Raisbeck Engineering's Swept Blade Turbofan Propellers are now being delivered after their FAA-certification, covering the entire King Air C90/E90 family.

Jointly developed by Raisbeck Engineering and Hartzell Propeller, the latest advancement in Swept Blade Propeller design for the C90/E90 family follows closely after the 2013 introduction of the first swept propeller design certified for the entire King Air 200 family. More than 32 sets of these propellers have been delivered since their introduction last March.

New Swept Blade Propellers are quiet, powerful and have stunning ramp presence.	Applied swept-wing theory enables larger prop diameter for more thrust while reducing noise.

To ensure that one propeller design would cover both earlier C90s with 2200 RPM for takeoff, and later versions that use 1900 RPM, the quarter-chord blade sweep was increased over that for the 200s, from 30 to 37 degrees at their outer diameter. This allowed the team’s engineers to increase the prop diameter a full 6˝ over the OEM prop to 96˝, gaining performance while reducing noise at the same time.

When added to the Raisbeck EPIC Performance Package for the C90/E90 aircraft, the Swept Blade Propellers deliver outstanding performance increases across the board. The EPIC Package is priced at $99,864 plus installation and includes Raisbeck Dual Aft Body Strakes and FAA-Approved Airplane Flight Manual Supplement.

FAA-certified performance for the EPIC-equipped C90, for example, includes a 10,500 MTOW, takeoff distance of 2,015´ over a 50´ obstacle, and a landing distance of 1,845´ over the same 50´ obstacle. Significant improvements in accel-go and accel-stop distances, coupled with greater single-engine climb capability, allow a large increase in available airports for these aircraft. Another benefit is the1750 cruise RPM that is included in the AFMS, which provides a truly quiet cabin and cockpit environment.

Deliveries of the C90/E90 Swept Props began to customers on January 2nd, 2014. Scott Keefe and Tiffanie Matsumoto of Raisbeck’s sales team are supplying dealers and customers a full explanation of the benefits of the EPIC Performance Package, powered by the Swept Props. Hartzell Propeller has anticipated the strong demand for the Swept Props and has geared its manufacturing capabilities at Piqua Ohio to meet the demand.

Joe Brown, CEO of Hartzell Propeller Inc. personally pledged the company’s facilities to meet the demand of both the new C90/C90A/C900B/C90GT/C90GTi /C90GTx/E90 fleet and ongoing deliveries to Raisbeck’s 200/B200/B200GT customers. “Hartzell and Raisbeck have enjoyed a great and innovative relationship over the last 30 years, and fully expect it to continue into the future, with more innovative propeller systems,” he said.