Tests To Begin Later This Year

Life often comes around, full-circle... just ask Airbus and Pratt & Whitney. The two aerospace companies announced this week they will partner on flight testing the Geared Turbofan engine, using an Airbus-owned A340 flying test bed. The flight testing will provide first-hand experience with the performance of the Geared Turbofan engine, which targets double-digit improvements in fuel burn, environmental emissions, engine noise and operating costs.

The Airbus testing will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, and will follow Pratt & Whitney's own ground and flight test program utilizing a Boeing 747 testbed. While the engine isn't intended for larger, widebody planes like the A340, or Boeing's 777 -- but rather smaller offerings, including Bombardier's upcoming CSeries airliner -- the selection of an A340 represents a turnabout of sorts, as the four-engine widebody was once intended to be powered by a variant of the stillborn PW8000 geared engine.

"We are delighted at the opportunity to partner with Airbus on flight testing the Geared Turbofan engine," said Todd Kallman, president of Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines. "Testing the Geared Turbofan engine throughout its entire operating envelope using the Airbus A340 flight test aircraft, combined with the tremendous experience of the Airbus flight test team, will provide us with valuable installation and operating data to further evaluate the performance of this new engine architecture."

Pratt & Whitney's Geared Turbofan demonstrator engine recently began Phase II ground testing at the company's advanced test facility in West Palm Beach, FL. Phase II of the ground test program will focus on engine performance and acoustic characteristics with a flight-capable nacelle system prior to mid-year flight testing. The Geared Turbofan demonstrator engine has logged approximately 150 hours since ground testing began in November 2007.

The Geared Turbofan is expected to set new standards in environmental performance and operating value for the next generation of commercial aircraft. In a Geared Turbofan engine, a gear system allows the engine's fan to operate at a different speed than the low-pressure compressor and turbine, resulting in greater fuel efficiency and a slower fan speed for reduced noise.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.pratt-whitney.com