Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) received EASA certification for its PW206B3 engine in December 2014. This latest derivative of the PW200 line delivering 500 to 700 shp powers the Airbus EC135P3 and, together with new main rotor blades that have been extended by 3.93 inches, provides a significant increase in performance in hot/high conditions and increases the mtow by 66 pounds compared to the EC135P2. The PW206B3 received Transport Canada certification in June 2014 and is awaiting FAA certification.

“All of our PW200 derivatives incorporate a high level of technology,” said Richard Dussault, P&WC vice president of marketing. “They are all small, compact engines with only three main rotating components, and they all incorporate leading-edge control technology for the light-twin market. The PW206B3 has been customized for the Airbus EC135P3, providing additional power and changes to control systems to fit exactly what [Airbus] needed for their new helicopter.”

More than 4,000 PW200 engines have been produced since the series was introduced in the early 1990s. The PW200 series powers 10 models of helicopters including EC135 variants, AgustaWestland 109 series, Bell 427 and 429, Kazan Ansat, MD Explorer 900/902 and Sikorsky S-76D.

P&WC also celebrated the first deliveries of its PT6C-67E as Airbus delivered the first two EC175s to the model’s launch customer, Belgium-based NHV Global, in December. Directly derived from the PT6C-67C turboshaft that powers the AW139, the PT6C-67E delivers 1,775 shp through a two-shaft, multi-stage compressor configuration.

Both the PW206B3 and PT6C-67E feature Fadec. “The one change we made specifically for the EC175 was [incorporating] the Fadec,” said Dussault. “It’s the same technology that we’ve used for the PW210 engines, and it’s very well adapted and integrated into the aircraft system.”

AW139 operators will soon have the option to obtain engine diagnostic information through P&WC’s Flight-data Acquisition Storage and Transmission (FAST) program. The FAST system is being certified for the AW139 as the launch rotorcraft platform, with additional helicopter models to be certified upon customer request.

FAST uses cellphone technology to automatically transmit engine and environmental data to the appointed P&WC analysis center each time the aircraft lands or the engines shut down. Within minutes, the customer receives electronic notification of the engine’s performance. “In the old days when data was being captured, it took someone to physically go out to the aircraft with a laptop to extract the data, bring it back to the base, download it and process it to analyze the data,” said Dussault. “We make it so easy for operators to get the data that they use it to optimize their mission. Operators can learn exactly how long their flights are, what power regimes are being used, if they have any power exceedance and average and max speed on a mission. It allows them to map out how missions are flown and if there are any differences due to conditions, such as winter versus summer or day versus night.”

While Dussault said P&WC continues to look at the helicopter industry as a strong market, the recent drop in oil prices gives the industry pause. “Every manufacturer is looking at the oil situation,” said Dussault. “A lot of the market growth in the recent years was driven by oil and gas exploration. We’ve observed a bit of a pause in new orders, with the market realigning itself with what might result from the lower price of oil in the coming years. It’s been a great market, and we continue to ship engines. There’s cautious optimism, but we want to see the direction that oil is going to take over the next few years. It’s something we’re going to discuss with our customers here at [Heli-Expo].”