Overheard a new guy say 300 pounds of thrust is nothing on a PT6

I was helping a buddy with a hot section inspection on a King Air 200 yesterday when this fresh A&P trainee walked by and said a PT6 only makes 300 pounds of thrust, so it's basically useless. I just laughed and asked him how many 4,000 horsepower turboprops he's flown behind. Have you guys ever had a juniors comment that just made you stop and think about how much you take this trade for granted?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_hannah15d ago

Oh man, "basically useless" got me too. I had a kid tell me a PT6 was just a glorified leaf blower and I about lost it.

jake_dixon15d ago

Have you ever just handed them a wrench and asked them to pull the fuel nozzle with the engine at idle? Usually shuts them up real quick when they realize there's 500 horsepower held back by a few small parts.

amyr5714d ago

My uncle flew a King Air 200 for a medevac outfit and told me the PT6 could damn near hover in a stiff headwind on one engine. @jake_dixon 's right about that fuel nozzle trick, that's some real talk. You ever notice how these youtube jet jockeys love to talk down the PT6 but never mention it's been hauling people's asses through ice and thunderstorms for 60 years?