The Hill Features Hess, AIA in Sequestration Budget Battle

Pratt & Whitney President David Hess, in his role as chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association, described the potential impact of budget sequestration in a story published Tuesday in The Hill. The Washington, D.C.,-based publication, which covers the U.S. Congress, reported the story as Hess and AIA leaders urge legislators to put a stop to sequestration.

Budget sequestration, a series of automatic spending cuts intended to enforce statutory budget limits under the Budget Control Act, could have a significant impact on the U.S. aerospace and defense industry, according to the AIA. The AIA projects more than $500 billion in defense cuts beginning in January and estimates that more than 1.5 million jobs could be lost.

"We just want to go into this with everybody's eyes wide open so they understand what it means," Hess told The Hill. "There's a huge economic impact to the U.S. economy with some of the very premium jobs in the United States: high-tech jobs, high-paying jobs, high-skilled jobs."

Click here to read the story in The Hill's "DEFCON Hill" defense blog.

P&W, Boeing Sign Engine Contract to Power U.S. Air Force’s KC-46 Tanker

Bennett Croswell of Pratt & Whitney and Maureen Dougherty of Boeing hosted a ceremonial engine contract signing event on Tuesday at Boeing’s Tanker Program Office in Mukilteo, Wash., for contracts previously awarded to Pratt & Whitney. The contracts support PW4062 engine purchases to power Boeing’s KC-46, the U.S. Air Force’s new airlift tanker.

Two Pratt & Whitney PW4062 engines, each with a 94-inch fan blade diameter, will exclusively power each U.S. Air Force KC-46 aircraft. The program’s scope, if fully exercised, calls for as many as 368 PW4062 engines to be delivered between 2013 and 2027. Actual production engine procurement quantities will be determined over the life of the program as established by future purchase orders.

Click here to read Pratt & Whitney's press release.

Coverage:

• Pratt & Whitney and Boeing Sign Engine Contract for KC-46 Tanker (Defense World)

Blog Features Final Look at Andrew Willgoos Turbine Laboratory

Kenneth R. Gosselin of the Hartford Courant featured the demolition of Pratt & Whitney's Andrew Willgoos Turbine Laboratory in an entry in his "Property Line" real estate blog. The post includes several historic photographs, as well as photos and videos of the ongoing demolition.

Pratt & Whitney built the Andrew Willgoos Turbine Laboratory - once the largest privately owned gas turbine laboratory in the world - to test experimental engines and components in simulated flight conditions. In the test cells at Willgoos, it was possible to simulate altitudes ranging from sea-level to more than 70,000 feet, and velocities up to three times the speed of sound.

The facility, named for Willgoos, Pratt & Whitney's first chief engineer, opened in 1950.

Saia Gives AirInsight a PurePower Program Update at ISTAT

Bob Saia, vice president, Next Generation Product Family, was interviewed by Addison Schonland of AirInsight at the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) Americas conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., this week. In the interview, Saia provides an update on the PurePower engine program.

The PurePower program has tested nine engines to date, with approximately 2,000 hours of full engine testing and about 5,000 cycles of endurance testing. These tests have demonstrated fuel efficiency and low noise - and the capability of the engine. The PurePower engine is real, it works, and it's flying today.

Pratt & Whitney Power Systems to Host California Industrial Energy Efficiency Seminars

Pratt & Whitney Power Systems (PWPS), a world leader in Organic Rankine Cycle solutions for waste heat, biomass, geothermal and solar thermal power applications, will host the California “Waste Heat to Power Road Show.” The three-day event will include experts from industry, finance and government and will focus on the importance of industrial energy efficiency, specifically reducing energy costs and utilizing the California Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) funding to reduce investment costs.

The series will feature three seminars in San Diego, Calif., Long Beach, Calif. and San Jose, Calif., open to companies, policymakers, members of the media and those parties with an interest in industrial clean energy solutions. To register for one of the events, please click here.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney press release.

Related Information:

• Pratt & Whitney’s Waste Heat-to-Power Organic Rankine Cycle Solutions Now Eligible for the California Self-Generation Incentive Program (Press release, November 9, 2011)
  

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Successfully Completes Latest Hot-Fire Test on Launch Abort Engine for Boeing’s CST-100 spacecraft

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) company, successfully completed a full-mission duration hot-fire test on a Launch Abort Engine (LAE) for Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft. The CST-100 spacecraft, designed to transport people to the International Space Station and other low-Earth orbit destinations, is in development under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program.

The Service Module and Integrated Launch Abort propulsion system is a critical system for safe, reliable and affordable commercial crew transportation. It is designed to push the crew capsule to safety if an abort is necessary. If unused for an abort, the same propellant load can be used for other parts of the mission, including re-boosting the space station orbit. The LAE test was conducted in the California desert.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney press release.

Coverage:

• PWR Analyzing CST-100 Abort Engine Tests (Aviation Week)
• Latest Hot Fire Test on Launch Abort Engine for Boeing CST 100 Spacecraft Completed (Space Travel)
• Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Hot-Fires Launch Abort Engine (Space Fellowship)
• Pratt & Whitney Tests Abort Engine for New Spacecraft (San Fernando Valley Business Journal)
• Boeing commercial spacecraft hits major milestones (Flight International)
• Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Hot-Fires Launch Abort Engine (Product Design & Development)
  

CPTV's 'All Things Connecticut' Features PurePower Engine

The PurePower® engine was recently featured on Connecticut Public Television's "All Things Connecticut." The "Treading Lightly" segment features Connecticut people and businesses that work to improve the environment.

The PurePower engine segment featured interviews with Bob Saia, vice president, Next Generation Product Family, Alan Epstein, vice president, Technology and Environment and Dave Foster, product line manager, Next Generation Product Family. The segment explores the numerous benefits of the PurePower engine.

Click here to watch the segment on the CPTV website.

North Berwick Parts Center Featured in Bangor Daily News

The Bangor (Maine) Daily News recently featured the Pratt & Whitney North Berwick Parts Center in its business section. The North Berwick plant, the largest manufacturing facility under one roof in Maine, makes commercial parts, military parts and does some aftermarket work.

The story describes how the North Berwick facility has invested in its operations in an effort to remain competitive and to prepare for the future. Our favorite quote comes from Steve Howe, a communications manager:

“We bring high school groups in here and they’re amazed that this is manufacturing. We’re not making hub caps — this is high-tech.”

Click here to read the full story in the Bangor Daily News.

UTC Celebrates $1 Billion Investment in Employee Scholar Program

United Technologies believes strongly in the value of lifelong learning. That’s why the Employee Scholar Program was established in 1996 – to support employees in reaching their career and educational goals. A workforce that embraces lifelong learning is best prepared to compete in the fast-changing global marketplace.

A highly educated, innovative workforce is absolutely critical to UTC's success. To make it happen, UTC has invested more than $1 billion over the past 15 years, paying up front all costs of tuition, fees and books – and that goes for employees pursuing a college degree in any field of their choosing.

Employees in more than 50 countries around the world have seized the opportunity, earning more than 32,500 degrees through the program. Today there are more than 10,000 UTC employees around the world enrolled.

Coverage:

• UTC Marks $1 Billion Employee Education Milestone (Hartford Courant)
• Give UTC Credit For Employee Education (Editorial - Hartford Courant)
  
• United Technologies celebrates higher ed program (Boston Globe, via AP)
• Gov. Malloy Makes A Stop In Simsbury (Simsbury Patch)
• Malloy tells Obama about job creation in state (The Day)