PurePower PW800 – A Profile

In the current competitive aero engine market, Pratt & Whitney, GE Aviation, Rolls Royce and Safran are the world leaders. Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), with its headquarters in Longueil, Canada, is a division of the larger P&W based in the United States (US), which itself is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (UTC). Founded in 1928 as a service centre for P&W engines, P&WC started assembling P&W engines in 1952 and in the late 1950s began working on its own first turbine engine. The company made rapid strides in the engine industry, delivering its 100,000th engine in May 2017. Today, P&WC has around 60,000 in-service engines operated by 12,300 operators in almost every country in the world. In a coarse division of labour, it currently manufactures the comparatively smaller range of engines that power regional jets and business jets, while the US manufacturing activities of P&W cater to the larger class of engines powering regular airliners. P&WC carries out autonomous R&D and marketing of its range of engines, independent of the parent company. The latest aero engine from its stables is the PurePower PW800 series, an impressive steed, about to make its commercial debut.

PurePower PW800

Keeping in view optimum fuel efficiency and emerging environmental concerns as well as regulatory provisions, P&WC started working on the future looking PW800 series in July 2008 when it launched the PurePower PW800 engine family. The company began testing the advance core for the family in December 2009. The family is a turbofan engine in the 10,000–20,000 lbf (44–89 kN) thrust class intended for the regional jet and business jet market and the PW800 family was planned to produce thrust around 16,000 lbf (71 kN). The PurePower family of P&W engines consists of geared turbofan commercial engines. The PW800 was also originally designed to be a geared turbofan engine; but subsequently the plan was changed and the reduction gear eliminated. The PW800 engine is optimised for high flying, high speed, long range business jets and, as cabin noise is a major consideration for business travellers, the engine is designed for a very low noise level in the cabin. The PW800 engine incorporates the latest generation of technologies in every aspect, from advanced design technologies to state-of-the-art manufacturing processes. Its features include a high efficiency and low maintenance single piece fan and the latest Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system with advanced diagnostics as well as lightweight, advanced materials such as titanium and composites to deliver superior performance and availability. P&WC claims that it will have a 99.99 per cent dispatch reliability. It is also expected to have exceptional fuel efficiency and an advanced Technology for Advanced Low Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) TALON X combustor which is designed to satisfy International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards for NOx with a margin of 50 per cent. It also ensures a moderate leeway to anticipated Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP/8) regulations for reduced NOx emissions and ultra-low levels of unburned hydrocarbons and smoke. It is also designed to meet Stage IV aircraft noise requirements.

The PW800 engine is optimised for high flying, high speed, long range business jets and is designed for a very low noise level in the cabin

According to the manufacturer, from a maintenance perspective, the PW800 engine will set the industry standard, requiring 40 per cent less scheduled maintenance and 20 per cent fewer inspections than other engines in its class. Among the many unique design elements are innovative features such as steps incorporated into the nacelle cowl doors and large access panels in the engine bypass ducts allowing mechanics to quickly and efficiently access the engine core. In addition, the accessory suite design, it is claimed, would permit most accessories to be changed in less than 30 minutes.

The advanced health management system is claimed to provide deep insight into the engine condition, utilisation and operations to optimise aircraft availability and reliability. The system has full monitoring capability of over 300 engine parameters with analytics that optimise maintenance intervals, provide precise preventative recommendations and ensure the best possible asset utilisation. To accompany the PurePower PW800 engine, P&WC is defining an entirely new Engine Service Plan (ESP) that will deliver one of the most comprehensive coverage packages in the market, being projected as “the industry’s most extensive coverage ever offered to provide a true ‘concierge-level’ of service”.

In 2010, the PW800 engine was selected and the programme launched for Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation with the first engine tested in 2012

User Aircraft

In 2008, the PW810 variant was announced as the choice of engine for Cessna Citation Columbus business jet; but the programme itself was cancelled by Cessna in 2009. This brought the development of the PW810 to a stop, but without halting the PW800 programme. P&WC started testing the core high pressure spool with eight compressors and two turbine stages in December 2009. The engine made its first run in April 2012 and first flew in April 2013.

In 2010, the PW800 engine was selected and the programme launched for Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (GAC) with the first engine tested in 2012 and the first flight on P&WC’s flying rest bed in April 2013. In October 2014, P&WC announced that the new Gulfstream G500 and G600, both clean sheet business jets launched by GAC, would be powered by the PW800 engines. G500 would house the PW814GA with 15,144 lbf (67.36 kN) thrust and the G600 would have the PW815GA with 15,680 lbf (69.75 kN) thrust. Both engines from the PW800 family were in the process of certification at that time and, in February 2015, P&WC received certification of the two engines from Transport Canada. The maiden flight of the G500 with a PW814A engine took place in May 2015 and the G600 first flew with a PW815A engine in December 2016. Both engines received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) validation in February 2017 and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification in August 2017.

PurePower PW800 engine will set the industry standard in its class

UTC Aerospace Systems, P&WC’s parent company, provides the complete control and accessories package, including the fuel metering unit, electronic engine control, fire detection, thermal management components, sensor suite and electrical/ignition system for the PW800 engine. As an aside, for G500/G600, UTC Aerospace Systems also provides critical systems including the electric generation system and emergency power, nose and main landing gear, observer seats, fire and smoke detection, ice detection, air data system and potable water systems.

A unique feature of the G500/G600 is that these aircraft will not be needing P&WC’s Flight Acquisition Storage And Transmission (FAST) engine monitoring system, as the aircraft will be able to transmit its engine sensor data consisting of 300 parameters through its own system. G500 and G600 aircraft will downlink to the FAST ground stations to relay full flight data consisting of more than 300 parameters.

In July this year, NORDAM Group, Inc, the aerospace company that produces the nacelle system to house the PW800 on the G500 and G600, together with its domestic subsidiaries and affiliates, announced that, under US bankruptcy law, it had filed a voluntary petition for protection under Chapter 11. This action came following a protracted contract dispute with P&WC. However, in September this year, an agreement was reached that provides for GAC’s acquisition of NORDAM’s interest in the programme thus paving the way for restarting and terminating all disputes between NORDAM, P&WC and GAC with respect to the programme.

Moving the PW800 closer to commercial use on a business jet, the G500 earned US FAA type certification and its production certificate in July this year while the G600 has begun FAA certification field performance testing and is expected to be certified shortly. Reportedly, the G500 and the G600 are nearing customer deliveries. Gulfstream anticipates the G500 will enter service later this year. The G600 is progressing toward certification in the fourth quarter of 2018 and deliveries in 2019. Both, the G500 and G600 were on display at the Farnborough Air Show in July this year.

The PW800 was also selected earlier this year for the Dassault Falcon 6X after the model it replaced i.e. Falcon 5X, was cancelled due to problems with the Safran Silvercrest engine. Dassault and P&WC are in the joint-definition phase and announcement of the details of the new aircraft are awaited. The engine version would be a PW812D ( from the PW800 family).

Conclusion

The 10,000 lbf (45 kN) thrust engine range has been a hotly contested arena with P&WC as one of the main contestants. The G500 and the G600 are all set to demonstrate the finer points and benefits of the PW800 series of engines in this range to the aviation community. Since 2014 when it was first announced that PW800 engines would power these two new aircraft designs, many claims and projections have been made by P&WC as well as by GAC. The time has now come for those assertions to be validated as, in the near future, both aircraft will begin flying commercially and will get subjected to the grind of high pressure business aviation.