Ground Engine Tests Will Employ An Air Force C17-A

The FAA plans to work with Pratt & Whitney to study the effects of volcanic ash on airplane engine beginning in 2013.

In announcing the sole-source contract, the FAA said that many commercial aircraft have unexpectedly encountered volcanic ask in flight in the past years. Some of these encounters caused in-flight loss of engine power, which could cause a crash of the airplane. A range of damage may occur to airplanes that fly through an eruption cloud depending on the concentration of volcanic ash in the cloud, and the length of time the aircraft actually spends in the cloud.

NASA is working with the FAA and the USAF to conduct ground engine tests using a F117 engine installed on a USAF C17-A aircraft scheduled around March 2013. Installed ground engine testing on USAF C17-A airplane provides a unique opportunity to utilize advanced instrumentation and sensor capability along with simulating a range of environmental conditions such as volcanic ash, while capturing system-level response on both the engine and aircraft level. A key element of this test is to provide a means for engine ingestion of volcanic ash which requires engine modifications allowing for advanced sensor installation to provide critical experimental data during the testing.

The procurement will be to modify a F117 Pratt & Whitney engine to support the FAA/NASA/Air Force Volcanic Ash research project. Pratt & Whitney is the original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and own all proprietary rights to the design of the F117/PW2037 engine. The FAA said that a full and open competition is not available for this procurement, but it will allow other potential bidders to "provide evidence of your firm's capabilities and experience in providing the (required) services," for evaluation by the agency.

FMI: www.faa.gov