Pratt & Whitney Canada says it is conducting paper analysis and hardware tests related to a next-generation PT6 turboshaft engine, the staple of the company's propeller-powered business. PWC has produced 48,000 PT6 engines, 26,000 of which are still in operation. Total cumulative operation time for the engines is 350 million hours.
Eva Azoulay, vice president, strategic planning and business development for PWC, says the company has "launched some early technology evaluations" for such an engine, which in theory will provide a minimum of 1,000shp (746kW) and deliver a 20% improvement in specific fuel consumption compared with today's PT6.
The project is but one of many in PWC's ongoing research and development program, which has a yearly budget of $400 million. "We're really trying to lead the market, to understand where the trends are going," says Maria Della Posta, senior vice president of sales and marketing for PWC. She says there are "still a lot" of requests for proposals from airframers regarding engines for new programs, but that "the economy has affected everyone's ability" to progress them. "The need continues to be there though."
Source: Flight Daily News
