Whitney program supervisor for electronics. “It’s having essentially the most environment friendly system that consumes the least gasoline and the least electrical energy potential. It’s about minimizing the power that it is advisable deliver a passenger from A to B.”
Supply: RTX
