Geared Turbofan enters ground testing.(BUSINESS BRIEFING)(Brief article)

Pratt & Whitney announced on 13 November that its Geared Turbofan demonstrator engine had successfully completed its first ground test, ahead of schedule, at the company's advanced test facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. The full-scale demonstrator engine successfully started and ran, marking the beginning of a ground test programme that will run through May 2008.

The Geared Turbofan engine is part of Pratt & Whitney's technology readiness programme for the next generation of commercial aircraft. The company is actively testing key components on 15 test rigs around the world, and flight The ground testing on Pratt & Whitney's 747 flying test bed is scheduled to begin in mid-2008.

The Geared Turbofan programme--in which MTU has a 15% stake--targets double-digit improvements in fuel burn with significant reductions in engine noise, environmental emissions and operating costs. In a Geared Turbofan engine, a state-of-the-art fan drive gear system allows the engine's fan to operate at a speed different from that of the low-pressure compressor and turbine, resulting in greater fuel efficiency and a slower fan speed which results in less noise. Earlier, the company announced that the Geared Turbofan engine had been selected by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to power the new proposed Mitsubishi Regional Jet. It will also power the Bombardier C-Series regional aircraft, should that programme be launched.

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