Turbotech turbine engine gains ground in new generation of light aircraft

A small turbine engine developed in France is finding its way into a growing list of light aircraft, including a new Elixir turbine trainer, the CubCrafters Carbon Cub ULT, the Wasatch Aero SD3T, the JMB VL3 Turbine, the Gogetair G750TP and a new Bristell turbine model.

The recent programs mark an important shift for Turbotech. Its regenerative turboprop has flown on several European demonstrators over the past five years, but aircraft manufacturers are now beginning to adopt the engine as a production powerplant, moving it beyond an experimental curiosity.

Elixir Aircraft took the latest step at EAA AirVenture 2026, signing a memorandum of understanding with Turbotech on July 22 to launch industrial development of the Elixir Turbine.

The agreement follows a year of flight testing that began with the turbine aircraft’s first engine start in February 2025 and maiden flight four months later. Elixir and Turbotech will now begin integration work and pursue EASA and FAA certification, with entry into service targeted for 2030.

Elixir is positioning the aircraft primarily for professional flight schools. The turbine version is intended to combine single-lever operation with longer overhaul intervals and the ability to use several types of aviation fuel, including sustainable aviation fuels.

The company has not announced a price or detailed performance figures for the production Elixir Turbine.

CubCrafters is moving on a faster schedule with the Carbon Cub ULT, a turbine-powered derivative of its Carbon Cub UL unveiled earlier in July.

The Yakima, Washington-based manufacturer is already accepting $75,000 deposits and lists a base price of $690,000. Initial deliveries are expected in 2027.

The Carbon Cub ULT pairs the Turbotech engine with a constant-speed DUC propeller and dual full-authority digital engine controls. CubCrafters touts the system as providing push-button starting and single-lever power management, with the FADEC controlling fuel, ignition, engine temperatures and propeller operation.

The company lists an estimated empty aircraft weight of 880 pounds, a maximum gross weight of 1,865 pounds and a useful load of 985 pounds. Preliminary figures call for a cruise speed above 130 mph, a range of 682 miles and endurance of about 5.2 hours. CubCrafters says the aircraft will retain the Carbon Cub’s extremely short takeoff and landing capability.

The Carbon Cub ULT will be offered as both a factory-built light-sport aircraft and through CubCrafters’ experimental amateur-built completion program. The company describes it as the first US-manufactured turboprop designed to be eligible for operation by sport pilots under the FAA’s expanded MOSAIC rules.

A third aircraft, the Wasatch Aero SD3T, is aimed at the training and personal-aircraft markets. The Utah startup describes the SD3T as a turbine version of its two-seat composite SD3. Wasatch lists output at 148 horsepower and says the aircraft will use a FADEC-controlled Turbotech engine. The program remains in development, and the company says its performance data and production timeline could change.

Wasatch is accepting refundable reservations but has not published a final aircraft price. Its website has variously referred to expected availability in 2026, although it also says production timing is still being finalized.

How the turbine works

Turbotech’s engine uses a regenerative cycle, an idea more often associated with stationary turbines than small aircraft engines.

A conventional gas turbine throws a large amount of heat overboard through its exhaust. Turbotech places a compact heat exchanger between the exhaust and the compressor discharge air. The system captures some of that otherwise wasted heat and uses it to warm the compressed air before it reaches the combustion chamber.

Because the incoming air is already hotter, the engine needs less fuel to reach the required turbine temperature.

Turbotech says the arrangement allows its engine to retain the smoothness, compact size and mechanical simplicity of a turbine while delivering fuel consumption comparable with modern piston engines. The key to the tech is a lightweight microtube heat exchanger developed through a partnership with French manufacturer Le Guellec Tubes & Profilés.

The tradeoff is that the heat exchanger adds weight, volume and engineering complexity to an engine type normally prized for its simple airflow path. Turbotech’s work has centered on making the recuperator small and light enough for aviation.

The company’s current website markets the turboprop as the TP-R150, rated at 104 kW, or about 141 horsepower, with a published time between overhaul of 3,000 hours. It can burn several fuels and is intended for airplanes, helicopters and unmanned aircraft.

The naming is not entirely consistent. Elixir and CubCrafters call their engine the TP-R90, while CubCrafters lists the powerplant as the “TP-R90/R150.” Earlier Turbotech material also used both designations. The company’s current product page, however, identifies the production turboprop as the TP-R150.

Turbotech has not published a standard retail price for the standalone engine. That makes direct comparisons with Rotax piston engines difficult, and the $690,000 Carbon Cub ULT price includes the complete aircraft, avionics, propeller and engine installation rather than identifying the turbine’s individual cost.

From Safran engineers to light aircraft

Four former Safran employees founded Turbotech in 2017. The company is based at Toussus-le-Noble Airport near Paris and is led by co-founder and CEO Damien Fauvet.

The underlying project began much earlier. Fauvet said Turbotech’s team won a French government research prize in 2010 and ran a turbogenerator demonstrator on a test bench in 2015 before forming the company.

Safran Corporate Ventures and French investment firm GO Capital invested as part of a €3 million funding round in 2018. Safran also signed a technical partnership agreement that provided engineering support and allowed the aerospace group to evaluate Turbotech technology for possible use in future products.

Turbotech developed two related products around the regenerative turbine core. The TP-R150 drives a propeller through a reduction gearbox. The TG-R90 instead functions as a turbogenerator, producing electricity for hybrid-electric aircraft or charging batteries during flight.

Turbotech has tested the turbogenerator with French hybrid-electric aircraft developer Ascendance Flight Technologies. The company also participated in the BeautHyFuel research program, which tested a light-aircraft turbine using hydrogen.

The turbine has already accumulated flight experience on other airframes. A Turbotech-powered Helyxis CHOPPAIR helicopter flew in 2021, followed by the JMB Aircraft VL3 turbine demonstrator in 2022 and a Bristell XL8 installation in 2023. Gogetair later flew and delivered a turbine-powered G750TP using the 104 kW engine.

The potential appeal of a small turbine engine for light aircraft is easy to understand. Flight schools want engines that tolerate high utilization and reduce pilot workload. Backcountry pilots value fuel flexibility and reliability. Aircraft manufacturers want more power without giving up the low fuel consumption.

Turbine engines have traditionally struggled to meet those requirements at outputs of around 150 horsepower. Small turbines have tended to burn considerably more fuel than piston engines, while their higher purchase costs are difficult to spread across inexpensive aircraft.

Turbotech believes recovering heat from the exhaust changes that calculation. The recent aircraft announcements suggest manufacturers are willing to test buyers’ interest that idea.The post Turbotech turbine engine gains ground in new generation of light aircraft appeared first on AeroTime.

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