Oshkosh 2011: Kestrel Aircraft Picks Honeywell TPE331
Kestrel Aircraft has selected Honeywell’s TPE331-14GR to power its all-composite single-engine turboprop.

Kestrel Aircraft has selected Honeywell’s TPE331-14GR to power its all-composite single-engine turboprop. The Brunswick, Maine-based company was founded by Alan Klapmeier, co-founder of Cirrus Aircraft, to bring the former Farnborough Aircraft F1 Kestrel turboprop to market.

The F1 prototype, which Kestrel now owns, is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-67A flat-rated to 1,000 shp. It first flew on July 29, 2006. The TPE331-14GR is rated at 1,759 thermodynamic horsepower but will be flat-rated to 1,000 shp, according to Kestrel, “to allow for better high-altitude, high-temperature performance.”