Will Power The Airbus A320neo Aircraft

The FAA recently granted approval for Pratt & Whitney to add the PW1100G-JM engine that will power the Airbus A320neo aircraft to its production portfolio. The certificates were awarded to Pratt & Whitney's facilities in Middletown, Connecticut and West Palm Beach, Florida. Both facilities have expanded and modernized to introduce state-of-the-art assembly and test capability as the company prepares for its production increase.

"Receiving the FAA production certificates for the Middletown and West Palm Beach sites is an important milestone for Pratt & Whitney and for our employees across the company who contributed to the development of the revolutionary PurePower® engine family," said Danny Di Perna, senior vice president, Engineering & Operations, Pratt & Whitney. "Our engine centers will provide the capacity needed as we more than double production in the coming years. These sites use our innovative horizontal assembly line and higher-efficiency manufacturing techniques, enabling Pratt & Whitney to meet production ramp-up needs."

The PurePower engine family has more than 6,400 orders, including options. The certification of the Middletown and West Palm Beach Engine Centers to produce these engines for the A320neo ensures that with volume increasing, Pratt & Whitney will be ready to meet customer commitments as its new engines are brought into service.

As part of the process of certifying Pratt & Whitney to build the PW1100G-JM engines, the FAA conducted intense reviews of both facilities, capabilities, processes, tooling, quality assurance, test procedures and engine test results.

The FAA closely reviewed quality assurance processes at the two facilities to confirm each could repeatedly and reliably assemble and test engines that are safe for flight in revenue service.

"The expectations of the FAA were met due to the extraordinary efforts of a cross-functional team of employees working tirelessly to ensure the Middletown and West Palm Beach facilities were integrated into both the required quality systems for building the PW1100G-JM engine," said Chris Flynn, vice president, Quality, Pratt & Whitney.

(Images from file)

FMI: www.pratt-whitney.com