The Sept. 3 issue of Time Magazine has an interesting report about the new breed of turboprops such as Bombardier's Q400. They are quieter and faster than previous turboprops.
Seattle-based Horizon has the largest number of Q400s -- 33. And Horizon believes they are good enough to help the carrier challenge Southwest and its fleet of 737s.
Bombardier has a noise and vibration canceling system in the Q400. A computer initiates vibrations that counter those made by the six-bladed props. This can make the Q400 fuselage about 4 db quieter than many jets.
You can read the Time report here.
The new breed of turboprops is part of an industry-wide focus on making airplanes quieter and more environmentally friendly.
In my Aerospace Notebook Wednesday, I wrote about the ongoing effort by Boeing, Virgin Atlantic and General Electric to test a biofuel next year in a 747-400. Boeing's top guy on green issues believes passenger jets will be filling up with a biofuel blend in five to 10 years.
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