Press Releases

Propeller System Developed and Certified for Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) Turboprop Trainer

PIQUA, Ohio — June 12, 2000 — Hartzell Propeller Inc. announced today that Samsung Aerospace has ordered 85 propeller systems that were specifically developed and certified for Korea Aerospace Industries’ KT-1 Woong Bee turboprop military trainer aircraft. Hartzell has already delivered the first 20 propellers against this order and has also provided training to ROKAF personnel as part of the contract. The aircraft is scheduled to enter into service with the ROKAF this year.
Hartzell’s Lightweight Turbine series four-bladed feathering propeller system measuring 95 inches in diameter was used for this application and is fitted to a Pratt & Whitney PT6 engine, generating 950 shp. Designed for good all-around performance throughout the flight envelope, the propeller was also stressed to handle fully aerobatic flight. Hartzell’s experience providing propellers for virtually all of the propeller-driven military trainers, including the Raytheon T-6A Texan II for the United States Air Force and Navy as well as the Pilatus PC-7, Pilatus PC-9 and Embraer EMB-312 Tucano was helpful in the original selection.

Samsung Aerospace, a sub-contractor to Korea Aerospace Industries, is responsible for the propulsion system on the KT-1 Woong Bee. The KT-1, initially conceived by the Agency for Defense Development, is the first aircraft to be wholly designed and developed in South Korea, although Korea Aerospace is heavily involved in manufacturing major aerospace components for Boeing, Fairchild Dornier and Lockheed Martin, among others.

Hartzell Propeller Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of propeller systems, well known for its advanced engineering and manufacturing capabilities. The company is rich in aviation heritage tracing its beginnings to relationships with Orville Wright and Glenn Curtiss. Significant technical innovations include the industry’s first full-feathering propeller for light twins, the first fully reversing propellers for corporate turboprops and the industry’s first composite structure blades. Hartzell was recently selected by NASA as the exclusive propeller partner for its General Aviation Propulsion (GAP) program- developing the next generation of general aviation propulsion systems.