Airtest – BAe Jetstream 31

For those enthusiasts who watch the airports and skies for new aircraft, some may have recently noticed an attractive two-tone blue twin turboprop, on its Australian demonstration tour. This aircraft, G-TALL, is the new British Aerospace Jetstream 31, a 14,660lb (6650kg) Garrett-powered turboprop, with an excellent pedigree, ready to take on a multi-role function as corporate transport, executive shuttle, commuter airliner or express freighter.

The Jetstream 31, whilst being a new aircraft, actually has its beginnings way back in 1965 when the Handley Page HP. 137 Jetstream with the old technology Turbomeca Astazou engines, was conceived and marketed as a corporate and commuter aircraft. Quite a number, including 26 for the RAF and RN, were sold and almost all of them are still flying today, which speaks highly of the structural integrity. The Jetstream may have been a very successful aircraft at that time if Handley Page had not run into financial trouble.

Over the years several companies had offered upgraded engine modifications for the type and this accounts for the variety of engines in early Jetstreams, viz. Turbomeca Astazou, Garrett TPE-331, and the venerable Pratt & Whitney PT-6A. These modifications, no doubt confirmed to the present manufacturer (British Aerospace, Scottish Division), what an adaptable airframe they had and by the late 1970s, with turboprop commuter aircraft coming into their own, the British Aerospace Board decided to build the Jetstream 31, an aircraft with the same basic structure but incorporating ‘state of the art’ technology in the form of fuel-efficient Garrett TPE-331-10 engine matched to new high technology Dowty Rotol four-bladed propellers. The result is a very spacious, comfortable and efficient aircraft suited to almost any role one chooses for it. The first production aircraft and demonstrator has been operated by the factory since its roll-out in January 1982.

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