A Florida-based company called Diemech Turbine Solutions thinks so. Here at Sun ‘n Fun it’s showing a nice little 241-HP turbine that weighs about 125 pounds, less accessories. In this video, Diemech president Christian Skoppe told AVweb that it’s made an agreement with the Czech-based PBS to eventually certify the TP 100 engine, which will be available in both turboprop and turboshaft versions. The market thrust, says Skoppe, isn’t so much speed as it is fuel availability, a story we’re hearing more and more from the international market. With avgas under threat of extinction, more OEMs and buyers are looking toward heavy fuel solutions, either Jet A or low-sulphur diesel fuels. The TP 100 springs from a small turbojet engine PBS made for the drone market, but the company also has experience in the manufacture of APUs.
Diemech plans to install the TP100 in an RV-10 test bed, but to eventually certify in the U.S. It expects to be flying in the U.S. by the middle of next year.
