The bearings were never an issue to begin with. The are the same ones other manufacturers use, and that was all part of the spin … Most turbine experts ( people who fix, assemble, design turbines ) I have discussed the issues with also don’t buy the 4mm vs 5mm oiler / cooling hole being the issue either .. Issues existed with the at450 for years, just no one would come public with them !! there are several engines that ended up either being used as wall ornaments, or finally actually got fixed , however by AMT NL. AMT USA was never able to fully resolve issues, and it’s the same tech at AMT in Cinc now as were in OH .. no offense, but their track record is not so good … When AMT USA was first bought out, I was told that the expertise of AMT NL was being sought out to resolve a lot of the issues … last I was told this was not the case …( I was also told when AMT was first bought out that all warranties would be honored and my engine would be fixed under them once the move to Cinc was settled in … this ended up NOT being the case )

As for my engine and its repairs in Cincinnati:

Repair #1: I sent my engine up completely seized up (The repair prior [ one of many] was done by AMT back in WV …
) , it sounded like a rattle can. I had been told at a time earlier by John Ligons that all would be fixed under warranty, and was asked to wait a few MONTHS to send the engine in for repair as the new facility in Cinc was already backed up with repairs and new engine orders.. so I obliged … when the engine was finally looked at, AMT tried to stuff me with a $600 bill for repairs !!! can anyone say ILLEGAL WARRANTY VIOLATION ??? I settled to pay ½ ….. like 1 or 2 flights on the at400 just back from repair, and it flames out on me AGAIN IN FLIGHT !!! .. the shaft was stuck at first when I tried to move it, but it did budge free, and the engine did spin over, however now with a clingidy clang sound coming from it ( I have 2 witnesses who were there that can attest to this )

Repair #2: when the enginee was sent in AGAIN, AMT claimed they found nothing wrong with it … hmmmmmmm BS !! there was definitely something wrong with it, and that was physically with the turbine itself ! ( the clanging noises and temporarily stuck shaft) AMT claimed to have completely rebuilt the engine from new parts this time around and just kept the same outer case … hmmmm why not just give me a new turbine then ?? I personally do not think my engine was actually ever “completely rebuilt” … but that’s left to my speculations so I won’t go there … so I mount the engine back up again, and it still does not run right .. it has a tendency to want to flam out whenever decelerating down to near idle, and this is also observed with somewhat thick puffs of white smoke. The engine ended up flaming out in flight on me again while it was at around 1/3 throttle … this time the only thing different was that the engine was not seized or have any other signs of “physical “ damage on the turbine itself … I know my install was immaculate, and there was no issue with the fuel system here. I could possibly buy the idea that now its an issue with the ECU or fuel pump, but that would not have had anything to do with all the prior “physical” failures. From the info I have gathered based on several experts I have spoken to, seems to point to incorrectly set or faulty injectors amongst other things .. AMT so fae has never been able to give ANYONE am honest answer on what the real issues with the 450 and 400 engines are !!! no one buys the 4mm vs 5mm hole BS …. Talk to any non-AMT USA turbine expert who works with these daily and see what they say about this ….


I ended up dropping my engine and all related components off at the AMT booth at FLJ … I did not have the chance to speak to John Ligons there ( I was too busy enjoying my JetCat p120 which seemed to run as reliably as ever) and in an email he expressed his disappointment over this to me …. Quite frankly, I don’t care for excuses, or more attempts to blur reality … Lies were told, liabilities were not accounted for, and I still do not have an engine that runs, i also would not mind getting my $300 back which I used to pay for WARRANTY REPAIRS !!

So now lets say that when they yet again get to my engine one day, and fix it , how am I ever supposed to run it in an plane worth anything ?? I offered AMT the opportunity to take the easy route out, and just buy the engine back off of me, but seems like they’d rather risk another AT400 possibly failing and facing the potential liabilities from that ( I sure am not flipping the bill for any planes lost due to bad engineering on AMT’s part )




Keving, I had the at400 on my KingCat as well … flew her very well… only pushed her to 250 something, but definitely had a lot more in there .. verticals were also great … landings were sometimes a chalange as the engine seized OFTEN [] If I had to do it over again now, id go for the p180 instead .. 5 more lbs thrust, same great spool up, same price, and as reliable as they come ...