PurePower® PW1000G Geared Turbofan™ Engine Named to TIME Magazine's '50 Best Inventions of 2011'

EAST HARTFORD, Conn., Nov. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TIME Magazine has named Pratt & Whitney's PurePower® PW1000G engine as one of "The 50 Best Inventions of 2011," describing it as "the most important development in aviation in 2011." Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

"We are very pleased to accept this recognition from TIME Magazine," said Paul Adams, senior vice president, Operations & Engineering, Pratt & Whitney. "The PurePower Geared Turbofan engine is setting a new standard in the industry for efficiency and environmental friendliness."

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.

"Our PurePower engine is driving tremendous change to the aviation industry in terms of fuel efficiency, reducing pollution and noise, and driving down maintenance and operating costs for airlines," said David Hess, Pratt & Whitney president. "Airlines are replacing their fleets to capitalize on the many advantages that this technology provides. There is no better example of the power of this innovation than that."

The PurePower engine has been selected as exclusive power for the Bombardier* CSeries* aircraft and Mitsubishi Regional Jet.  It will also power the first Airbus A320neo aircraft, as well as the Irkut MC-21 narrow-body jet.  To date, more than 1,800 PurePower engines are on order by customers around the world.

Pratt & Whitney has successfully completed more than 1,100 hours of full engine testing on its PurePower engines for its first two applications -- the PW1500G engine series for the Bombardier* CSeries* aircraft and the PW1200G engine series for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. Results of the testing validate the overall design of the engine as well as its performance benefits.

In 2010, a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Aurora Flight Sciences and Pratt & Whitney engineers received Popular Mechanics magazine's Breakthrough Innovator Award for designing a greener aircraft of the future using the PurePower geared turbofan™ engine technology.  Pratt & Whitney's PurePower engine family received the 2009 Popular Science Magazine Best's of What's New Award as the Top Aviation Technology, and the 2009 Aviation Week Laureate Award for outstanding achievement in Aeronautics and Propulsion.  Also in 2009, the PurePower development team was one of the Flight Global Innovator of the Year finalists. In 2008, the engine received the Technology Breakthrough Award from the China Aviation Association and AVIC Science and Technology department.

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.

* Trademarks 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