Thursday, June 28, 2012

Pratt & Whitney PurePower Engine Soaring Toward Certification



The Pratt & Whitney PurePower engine is soaring toward certification with flawless flight tests. Watch all the latest action in this new video. The PurePower engine is real. It works. It's ready.

Visit www.purepowerengine.com to learn more about the award-winning PW1000G engine.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Successfully Completes CCDev-2 Hot-Fire Testing on Thruster for NASA's Commercial Crew Program

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne successfully completed a series of hot-fire tests on a service module thruster for Boeing's Commercial 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 Program.

The Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control System (OMAC) thruster is a key component for safe, reliable and affordable commercial crew transportation. It is designed for multiple uses, including maneuvering the CST-100 spacecraft during orbit and re-entry, and providing axial thrust, roll control and separation from the launch vehicle if an abort becomes necessary.

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

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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Pratt & Whitney Celebrates the Inauguration of a New Middle East Propulsion Company Facilit

The Middle East Propulsion Company (MEPC), a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney’s parent company United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), Saudi Arabian Airlines, Mohawearean Aviation Services Company and MTU Aero Engines has opened a new aircraft-engine maintenance facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to handle increasing needs for maintenance and repair of military aircraft engines in the region.

The 194,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will easily accommodate forecast growth in both existing and new product lines. MEPC has been the overhaul provider of choice for the Royal Saudi Air Force’s F100-PW-220/220E engines since it opened in 2001. The facility’s current product lines also include the RB199 engines for RSAF’s Tornado aircraft, the T56 engines for the C-130 and Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PT6 for the PC-9 Pilatus. Growth plans include expanding the facility’s portfolio to include engines for military helicopters, tanks and others vehicles.

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

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Propulsion Powers Atlas V Upper Stage



Video Credit: SpaceVidsNet, via YouTube

In another awesome display of consistent and reliable rocket launch propulsion, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and RD AMROSS successfully propelled a critical U.S. government satellite into orbit on June 20. The spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V is powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 booster engine, and the upper-stage is powered by the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10 engine.

The Atlas V Centaur upper-stage is powered by a single RL10A4-2 engine that delivers 22,300 pounds of thrust. The Atlas V Common Core booster is powered by the RD-180 engine and delivers nearly 1 million pounds of thrust. The RD-180 is fueled by kerosene/liquid oxygen mixture, provides an environmentally-clean operation, and uses an extremely efficient, high-pressure staged combustion cycle.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne press release. 

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Pratt & Whitney Expands Global Network with South African Airways Technical

Pratt & Whitney and South African Airways Technical (SAAT) have signed an agreement to perform JT9D-7R4G2 repair work at SAAT’s Johannesburg facility. Pratt & Whitney will also work with SAAT to expand the facility’s aftermarket services in the future.

South African Airways Technical is the largest and most advanced full-service maintenance, repair and overhaul organization on the African continent. Fully Federal Aviation Administration-certified since the early 1990s, SAAT serves an increasing number of local, regional and international airlines.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney press release. 

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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Pratt & Whitney Power Systems Announces New FT8 Depot Facility

Pratt & Whitney Power Systems announced today at the POWER-GEN Europe exhibition that Iberia Maintenance, the Maintenance and Engineering division of Iberia Airlines, has been selected to provide depot support services for the fleet of GG8 gas generators in the European region. The facility, located in Madrid, Spain, joins a network of worldwide depot facilities for P&W Power Systems.

The Maintenance & Engineering division of Iberia Airlines is well known for its experience as a world-class aircraft engine repair facility, specializing in the repair of several types of engines, including Pratt & Whitney’s successful JT8 engine from which the GG8 was derived. Iberia was selected with the European customer in mind, based on its ideal location for the European customer base, and its extensive in-house component repair and technical capabilities.

Under the terms of the license agreement, Iberia will deal directly with Pratt & Whitney Power Systems’ customers for depot services. Customers will interact directly with Iberia for everything from planning shop visits, logistics, and work scope, to reports and invoicing. PWPS will support Iberia with certain component repairs, all spare parts, technical publications, and engineering services. The Iberia facility is expected to begin servicing GG8 gas generators before the end of the year.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney press release.

Pratt & Whitney, Italian Air Force Celebrate Successful F-16 'Peace Caesar' and F100 Fleet Management Programs

Pratt & Whitney and the Italian Air Force celebrated the highly successful Peace Caesar F-16 lease program and supporting Pratt & Whitney F100 Fleet Management Program during the F-16 departure ceremony on May 23 at Trapani Air Base, Italy. The Performance Based Logistics program was designed to provide affordable readiness for the Italian Air Force fleet when they began to operate the F-16 in 2003.

The program capitalized on the unique resources of Pratt & Whitney, the United States Air Force and Italian Air Force including partnering with the Italian Air Force maintenance team at Cervia Air Base for engine maintenance. The team managed Italy’s F100-PW-220 engines through nine years of operation and 47,000 flight hours.

The Pratt & Whitney-powered fleet of F-16 fighters flew key missions for the Italian Air Force at home and abroad. Italy’s F-16s played an important role in the Italian Air Force’s support of recent NATO peacekeeping missions, and in several notable domestic missions, including the Papal inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI, the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2009 G8 Summit.

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

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Pratt & Whitney, Irkut Sign Definitive Agreement for PurePower® PW1400G Engine for MC-21 Aircraft Family

Pratt & Whitney and Russia’s Irkut Corporation signed a definitive agreement to offer the Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1400G engine on Irkut’s MC-21 family of aircraft. This secures the PurePower engine as the only western powerplant offered on the new narrow body program.

Irkut is developing the MC-21 as a family of 150 to 210-passenger aircraft with first flight of the PurePower® PW1400G engined aircraft planned for 2015 and entry into service in 2017. The MC-21 series will feature jetliners with 25,000-32,000 pounds of thrust.

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

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Paul Adams Inducted Into Connecticut Academy of Science & Engineering

Paul Adams, Pratt & Whitney’s senior vice president of Operations & Engineering, was recently inducted into the distinguished Connecticut Academy of Science & Engineering (CASE) for his outstanding contributions to jet propulsion technology.

Adams was recognized for his technical leadership in the engineering development and production of game-changing technological products such as Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower® Geared Turbofan™ (GTF) engine and the F135 engine that powers the F-35 Lightning II.

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

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