Production Tooling and FAA Approval for Cirrus-Sized Turboprop

Oct. 28, 2019
After being carefully stored in obscurity on a farm in Wichita, Kansas, the FAA Type Certificate and tooling to build it have reemerged on the market.

Not many General Aviation (GA) enthusiasts have ever heard of an Interceptor 400.  It’s been years since the pressurized, retractable, single-engine turboprop was designed and built after being certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  Now, after being carefully stored in obscurity on a farm in Wichita, Kansas, the FAA Type Certificate and tooling to build it have reemerged on the market. 

Shortly after the Interceptor 400 was certified and a few built in the 1970’s, the manufacturer had some liquidity issues and ceased production.  Compounding this, the aircraft was ahead of its time, certified a decade before the appearance and market acceptance of single-engine turboprops.  Remarkably, it’s now quite relevant in today’s market, fitting squarely in an unfilled product niche between high-performance piston aircraft like the Cirrus SR22 series and much larger single-engine turboprops like the Pilatus PC-12 and Daher TBM series.

The aircraft uses 400 horsepower from of its single Honeywell TPE331 turboprop engine, which is capable of producing 840. This catapults the aircraft to a 244 knot typical cruise speed at up to 24,000 feet with 900 nautical miles range.  It seats 3 passengers and the pilot in a pressurized cabin.  Maximum speed is 266 knots, or 300 miles per hour.