Pratt & Whitney Canada has received engine certification for the engines that will power Gulfstream’s two newest business jets unveiled last October.
Transport Canada certificated the PW814GA and PW815GA engines for the 5,000nm-range G500 and 6,200nm-range G600, P&WC announced on 17 February.
Both type certificates “represent major achievements for P&WC”, says John Saabas, president of the Mirabel, Canada-based engine manufacturer.
The PW800 engine is derived from the core of the PW1000G series of geared turbofans. The reduction gear is omitted, but the highly-efficient high-pressure section is adapted for the 15,100lb-thrust and 15,700lb-thrust power requirements of the Gulfstream jets.
Gulfstream
Although the G500 and G600 were unveiled in June, P&WC had launched a certification programme for the engines in secret years earlier. The company collected more than 3,300 hours of evaluation, including 350 flight hours on P&W’s Boeing 747SP flying testbed.
"We are thrilled with the engine's performance, fuel efficiency and environmental characteristics,” says Walter Di Bartolomeo, vice-president of Engineering for P&WC.
The low-pressure section of the engine features a single-piece, 127cm (50in)-diameter, titanium fan, P&WC says.
For P&WC, the certification marks a long-awaited achievement. The PW800 was originally launched in 2008 to power the Cessna Columbus, a super-midsize-class yet, but that programme was cancelled two years later. At some point in the last four years, P&WC won a competition to power the G500 and G600 aircraft. Gulfstream also selected P&WC to supply an integrated power plant system, which includes the engines, nacelles and thrust reverser systems.
First flight of the PW814GA on the G500 is expected early this year.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
