Pratt & Whitney confirms its GTF geared turbofan has been selected to power Bombardier’s CSeries small airliner. A decision on launching the 110/130-seat CSeries is planned for 2008, for entry into service in 2013.
Bombardier revealed at the Dubai show that it is working exclusively with P&W to power the CSeries. “We have reached agreement on the technical and business terms,” confirms Tom Pelland, P&W’s director, next generation products.
The GTF has already been selected to power the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, with a launch decision expected at the end of March 2008. The 70/90-seat MRJ is also scheduled to enter service in 2013.
For the CSeries, the GTF will be rated at 23,000lb thrust (102kN), compared with 14,000-17,000lb on the smaller MRJ. Both versions will use a new advanced core, “photographically scaled up” for the larger CSeries, says Pelland.
P&W began ground runs of the GTF demonstrator at its West Palm Beach, Florida test site on 8 November, and expects to reach full power later this week, he says. The demonstrator, which uses an existing PW6000 core, is rated at 28,000lb thrust.
“Everything looks great,” says Pelland
The company plans around 100h of ground runs leading up to flight tests on its Boeing 747 engine testbed. These are scheduled to begin in May 2008, and around 100h of flight tests are planned, he says.
Meanwhile, P&W is working with Mitsubishi to optimise the installation of the GTF on the MRJ. “We are working on installing the engine, and defining the interfaces,” Pelland says. “We do not anticipate any architecture changes.”
The company has also begun negotiations with potential risk-sharing partners on the engine programme. “We hope to have partnerships lined up and folks on board by March, but it is not a hard requirement,” he says.
Italy’s Avio, Germany’s MTU, Sweden’s Volvo Aero and nacelle supplier Goodrich are involved in the demonstrator, but have yet to sign up as partners on the GTF certification and production programme.
P&W has said it is also looking for Japanese industry involvement in the development, testing, production and support of the GTF.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
