First Pratt & Whitney PurePower® engine completes initial ground tests, exceeds expectations

Pratt & Whitney successfully completed initial ground testing on its first PurePower® PW1000G series engine, the PW1524G engine for the Bombardier CSeries aircraft. The engine completed nearly 200 hours of ground tests at the company's West Palm Beach, Fla. facility. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

"The engine continues to exceed our expectations," said Bob Saia, vice president, Next Generation Product Family. "We have already completed an unprecedented amount of testing on this first engine, including a full structural evaluation, performance, noise and emissions testing. Testing has validated overall engine operational characteristics including component design, rotor dynamics and engine fuel and lubrication systems. This testing confirmed the benefits and robustness of the Geared Turbofan™ engine that Pratt & Whitney initially established during the 2008 Demonstration Engine Program."

The first engine ran nearly three times longer than Pratt & Whitney's legacy experience for a first engine test program. Pratt & Whitney began ground testing of the PW1524G engine on schedule in September. Assemblies of the second and third PW1524G development engines are nearing completion. The second engine will also be tested at the West Palm Beach, Fla. test facility before being shipped to the company's Mirabel Aerospace Centre facility in Quebec, Canada. The engine will be mounted to the Pratt & Whitney 747 flying test bed for first test flights scheduled to begin in mid-year. Engine certification and aircraft first flight are scheduled for 2012.

The PurePower engine uses 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 delivers double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency and environmental emissions as well as a 50 percent reduction in noise.

The PurePower engine has been selected as exclusive power for the Bombardier CSeries scheduled to enter service in 2013 and the Mitsubishi Regional Jet scheduled to enter service in 2014. The engine has also been selected to power the new Airbus A320neo aircraft scheduled to enter service in Spring 2016 and the Irkut MC-21 narrow-body jet scheduled to enter service in 2016.