Engine and Propeller - Firewall Forward
The primary component to performance is in the firewall forward compartment. Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A speaks for itself. 350 silky horsepower able to take you to cruise altitude quickly, safely, and keep you there for as long as you can stand it. Cruise at 15,000 feet for 5 hours if you can handle the duration. This P-3 can and does. Twin turbo-charged, twin intercooled consuming 16 gph at 26/2300 gives you about 190 miles per hour. 800 miles range depending on your ability to resist running the MAP up. And that's not all ... this powerplant has a grand total of 454.4 hours ... SINCE NEW!
This powerhouse will propell you at 155kts low down but at altitude ... at 10,000 feet the speed goes up to nearly 170kts getting the same miles per gallon as down low (<8,000) running 15 knots slower! The benefits of this P3 is to fly high and fast ... approaching 200 mph (170+kts) at 10,000 (30/23). 9 miles per gallon at this speed/engine is very effective and efficient! Although we've not done a full regime of tests at altitude, we expect the speed to be >200 kts at 15,000.
And of course the engine is not everything FWF.
The propeller for this firebreather is a Hartzell HC-I2YR-1BF inspected 1/2006. Total time is 805 hours with 609 SMOH. This is the same prop as on a Piper Malibu Mirage.
By the way there's a brand new (May 12, 2008) Gill battery, G-247 installed!
