Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1500G Engine Completes First Flight Test Program

MIRABEL AEROSPACE CENTRE, Quebec, Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G engine, the PW1524G engine for the Bombardier* CSeries* aircraft, completed its first flight test program logging 25 flights with 115 flight hours.  Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

"We are very pleased with this initial flight test program," said Bob Saia, vice president, Next Generation Product Family.  "Results confirmed our earlier sea level test findings validating the geared turbofan's overall engine design.  The engine operated flawlessly enabling us to conduct double the number of flight hours we initially planned.  Our expanded test program enabled us to conduct additional flight testing, which was planned for early 2012. This engine will return to our sea level test facility in West Palm, Florida to continue testing."

The PW1524G engine has been flight testing on Pratt & Whitney's 747SP flying test bed at Pratt & Whitney Canada's Mirabel Aerospace Centre, in Mirabel, Quebec (Canada) since June 20. Final production assembly and test will also occur at the Mirabel facility for both the PW1524G and P&WC's advanced PW800 family of PurePower engines for the next generation of large business jets.

In addition to more than 800 hours of full engine testing to date, Pratt & Whitney has performed critical part level and engine sub-system testing to validate designs for the PurePower engine program, including hundreds of hours of core and rig testing, design validation of the fan drive gear system, bird ingestion and fan blade containment and compressor performance for the advanced PW1000G core.  Pratt & Whitney currently has five PW1000G family engines in test and an additional five in the build cycle.

The PW1500G engine test program will run a total of eight test engines over the next 16 months with engine certification scheduled for 2012 and entry into service in late 2013.    

The PurePower PW1000G series engines use 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 deliver double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency, environmental emissions and noise.

The PurePower family of engines shares common, advanced cores across the PW1000G and PW800 models, and features flight proven, next-generation technology.  The engine core consists of an ultra-efficient high-pressure compressor, a low-emissions combustor, and state-of-the-art high-pressure turbine module.  

The PW1500G engine test program also supports the development of Pratt & Whitney Canada's PurePower PW800 engine for the next generation of large business jets. The PW800 engine is a 10,000- to 20,000-pound thrust turbofan that has double-digit improvements in fuel burn, environmental emissions, engine noise and operating costs.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building industries.  

This release includes "forward looking statements" concerning future business opportunities and other matters involving this engine that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in forward looking statements include changes in the health of the global economy and the strength of end market demand in the aerospace industry; as well as company specific items including the ability to achieve cost reductions at planned levels; challenges in the design, development, production and support of advanced technologies including this engine, and new products including the engine discussed in this press release; and delays and disruption in delivery of materials and services from suppliers. For information identifying other important economic, political, regulatory, legal, technological, competitive and other uncertainties, see UTC's SEC filings as submitted from time to time, including but not limited to, the information included in UTC's 10-K and 10-Q Reports under the headings "Business," "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Cautionary Note Concerning Factors that May Affect Future Results," as well as the information included in UTC's Current Reports on Form 8-K.

* Trademark of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

For more information on the Pratt & Whitney PurePower engine, visit www.purepowerengines.com

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SOURCE Pratt & Whitney