First Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1217G engine testing begins

Ground testing of Pratt & Whitney's first PW1200G family engine -- the PW1217G engine for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) -- is well under way. The engine, the first of an eight-engine validation and certification program, has completed nearly 16 hours of testing to date. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

Over 2,000 pieces of instrumentation are used to support design validation of key low rotor components. Testing of this first PW1217G engine is expected to last through mid- year. In addition to this engine, a PW1217G test core will soon begin stress testing in the Pratt & Whitney West Palm Beach facility to further the design validation of high rotor components. Three additional PW1217G engines are in various stages of build and will begin testing shortly.

"We are very pleased with the initial results from the PW1217G engine test. It is meeting our pre-test expectations," said Bob Saia, vice president, Next Generation Product Family. "We have incorporated lessons learned from extensive development and testing of the Geared Turbofan™ engine architecture demonstrating unprecedented technology readiness before the engine ran for the first time."

The PW1217G engine test program will run a total of eight test engines over the next two years with engine certification and aircraft first flight scheduled for 2012. Entry into service is scheduled for 2014. All Nippon Airways and Trans State Holdings have placed firm and option orders for a total of 125 Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation MRJ aircraft.

The PurePower family of engines is designed to power the next generation of passenger aircraft. The combination of its gear system and advanced core allows PurePower engines to deliver double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency and emissions with a 50-percent reduction in noise over today's engines.

The PurePower engine also has been selected as exclusive power for the Bombardier CSeries aircraft scheduled to enter service in 2013 and to power the Airbus A320neo aircraft family scheduled to enter service in 2015, as well as the Irkut MC-21 narrow-body jet scheduled to enter service in 2016.