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Old 30th Apr 2010, 12:05
  #5 (permalink)  
Keith.Williams.
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
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The first versions of turbo-prop engines were nothing more than standard jet engines with the compressor shaft extended forward to a reduction gearbox to drive the prop.

This arrangement meant that during starting, the starter motor also had to drive the prop. This obviously increased the load on the starter motor.

To overcome this problem some props had a superfine pitch setting that set the blades to zero blade angle. This made it easier for the starter motor to spin up the prop during starting.

Most modern turbo-props use a Free Power Turbine to drive the prop. These are not connected to the main spool of the engine in any way. So the starter no longer needs to spin up the prop during starting.

In the question as stated in your post the answer is D.

But some modern turbo-props still use superfine pitch for a different purpose. By setting the blades to superfine in flight they produce a great deal of extra drag. This process is called “Disking”. It enables the aircraft to achieve steeper descent paths without gaining excessive airspeed.
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