Pratt & Whitney Completes First PurePower® PW1100G-JM Engine for Airbus A320neo Family of Aircraft

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida, Oct. 26, 2012 – Pratt & Whitney has completed assembly of its first engine to test (FETT) for its PurePower® PW1100G-JM engine – the first engine to power the Airbus A320neo aircraft. Company leadership, Airbus, MTU, JAEC and employees celebrated the program milestone with a Last Bolt Ceremony at Pratt & Whitney’s West Palm Beach facility today, where the full engine is scheduled to begin testing soon. The engine, rated at 33,000 pounds of thrust, is the third member of the PurePower PW1000G family of engines to begin testing.

The PW1100G-JM engine test program will run a total of eight test engines over the next 24 months. Test engines will be built both at Pratt & Whitney’s West Palm Beach and Middletown facilities. Entry into service is scheduled for October 2015. To date, Pratt & Whitney has firm orders for 1,136 PW1100G-JM engines to power the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft.

The PurePower engine uses an advanced gear system allowing the engine’s fan to operate at a different speed than the low-pressure compressor and turbine. The combination of the gear system and an all-new advanced core delivers fuel efficiency and environmental benefits. Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower engine family testing recently exceeded 3,700 hours and 11,000 cycles of full engine testing.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney press release.

Coverage:

• Pratt & Whitney completes first PW1100G test engine (Flight International)
• P&W Completes First A320NEO Engine; Tests To Start Next Month (Aviation Week)
• A320neo's First Pratt & Whitney Test Engine Takes Shape (Aviation International News)
• P&W's NEO engine shows a surprising new face (Flight International)
• PurePower PW1100G-JM readies for tests (Air Transport World)
• Pratt & Whitney Completes Assembly of First Engine for Airbus A320neo (Aviation Today)
• First PurePower Engine For Airbus Finished (Hartford Courant)
• Pratt to test first PurePower for the A320neo (Hartford Business Journal)

AirInsight Offers Technical Analysis of PurePower Engine

Ernie Arvai of AirInsight recently met with Pratt & Whitney Chief Engineers Chris Kmetz and Graham Webb for a detailed discussion of the technologies used in the PurePower PW1000G engine. A full technical analysis is now posted at AirInsight. The post reviews the core of the engine, advanced manufacturing technologies and innovations beyond the gear.

"[Pratt & Whitney] has designed a new engine that isn’t simply a high technology gearbox added to an existing core, but an all new product across the board," Arvai writes. "By incorporating new technology throughout the core, and leveraging the gear to provide game changing fuel economy while minimizing maintenance costs, [P&W] feels that it has a “game changing” engine in terms of economics, and future growth potential." 

Learn more about the PurePower engine at www.purepowerengine.com. 

Coverage:

• AirInsight Technical Analysis: The Core of the PW1000G Geared Turbo-Fan

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, 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. 

Coverage:

• Irkut and P&W Sign Definitive Agreement (AirInsight)
• Pratt & Whitney, Irkut Seal PW1400G Deal for MC-21 (Aviation International News)
• Irkut selects PW1400G for MC-21 (Air Transport World)
• Irkut Signs $1 Bln Pratt & Whitney Engine Deal (RIA Novosti)

Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1200G Engine Begins First Flight Test Program

The Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1200G engine successfully completed its first flight on April 30, launching the engine family’s flight test program. The PW1217G engine for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) aircraft flew on a specially designed stub wing aboard Pratt & Whitney’s Boeing 747SP flying test bed at the company’s Mirabel Aerospace Centre, in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada.

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.

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.

Epstein Talks (Geared Turbofan) Technology with Airplane Geeks

Alan Epstein, vice president, Technology & Environment, Pratt & Whitney, is featured on episode No. 182 of the Airplane Geeks podcast. In a 32-minute interview with Max Flight and friends, Epstein fields questions about the history and evolution of the geared turbofan technology, the benefits of the Pratt & Whitney PurePower engine, and the engine's impact on the marketplace.

" ... The history for the last 20, 30 years has been the airframers have said we're going to build this airplane, give us a proposal for an engine. The GTF is unique. ... There was this demo engine that flew in 2007, and the communications people painted a slogan on the nacelle that said 'This Changes Everything.' And I thought that was advertising enthusiasm, but to my surprise, it has. The fact that the GTF is there made the Bombardier and MRJ airplanes so attractive, forced Airbus and Boeing to do something - they could've come up with new airplanes or re-engine. They chose to re-engine. So this is getting back to the good old days from an engine point of view, where you build a great engine and people start designing airplanes around it. ..."

The Epstein interview begins at 03:30 and runs through 35:30. Click here to listen to the podcast.

Visit www.purepowerengine.com for more information about the PurePower engine.

Bangalore Aviation: PurePower Engine is 'Aviation Technology of the Year'

Bangalore Aviation named the Pratt & Whitney PurePower Engine its "Aviation Technology of the Year" for 2011.

Bangalore Aviation writes:

" ... no new technology has been as influential as the Geared TurboFan (GTF) offered by Pratt & Whitney on its new PurePower PW1000G series of engines to be used on aircraft such as the Bombardier CSeries, the Irkut MS-21, and the Airbus A320neo family."

Click here to read the full post.

PurePower® PW1000G Geared Turbofan™ Engine Named to TIME Magazine’s ‘50 Best Inventions of 2011’

TIME Magazine has named Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower® PW1000G engine as one of “The 50 Best Inventions of 2011,” describing it as "the most important development in aviation in 2011.”

“We are very pleased to accept this recognition from TIME Magazine,” said Paul Adams, senior vice president, Operations & Engineering, Pratt & Whitney. “The PurePower Geared Turbofan engine is setting a new standard in the industry for efficiency and environmental friendliness."

Read the full Pratt & Whitney press release here.

Coverage:

• Sustainable Business: 6 Green Inventions Honored in Time Mag's 50 Best Inventions
• Hartford Business Journal: Proud Pratt's PurePower on Time's '50 Best'
• Hartford Courant: PurePower Honored By Time Magazine

Qatar Airways Selects Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1100G-JM Engines for Airbus A320neo Aircraft Family

DUBAI AIR SHOW, Nov 15, 2011 – Qatar Airways has selected Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1100G-JM engines for its order of 50 firm A320neo family aircraft. The deal includes 100 PW1100G-JM engines with a PureSolutionSM maintenance service agreement. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2015.

Each Qatar Airways Airbus A320neo family aircraft will be powered by two PurePower® PW1100G-JM engines with benefits including double-digit reductions in fuel burn, environmental emissions, engine noise and operating costs when compared with today’s engines.

Read Pratt & Whitney's press release here.

Coverage:

• Bloomberg: Qatar Air CEO Makes Up With Airbus After Lashing Planemaker
• BBC News: Qatar flexes its muscle in Airbus deal
• Reuters: Qatar, Airbus make up and sign £4 billion deal
• Hartford Courant: Pratt & Whitney Wins 200 PurePower Engine Sales At Dubai
• Khaleej Times: Qatar Airways places $6.4b Airbus order
• Aviation Week: Post-Spat, Qatar Goes For A380, A320NEO
  

ALAFCO Opts for Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1100G-JM Engines for Airbus A320neo Aircraft Family

Alafco Aviation Lease and Finance Co. KSCC (ALAFCO) selected Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G-JM engines to power its order of 50 firm A320neo family aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2017.

“Pratt & Whitney welcomes ALAFCO as a new customer," said Todd Kallman, Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines & Global Services President. “We are confident the PurePower engine’s performance and benefits will meet the expectations of ALAFCO and its customers.”

Read Pratt & Whitney's press release here.

Coverage:

• Arabian Aerospace: Dubai 2011: ALAFCO goes for P&W power with neo order
• Hartford Courant: Pratt & Whitney Wins 200 PurePower Engine Sales At Dubai
  

PurePower® Engines Surpass 1,000 Hours of Full Engine Testing

Pratt & Whitney has successfully completed more than 1,000 hours of full engine testing on its PurePower engines for its first two applications – the PW1500G engine series for the Bombardier* CSeries* aircraft and the PW1200G engine series for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. Four PW1500G engines and two PW1200G engines have undergone testing to date. Each engine model will run a total of eight test engines leading to engine certification.

“We are on track for engine certification next year. Initial engine testing confirms we will meet our customer commitments on our initial models,” said Bob Saia, vice president, Next Generation Product Family. “This first block of engine testing, including the PW1524G flight testing, validated the overall engine design and positions us well going forward.”

Read Pratt & Whitney's press release here.