Pratt & Whitney Launches The First Dual-Channel Integrated Electronic Propeller And Engine Control System In The General Aviation Turboprop Market

Pratt & Whitney, along with Pilatus and Honeywell, has launched the new PC-12 NGX aircraft, powered by the new Pratt & Whitney PT6 E-Series engine. It is the first turboprop engine in general aviation to offer a dual-channel integrated electronic propeller and engine control system, pushing innovation to a new level. The company is also enhancing its new Eagle Service Plan (ESP) for the PT6 E-Series engine.

"Pratt & Whitney is very excited to be launching the new PT6 E-Series engine and to have been selected by Pilatus to power its new PC-12 NGX aircraft. We are setting a new standard for general aviation's leading engine – the PT6," said Maria Della Posta, president, Pratt & Whitney Canada. "We have injected into this new engine the knowledge that we have acquired over nearly a century of innovation and more than 1.5 billion hours of operational expertise to provide in flying and in customer service. We are proud to say that general aviation's number one engine just got even better."

The advanced technology behind the PT6 E-Series engine provides a more intuitive way of flying with simplified operations. At the push of a button, the pilot can start and stop the engine while being protected against hot and hung starts. The single lever and integrated electronic propeller and engine control system allows precise engine control by constantly monitoring temperature and torque to provide optimal engine power and performance throughout all phases of flight. In fact, the new turbine design of the PT6E-67XP engine, which powers the Pilatus PC-12 NGX aircraft, allows for quicker climb, greater speed and a 10% increase in power to reach the destination faster.

Since the engine is digitally connected, more than 100 parameters are monitored to allow for predictive analysis of the engine and system operation and proactive maintenance planning. As the electronic engine control (EEC) receives all engine and key aircraft data, it is able to make adjustments to optimize and deliver the right engine power needed throughout the flight.

Once the aircraft lands, all the engine flight data is wirelessly downloaded, providing operators and maintainers valuable new insights into the performance and health of the engine. This allows advanced planning of any maintenance needs, so that customers can maximize their operations and reduce their costs, flying when they need to and for longer periods. Insights gained through the new data maximizes the already high, designed-in engine availability provided by the 600 hour maintenance interval which has been increased from 300 hours, and 43% longer time between overhaul (TBO) intervals, which increases to 5,000 hours.

The ESP for the PT6 E-Series engine, transferrable at aircraft sale, has been designed so that owners can benefit from a reduction of at least 15% in hourly engine operating costs. It is a step-change for customers and pilots, delivering an enhanced service level. The new ESP offers the most comprehensive coverage plan, including foreign object damage (FOD) repair and environmental protection. This full protection plan also includes overhaul, scheduled line maintenance, fuel nozzle refurbishment, unscheduled hot section inspection, basic unscheduled repair, accessory repair and more.

Customers who enroll in the ESP can benefit even more from the engine's digital connectivity. While owners, pilots and maintainers have access to the engine's performance data, the ESP PT6 E-Series takes it one step further. The data will be sent for trend monitoring and, if required, for troubleshooting. Armed with this information, Pratt & Whitney's predictive analytics team – dedicated engineers and data analysts – will provide personalized, high-tech proactive recommendations to equip customers and maintainers with new insights about their engine and the latest technical information to maximize the engine's time on wing and reduce operating costs. With no minimum flying hour thresholds and a dedicated single point of contact, the new ESP makes the flying experience simple all around. Customers can take advantage of the ESP PT6 E-Series plan when they purchase the aircraft through their Pilatus dealer.

(Image provided with Pratt & Whitney news release)

FMI: www.pratt-whitney.com