First PurePower PW1000G Wraps Up Ground And Flight Trials
Pratt & Whitney has completed ground and flight testing of
the PurePower PW1000G demonstrator engine. The final phase of
testing was completed jointly with Airbus on an A340-600 flight
test aircraft and included 27 flights and more than 75 hours of
flight testing.
The Airbus flight testing follows Pratt & Whitney's own
ground and flight test program, during which the engine completed
approximately 300 hours of ground testing and 12 flights on Pratt
& Whitney's Boeing 747SP flying test bed. The enginemaker says
the PW1000G demonstrator engine successfully completed all test
objectives.
"It is truly unprecedented to complete this amount of testing on
a technology demonstrator engine," said Bob Saia, vice president,
Next Generation Product Family. "We were able to complete all
flight test objectives with flawless engine operation.
Launched in October 2008, the Airbus A340
flight test program included engine test evaluations normally
conducted for a production engine certification. The PurePower
PW1000G demonstrator engine successfully demonstrated the
performance and operational benefits of the engine's unique gear
system."
The most recent flight test program assessed in-flight
performance, engine handling, in flight acoustics and aircraft
installation of the demonstrator engine. Following the recent
removal from the Airbus A340 aircraft, Pratt & Whitney will
analyze the test data for engine design optimization during the
next several months.
"One of a kind demonstrator engines like this are typically
designed to test for approximately 100 hours," Saia said. "It is
extraordinary that the PW1000G demonstrator engine completed 406
hours of testing including a total of 120 hours in flight. The
engine performed exceptionally throughout the program,
demonstrating both performance and reliability under extremely
challenging tests such as high altitude aircraft flight maneuvers
exceeding two G's of acceleration force. Thousands of data points
taken during this test program will enable our engineers to
optimize the engine as we enter detailed design mid-year."
The completion of the ground and flight test program clears the
way for detailed design of the production PurePower PW1000G engine
for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet and the Bombardier CSeries mainline
aircraft. Both aircraft are scheduled to enter service in 2013.
The PurePower PW1000G 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 and a
50 percent reduction in noise.