Epic LT

Overview

The Epic LT is a six-seat, single-engine experimental turboprop that owners build from a factory-supported kit. Built in carbon fiber throughout and powered by the same 1,200 SHP Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A that later went into the certified E1000, it published a cruise near 340 KTAS, turboprop speed few kit-built aircraft have offered. Epic delivered LT kits from 2004 into the early 2010s; 54 airframes reached airworthiness, the last in 2018.

The LT is the direct ancestor of the certified Epic E1000, sharing its carbon airframe and powerplant but built and maintained under the experimental amateur-built category rather than to a type certificate. That difference defines the buyer: the LT suits the hands-on owner who wants near-jet cruise speed and a pressurised, six-seat cabin at a fraction of a certified turboprop’s acquisition cost, and who accepts the trade that comes with experimental ownership, namely builder-assisted construction, an owner condition-inspection regime, and a thinner support and resale network than the factory-certified E1000.

Key Features for GA Buyers

• Turbine speed from a kit. A published cruise near 340 KTAS puts the LT in company with certified single-engine turboprops and light jets, from an amateur-built airframe.
• Proven powerplant. The 1,200 SHP Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67A is the same engine Epic later certificated in the E1000, a turbine with a known 3,500-hour TBO and established overhaul support.
• Pressurised carbon cabin. The all-carbon-fiber fuselage carries a pressurised six-seat cabin (about 6.5 psi) and a service ceiling near 31,000 ft, unusual for an experimental of its era.
• Acquisition cost. As an owner-built experimental, the LT reaches turboprop performance at a fraction of what a factory-certified single costs to acquire, the categorical trade-off of amateur-built ownership.

Trade-offs

• Experimental status. The LT is amateur-built, not type-certificated. It cannot be flown for hire, insurance and financing are harder to arrange than for a certified turboprop, and resale depends on each individual build’s quality and documentation.
• Owner-maintained turbine. Maintenance falls to the owner under a condition-inspection regime. A PT6A is forgiving, but hot-section and overhaul events still arrive on schedule and run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• Out of production. Kit deliveries have ended and factory support has moved to the certified E1000, so parts and build expertise now come largely from the owner community.

See Also

• Epic E1000 – The type-certificated production evolution of this airframe: the same PT6A-67A, certified under Part 23. Compare
• Lancair Evolution – The other high-performance experimental turboprop: a pressurised carbon-fiber kit in the same speed class. Compare
• Lancair IV-P – A pressurised experimental step-down: piston power, similar build-it-yourself pedigree. Compare