PW210 Engine to Power Eurocopter's X4 Helicopter

Pratt & Whitney Canada's (P&WC) PW210 engine has been selected by Eurocopter to power the next-generation X4 helicopter. The PW210-powered X4 is expected to enter into service by 2017.

The PW210 engine - the latest in P&WC's turboshaft product line - is powering a new era in helicopter flight with three applications confirmed. By the time the X4 enters service in 2017, the PW210 family will have accumulated well over half a million flying hours across the three platforms.

The PW210 is a state-of-the art engine that is designed to meet all the requirements of the most modern helicopters.

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

PT6C-67E Engine for Eurocopter EC175 Certified, Moves into Production

Pratt & Whitney Canada has received Transport Canada type certification for the PT6C-67E turboshaft engine that will power Eurocopter's EC175 helicopter. The Eurocopter EC175 is a new commercial multirole helicopter and the PT6C-67E is the latest turboshaft engine in the PT6C-67 family for the medium class helicopter segment.

The PT6C-67E builds on the experience of the PT6 family of turboprop and turboshaft engines, bringing unmatched reliability to a market where dispatch, availability and safety are paramount. The PT6C-67E incorporates Pratt & Whitney Canada's latest technological innovations for enhanced power and fuel efficiency, for longer range, increased payload and enhanced pilot experience to the EC175.

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

Turkish Engine Center Delivers 100th Overhauled Engine to Turkish Airlines

Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners' Turkish Engine Center recently celebrated delivery of its 100th overhauled CFM56® engine to Turkish Airlines. The Turkish Engine Center is a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. and Turkish Technic, a division of Turkish Airlines.

The Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners Turkish Engine Center is a state-of-the art facility with extensive part repair capacity that helps reduce engine overhaul costs and turnaround times. Pratt & Whitney, together with Turkish Technic, opened the high-technology and environmentally efficient facility in 2010. It is Pratt & Whitney's first engine center in Turkey and is part of the company's Global Service Partners network providing engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services to customers worldwide. The facility meets the Gold standard of the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) rating system.

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

P&WC Powers Canada's First Biofuel-Powered Revenue Flight

Porter Airlines successfully conducted the first biofuel-powered revenue flight in Canada on April 17. In the successful conclusion to a test program that was launched in 2010, the airline flew one of its Bombardier Q400 turboprops from its base at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to Ottawa using a 50/50 blend of biofuel and Jet A1 fuel in one of its engines.

This is the final step in a two-year project whose key members are Targeted Growth, Bombardier Aerospace, Pratt and Whitney Canada, the manufacturer of the PW150A engines that power the Q400 aircraft, and Porter Airlines. Funding for the biofuel test program was provided by the key partners, as well as by Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE) through the Green Aviation Research & Development Network (GARDN).

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

Coverage:

• Porter Airlines operates Q400 biofuel flight (Air Transport World)

P&W Rocketdyne Celebrates Commissioning of Commercial-Scale Prototype Dry Solids Pump to Provide High-Efficiency, Low-Emission Gasification

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne celebrated the commissioning of a commercial-scale dry-solids pump – a revolutionary feed system integrated with PWR’s compact gasifier to efficiently gasify coal, petcoke and other solid fuels. The dry-solids pump, located at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota, is the latest step toward global commercialization of innovative technology designed to lower energy costs, provide a clean alternative fuel source and strengthen U.S. energy security.

The 400-ton per day prototype dry-solids feed pump system, developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, will be used to test petcoke, bituminous and sub-bituminous coals over the next 12 months. The commissioning is a collaborative effort between the EERC; Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne; the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL); ExxonMobil; and the Alberta Energy Research Institute.

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

Coverage:

• Rocket developer, EERC begin testing solids pump for gasification (Biomass Magazine)
• NETL: Project could make coal gasification 'economically competitive' (The State Journal)
• EERC works toward goal of clean coal at less cost (Dickinson Press)
• New high-pressure dry-solids feed pump could make high-efficiency, lower-emission gasification economically competitive (Green Car Congress)
• Opening New Avenues for High-Efficiency, Low-Emission Coal Gasification (U.S. Dept. of Energy)
  

GP7200 Engines Recognized for Fuel Consumption Benefit

Airbus recently revised its performance handbook to indicate that GP7200-powered A380 aircraft have been demonstrating fuel consumption levels better than previously stated. This latest revision – the third positive adjustment since 2007 - reflects an additional 0.5 percent improvement to the previous version of the performance handbook and further increases the GP7200-powered aircraft’s competitive advantage. Aircraft purchasers frequently refer to these assessments as a predictor of aircraft and engine performance.

The GP7200 engine entered service in 2008, and 32 GP7200-powered A380s are now in service. Current operators include Emirates with 21 aircraft, Air France with six and Korean Air with five. Other GP7200 customers include Air Austral, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. To date, Engine Alliance GP7200 engines have been selected to power 56% of all A380s.

The Engine Alliance is a 50/50 joint venture of General Electric and Pratt & Whitney.

Click here to read the Engine Alliance press release.

P&W Rocketdyne Engines Successfully Boost Government Payload Into Space

The sky rumbled with the sound of a rocket launch on April 3 as Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne once again demonstrated the consistent reliability of its propulsion systems with the successful lift-off of a critical satellite for the U.S. government. The mission launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV medium rocket with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68 and RL10B-2 engines providing the booster and upper-stage propulsion, respectively.

The RS-68 is the world's largest hydrogen-fueled engine, designed for heavy lift with 758,000 pounds of vacuum thrust and 663,000 pounds of sea-level thrust. The RL10B-2 is a unique cryogenic upper-stage engine that provides 465 seconds of specific impulse and 24,750 pounds of thrust.

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

Coverage:

• Delta 4 Rocket Successfully Lofts Surveillance Satellite (Spaceflight Now)
• Rocket Launches Secret Spy Satellite for US Military (SPACE.com)