Pratt & Whitney has completed assembly of its first engine to test (FETT) for its PurePower PW1100G-JM engine – the first engine to power the Airbus A320neo aircraft. Company leadership, Airbus, MTU, JAEC and employees celebrated the program milestone with a Last Bolt Ceremony at Pratt & Whitney’s West Palm Beach facility on October 26, 2012, where the full engine is scheduled to begin testing soon. The engine, rated at 33,000 pounds of thrust, is the third member of the PurePower PW1000G family of engines to begin testing.
“The PurePower engine is an integral part of the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft,” Klaus Roewe, Airbus senior vice president A320neo Family, told Pratt & Whitney employees and partners at the ceremony today. “We continue to work closely with Pratt & Whitney to integrate the engine with the airframe, and we look forward to reviewing the initial test results from this first engine to test.”
The PW1100G-JM engine test program will run a total of eight test engines over the next 24 months. Test engines will be built both at Pratt & Whitney’s West Palm Beach and Middletown facilities. Entry into service is scheduled for October 2015. To date, Pratt & Whitney has firm orders for 1,136 PW1100G-JM engines to power the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft.
“Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan architecture is revolutionizing the single aisle marketplace with game changing benefits – reduced fuel burn, emissions, noise, and operating cost. We are confident the Geared Turbofan is the best value proposition for our airline customers,” said Paul Adams, senior vice president, Operations & Engineering, Pratt & Whitney. “Our technology readiness execution for this engine family is robust. We’ve proven its benefits with extensive rig, ground, and flight testing; and, we are excited to begin the A320neo test program.”