A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller to produce thrust (as opposed to a jet engine, where the turbine exhaust provides thrust directly).
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller to produce thrust (as opposed to a jet-engine, where the turbine exhaust provides thrust directly).
Turboprop engines are very efficient at speeds below 390 knots, and are often found on smaller "commuter" aircraft, where the superior reliability of turbine engines (compared to piston-engines) and the efficiency of propellers for generating thrust make them an economically attractive choice. (Very small general-aviation aircraft still tend to use piston engines, as turboprops don't scale down to very small sizes particularly well.)