The Singles Club

Due to their ability to land on short unpaved fields and fly distances of between 900 and 1,900 nautical miles, single-engine turboprops never seem to go out of fashion. And over the last two decades just about all the major manufacturers have incorporated private jet amenities into these aircraft—features that include the latest glass instrument panels, digital engine controls, and more comfortable cabins.

Thanks to continuous improvements in engine technology, single-engine turboprops flown by single pilots are as safe and reliable as their twin-engine cousins—and often deliver comparable performance in terms of range, speed, and cabin dimensions—but with considerably lower fuel burn. The right one for you depends upon your mission. Here are the latest models.

THE UTILITY SET

These high-wing, unpressurized models all have been approved for amphibious float installation. Adding floats increases drag and reduces speed and will swell the price point approximately $500,000 and up. They are also top performers on wheeled landing gear and can easily handle rough, unimproved airstrips. 

Daher Kodiak 100

Base Price: $2.963M
Seats: Up to 9 passengers
Maximum Cruising Speed: 183 knots
Maximum Range: 1,132 nautical miles

The Kodiak 100 is a float-ready, single-engine turboprop designed to get in and out of tight spots under harsh conditions. The unpressurized aircraft gained certification in 2007 and since then more than 300 have been delivered. The basic aircraft features a 45-foot-long high wing mated to a rugged aluminum fuselage with a large 54-by-57-inch rear cargo door, heavy-duty and high-riding fixed landing gear, a time-tested Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34 series stuffed in the nose, and Garmin’s G1000 series glass-panel avionics in the cockpit. At 174 knots, the airplane will get you about 1,000 nautical miles of range. 

Daher Kodiak 900

Base Price: $3.614M
Seats: Up to 10 passengers
Maximum Cruising Speed: 210 knots
Maximum Range: 1,129 nautical miles

While not certified for float operations, the Kodiak 900 is a larger, faster version of the 100. Compared with the original, the 900 cruises 36 knots faster (210 knots) and has a fuselage stretch of 3.9 feet, enabling greater useful loads. It offers a 745-pound increase in maximum takeoff weight, a useful load increase of 100 pounds, and a rate of climb at sea level that is 400-feet-per-minute faster than the original model’s performance. Heavily loaded, the 900 climbs to 12,000 feet in just 11 minutes. Cabin volume increases from 248 to 309 cubic feet. The extra cabin space allows for the installation of an eight-place, double-club executive configuration. The seats can be quickly and easily changed to provide more cargo space. While the 900, like the 100, is unpressurized, various features give the cabin more of a business jet feel, including standard air conditioning and a two-zone heating and cooling environmental control system. The aircraft can climb to 25,000 feet with built-in oxygen. 

Textron Aviation Cessna 208 Caravan

Base Price: $2.4M
Seats: Up to 9 passengers (typical, can
hold up to 13 in commuter configuration)
Maximum Cruising Speed: 186 knots
Maximum Range: 1,070 nautical miles

In production since 1984, the model 208 is the short-body version of the Caravan. The rugged aircraft has been extensively updated over the years and now features Garmin glass panel avionics and several different cabin layout schemes. Adding amphibious floats drops maximum cruise speed to 159 knots and range to 875 nautical miles. The takeoff water run is 2,341 feet (1,160 feet on wheeled gear). 

Textron Aviation Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX

Base Price: $2.685M
Seats: Up to 9 passengers (13 in commuter configuration)
Maximum Cruising Speed: 185 knots
Maximum Range: 912 nautical miles

Deliveries of this updated Grand Caravan began in 2013. It features a more powerful 867 horsepower Pratt & Whitney Canada engine, a new McCauley propeller with somewhat rounder edges, new air induction intakes, different flap settings, engine torque limiter, and new ease-of-maintenance features. The new engine delivers a 40% increase in the rate of climb and somewhat better specific fuel consumption from a more efficient compressor. The EX is adept at getting in and out of tight spots: on wheeled gear it requires a takeoff run of just 2,160 feet and can land in less than 1,900 feet. The unpressurized cabin measures 16 feet, nine inches long; 64 inches wide, and 54 inches tall. The EX features the Garmin G1000 NXi glass panel avionics system. Options include enhanced flight control and satellite data and voice communications.

THE 300-KNOT CLUB

These pressurized, low-wing singles have near light jet performance. While they can’t all equal the short field performance of their high-winged cousins, these aircraft can still get you into plenty of places that jets cannot go. 

Epic E1000 GX

Base Price: $4.45M
Seats: Up to 5 passengers
Maximum Cruising Speed: 333 knots
Maximum Range: 1,560 nautical miles

The carbon-fiber E1000 is the certified version of the Epic LT kit aircraft. The wing and the engine cowl intake have been redesigned to improve efficiency, the latter for the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-67A engine (derated to 1,200 shaft horsepower). The engine propels the E1000 to its maximum cruise altitude of 34,000 feet in just 15 minutes. The aircraft features the three-screen Garmin G1000 NXi glass-panel avionics system and Genesys digital autopilot with radar, radar altimeter, and Iridium satellite transceiver options. The sculpted cockpit and the cabin both take the latest automotive styling cues and offer all the modern conveniences, including USB ports for carry-on electronics. Entry is via a rear airstair door, up a center aisle through the facing club-four passenger seat array. The 15-foot-long cabin offers more space than a twin-engine King Air C90, with a full 31.2 inches of legroom between the facing club seats. Full fuel payload is 1,100 pounds. Takeoff distance is less than 2,300 feet. 

Daher TBM 960

Base Price: $5.044M
Seats: Up to 5 passengers
Maximum Cruising Speed: 330 knots
Maximum Range: 1,730 nautical miles

The TBM 960 is the most recent iteration of a line of single-engine turboprops that date back to the late 1980s. The aircraft features a separate crew door for the pilot and a large aft door big enough for cargo loading for passengers. Compared to most of its peers, the TBM’s cabin is on the snug side measuring a pinch under 4 feet wide, 4 feet high, and 13.5 feet long, yielding a volume of 123 cubic feet. Takeoff distance is 2,535 feet.

The 960 has a variety of features to lessen pilot workload including dual-channel digital engine and propeller controls, and its Garmin G3000 avionics system has been enhanced with Doppler weather radar with lightning and hail prediction and turbulence detection. Other new avionics features include the HomeSafe emergency Garmin Autoland system, which activates automatically if the pilot goes more than 30 minutes without interacting with aircraft systems. It can also be activated by a passenger in the event of pilot incapacitation. The system broadcasts an emergency call and lands the aircraft at the nearest suitable airport.

Other cabin options include electronically dimmable cabin windows, LD mood lighting, sculpted seats, and a new environmental control system. 

Piper M700 Fury

Base Price: $4.15M
Seats: Up to 5 passengers
Maximum Cruising Speed: 301 knots
Maximum Range: 1,852 nautical miles

The newest member of the “300 Club,” the Fury is a repowered version of Piper’s previous flagship, the pressurized single-engine M600SLS. The Fury adds 100 horsepower for a total of 700, enabling climbs to 25,000 feet in under 14 minutes and cutting both takeoff and landing distances by 700 feet. The Fury can now do both in slightly under 2,000 feet.

Like the TBM 960, the Fury features the Garmin G3000 avionics system with the emergency Autoland feature. And like the TBM, its cabin is relatively snug: measuring 4 feet, 1 inch wide; 3 feet, 11 inches tall, and 12 feet, 3 inches long. But overall cabin volume is somewhat larger, coming in at 165 cubic feet. Taking off with full fuel, available payload is 585 pounds. Piper also offers the M500, a less expensive version with basically the same-sized cabin, but with a top cruise speed that is 41 knots slower, less range, and longer runway requirements.

BIGGER CABIN CRUISERS

These are the top—and most expensive—turboprop singles. They feature range and cabin amenities that rival some light jets and interior dimensions that are equal to, or better, than some twin-engine turboprops. 

Pilatus PC-12 NGX

Base Price: $6.2M
Seats: Up to 7 passengers (executive cabin)
Maximum Cruising Speed: 290 knots
Maximum Range: 1,803 nautical miles
(4 passengers, 1 pilot)

With more than 2,000 delivered since 1994, the Pilatus PC-12 fills a unique niche in the single-engine turboprop world: a versatile aircraft that can land on short, unpaved fields, swallow outsized payloads through its large aft cargo door, and cruise for six-plus hours comfortably above most adverse weather. With cabin dimensions on par with that of a Beechcraft King Air B200, PC-12s daily fly diverse missions as commuter airliners, air ambulances, and executive transporters.

Deliveries of the NGX began in 2020. It features a 10% more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6E-67XP engine controlled via a single power lever with optional autothrottle, a propeller that can be operated at lower speeds to mitigate external and internal noise, and a variety of avionics improvements in its Honeywell Epic 2.0 system, which is designed to mitigate pilot workload and increase safety. The new engine also has relaxed maintenance requirements and transmits data for more than 100 critical parameters that are recorded and adjusted.

For passengers, the NGX offers enlarged cabin windows; much-improved, fully-reclining executive seats; and a new headliner that yields more room, better air distribution, and indirect lighting. Dual cupholders and sidewall USB ports have also been added. 

Textron Aviation Beechcraft Denali (in flight test; certification expected in 2025)

Base Price: $7M+
Seats: Up to 7 passengers (executive cabin)
Maximum Cruising Speed: 285 knots
Maximum Range: 1,600 nautical miles
(4 passengers, 1 pilot)

The Denali is aimed squarely at the market for the Pilatus PC-12, which, until now, has not faced a viable competitor. Textron Aviation’s goal is for the Denali to offer lower operating and maintenance costs, and it gives the company a product offering at virtually every price point along the turboprop continuum.

The Denali’s flat-floor cabin is 16 feet, 9 inches long. It is 4 feet, 10 inches high and 5 feet, 3 inches wide and the same height as the PC-12’s cabin but 3 inches wider and 2 inches shorter. The aircraft also features a 53-by-59-inch rear cargo door (slightly larger than the one on the PC-12) and a digital pressurization system that maintains a 6,130-foot cabin to 31,000 feet.

The Denali’s cockpit is equipped with the Garmin G3000 avionics suite and Autoland. Power comes from the all-new, 1,240-horsepower GE Catalyst engine with single lever propeller and power control to reduce pilot workload. GE estimates that the engine could be 15 to 20 percent more efficient than comparable models, and its initial time-between-overhaul interval will be 4,000 hours.