Senior Editor

Jerry Siebenmark

Honeywell Aerospace is marking a major milestone with its first purpose-built business jet engine, the TFE731, which turned&nbsp;50 years old this month. The turbofan engine, 13,000 of which have been produced to date, continues to power jet types such&nbsp;as the Dassault Falcon 900, Bombardier Learjet 70/75, and Gulfstream G150.

 


According to Honeywell, 9,400 of the engines remain in service today and in total have accumulated 108 million flight hours. The engine&nbsp;was designed to meet the specific needs of business jets while other engines from the era were adapted from existing military jet engines. Honeywell predecessor Garrett (AlliedSignal)&nbsp;developed the TFE731 in the late 1960s to provide the nascent business jet market with an engine that would fly coast-to-coast without refueling and that was reliable. The engine also lead to the development of Honeywell's&nbsp;HTF7000 family that powers some current-production super-midsize jets.

 


Besides being the company's&nbsp;first turbofan, the TFE731 also was the first geared turbofan engine with a dual-spool design to improve fuel efficiency and range. Dassault and Learjet were the engine’s launch customers, later to be followed by other OEMs such as Cessna, Lockheed, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Raytheon Aircraft/Hawker Beechcraft. Later adopted in military training aircraft such as the CASA 101 and AIDC AT-3, the TFE731 has received 34 type certifications and was produced in 80 configurations.

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

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News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

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