The KhAI-90 Light Civil Turboprop Airplane Pilot Project

The pilot project of new light civil turboprop aircraft, called the KhAI-90, featuring a cruising speed of 350km/h, payload of 600 kg at 500 km range, and equipped with two turboprop Rolls-Royce 250-B17F engines each with power of 420 hp (alternatively, two AI-450C engines each with power of 450 hp may be installed) is presented herein. Based on the developed technical task, the concept for creating the KhAI-90 new competitive light civil aircraft, and the analysis of prototypes’ aircraft parameters and characteristics, the main tactical and technical requirements are assigned. The take-off weight of the new aircraft is determined in three approximations at the preliminary design stage of light civil turboprop aircraft, using the iterative software “CLA-TOW”, studying the influence of the wing geometric parameters and lift devices on aerodynamic performance, the power-to-weight ratio and the airplane weight parameters. The following parameters are calculated for the design: minimum take-off weight W_TO min = 3,600 kg, optimal wing loading p_{0 opt} = 130 daN/m², optimal aspect ratio 9.6, taper ratio 2.25, sweep angle at leading edge 3 degrees, airfoil relative thickness 10.6%. A general view and three-dimensional parametric models of the master-geometry and passenger cabin space distribution are constructed for the KhAI-90 by means of the SIEMENS NX computer integrated system. More broadly, this pilot project has also demonstrated the viability of the method we developed and previously reported for determining light civil turboprop airplane parameters.