Pratt & Whitney Preparing For Flight Tests

Ground testing for the first Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G-JM engine for the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft has been successfully completed at the company's West Palm Beach, FL, test facility. The engine completed over 120 hours of testing, validating overall engine operation and fuel efficiency. The engine will next undergo flight testing on the company's experimental 747 airplane at the Mirabel Aerospace Centre in Quebec, Canada.

Two additional engines are under test as part of the company's eight engine test program. A fourth engine is in its final assembly stage and will initiate testing next month. "We now have over 4,500 hours of engine testing with our geared turbofan program family," said Bob Saia, vice president, Commercial Development Programs. "The PW1100G-JM engine testing is going extremely well. We have leveraged our product line design strategy, common architecture and scaling to drive early engine maturity. Our first PW1100G-JM demonstrated performance better than our pre-test forecast."

The PW1100G-JM engine, rated up to 33,000 pounds of thrust, is the first engine model to be certified and enter service on the A320neo. Pratt & Whitney has been selected by 13 customers totaling more than 1,400 PW1100G-JM firm orders. Entry into service will begin in late 2015.

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 deliver double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency, environmental emissions and noise.

(Image provided by Pratt & Whitney)

FMI: www.purepowerengines.com