Aircraft

^{By Darren Shannon in Washington, DC}

Engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney’s (P&W’s) venture into manufacturing parts for competitors’ engines is on schedule for a 2007 launch, says the Hartford, Connecticut-based company.

In a statement released at the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) 2006 conference taking place in Phoenix, Arizona, this week, P&W says it has completed a performance test on a CFM International engine that “is another step towards certification and delivery of Pratt & Whitney Global Material Solution’s (GMS’s) new offering - new materials for the CFM56-3 engine”.

Global Material Solutions is the first venture by an original equipment engine manufacturer to build and sell parts for a rival’s powerplant. The company is set for a 2007 launch, and is expected to be fully operational - and offering 55 CFM56-3 parts - in early 2008.

“Our most recent CFM56-3 performance test went very well, and GMS remains on schedule for first part deliveries in early 2007,” says GMS vice president and general manager Matthew Bromberg.

“We collected new data that will feed our analysis model as we work toward our certified lifing system for the CFM56-3.”

The company’s program director Jim Pennito adds: “The recent engine performance test, the fourth in a series of six, was used to collect comprehensive temperature and pressure data across the engine.

“Engine performance tests enable us to understand the operating parameters of the engine in all conditions at each stage of operation. The data is then entered into our CFM56-3 lifing analysis system, which will be used to re-engineer and certify new life limited parts for the CFM56-3.”