Pratt & Whitney has shipped its PurePower PW1000G GTF geared turbofan demonstration engine to Toulouse, France to begin a test programme on an Airbus A340-600 testbed in mid-September.
The testing with Airbus, the first manufacturer to fly the engine on its own flight-test aircraft, follows completion of the first phase of GTF testing by P&W on a company-owned Boeing 747 flying testbed. The engine completed 12 flights and ran 43h in tests focusing on performance and operability.
P&W vice-president for next-generation product family Bob Saia says the GTF demonstrated near double-digit improvements in fuel burn during the trials and validated the 12-15% improvement the manufacturer hopes to deliver in service.
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Source: Flight International
