Maiden Flight Conducted On Modified 747SP From Mirabel,
Quebec
Pratt & Whitney said Tuesday that its PW1500G engine took to
the skies for its first flight on June 20, launching the engine
family's first flight test program. The PW1524G engine for the
Bombardier CSeries aircraft flew its maiden flight on Pratt &
Whitney's 747SP flying test bed at Pratt & Whitney Canada's
Mirabel Aerospace Centre, in Mirabel, Quebec (Canada). Open since
May 6, this state-of-the-art facility, which features advanced
manufacturing technologies, is where final production assembly and
test will occur for both the PurePower PW1524G and P&WC's
advanced PurePower PW800 family of engines for the next generation
of large business jets.
"The engine performed even better than we expected on this first
flight, building on the success of our ground test program," said
Bob Saia, vice president, Next Generation Product Family. "To date,
we have conducted nearly 400 hours of full engine ground testing.
We are very pleased with the initial results, which have
demonstrated the geared architecture's benefits of low fuel
consumption, lower noise and a robust operational design. The
engine is real, and it's flying now. We have four PurePower engines
at test and five engines in the build phase." This initial
flight test program validates performance, engine operability and
in-flight starting.
In addition to full engine testing, Pratt & Whitney has
performed critical part level and engine sub-system testing to
validate designs for the PurePower engine program, including design
validation of the Fan Drive Gear System, fan blade for bird
ingestion and blade containment and compressor performance for the
advanced PW1000G core.
The PurePower PW1000G series engines use 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 are expected to deliver
double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency, environmental
emissions and noise.
The PW1500G engine test program will run a total of eight test
engines over the next 18 months with engine certification scheduled
for 2012. Entry into service is scheduled for 2013.
The day after the first flight, Pratt & Whitney announced
that it had received commitments for the engine on 10 firm and up
to 6 option CS100 CSeries aircraft ordered by an undisclosed major
network carrier. The deal represents 20 firm PW1500G series engines
covered by a PureSolution maintenance service agreement.