> an airplane descending still wants thrust from the engines, just not as much as in cruise
> My assertion is that there are no turboprop plans that can maintain a 3° glideslope at normal approach speed without thrust from the engines
These are very different claims, in every dimension. Yes, the final approach is intentionally very shallow, is a minor part of the entire descent phase and the plane flies it in a very "dirty" configuration (gear down, flaps). Yes, the prop on turboprops causes a ton of drag. Are we going to mention the fact that a 737 or an A320 (the most common airliners in the world) are NOT turboprops, they both have a glide ratio comparable to trainer gliders and are fast as fuck?
> My assertion is that there are no turboprop plans that can maintain a 3° glideslope at normal approach speed without thrust from the engines
These are very different claims, in every dimension. Yes, the final approach is intentionally very shallow, is a minor part of the entire descent phase and the plane flies it in a very "dirty" configuration (gear down, flaps). Yes, the prop on turboprops causes a ton of drag. Are we going to mention the fact that a 737 or an A320 (the most common airliners in the world) are NOT turboprops, they both have a glide ratio comparable to trainer gliders and are fast as fuck?