From an article on it:
So, How Does It Fly?
“There is no way you can push a Helio faster than 135 knots indicated, even with 750 horsepower,” Jay says. “However, up at altitude, around 17,500 feet where we’re limited by tail pipe temps, we’re truing 150 knots—and that’s with 38-inch tires, which isn’t too shabby. We have Kevlar oxygen tanks onboard and can go for five hours at that altitude. Plus, with that prop and the flaps, we can slow down and come whistling downhill at over 3,000 fpm.”
The power does show up on takeoff, though. With 20 degrees of flaps, the airplane is rotated after a 300-foot ground roll. It makes 2,400 fpm with a 2,000-pound payload and can maintain that climb attitude all the way up to 24,000 feet, with an average climb rate of 2,000 fpm.
“The engine is a constant speed turbine, so your thrust lever is changing the blade angle, which gives very precise control of your thrust. This really helps on short field approaches and rollouts,” Jay says. “The second we touchdown, we can go into beta on the prop and stop easily in 200 feet. The brakes, by the way, are off a Caravan, so they help a lot too.”
Also installed is an Ayers/Thrush Ag Air spray system, which so far has not been deployed in anger.
“We can drop right down over our campsite and spray it for mosquitoes,” Jay says. “We could easily become the most popular airplane at some of the Northwest fly-ins, where mosquitoes are a real problem.”
What are their current plans for the airplane?
Jay grins and says, “Hey, what else? We’re going to take it out and get it dirty. Really dirty.” And both of them start laughing hysterically.
Garrett TPE-331-6 (750 SHP) (MU-2) with water injection (200hp boost), super swamper tires 38" on the mains, F-101 Voodoo nose wheel assembly. Extended wing span from airfoil shaped 27 gal tip tanks for a total of 175 gallons of Jet-A....Empty weight 3400 pounds. And a 106" prop....!!!!
