What-if T-tail becomes standard…

[Tophe]

A full page article in the last Air & Cosmos magazine (in French, alas for JHM) but also on the Web at
http://www.avtechintl.com/rt700.aspx
Nice T-tail bird, no? Looking like the Piaggio.

[Tophe]

If the RT-700 will not win, the even more original TT62 Aletko may do it...
(thanks to Air & Cosmos once more and to
http://www.verkehrsflieger.de/dateien/verk...ng-ila2004.html )

[elmayerle]

Yeah, the first one does look reminiscent of the Piaggio design.  I wish I'd copied info on a turboprop pusher that Learjet studied back in the '60's, I believe it had a T-tail, too.  The interesting part was that it had a pair of TPE331's modifed to drive pusher properllers; that's rather more difficult for that engine than for a PT6.

[Tophe]

The interesting part was that it had a pair of TPE331's modifed to drive pusher properllers; that's rather more difficult for that engine than for a PT6.

I understand a tuboprop is normally having a propeller with the front fan, but what is the problem of having it as pusher? – seeing there are helicopter turbines with vertical axis, all seemed possible, no?

[Tophe]

Yeah, the first one does look reminiscent of the Piaggio design.

This topic is not away from models, see the scale Piaggio Avanti below, only $299... (a non flying one is proposed bt Hannants, non flying but cheaper: £9.95=$18, vacform from Sanger). Has anyone of us made one (with RCAF roundels for instance, to be what-if enough)?


Some T-tails are less originals while very pretty, see the Diamond DA42:


And some T-tails that are not much pretty look very beautiful on some pictures, see the Pilatus PC-12 below, so elegant:

[elmayerle]

The interesting part was that it had a pair of TPE331's modifed to drive pusher properllers; that's rather more difficult for that engine than for a PT6.

I understand a tuboprop is normally having a propeller with the front fan, but what is the problem of having it as pusher? – seeing there are helicopter turbines with vertical axis, all seemed possible, no?

The problem in this case has more to do with the layout and configuration of the TPE331 and it's gearbox.  It's nowhere near as easily adaptable as the PT6 and would've resulted in a rather long drive shaft for a pusher propeller.