Pratt & Whitney Canada's (P&WC) PW610F engine, selected to power Eclipse Aviation's Eclipse 500 very light jet, completed its maiden flight on 16 December mounted on P&WC's Boeing 720 flying testbed.
During the 6h flight at P&WC's facility at Longueuil, Quebec, tests included performance characterisation and re-light at altitude. The PW610F has completed more than 500h of ground tests. Certification is expected in the first quarter of 2006.
The PW610F, rated at 900lb thrust (4kN), is the smallest member of P&WC's new PW600 engine series. The PW610F and its stablemate the PW615F selected for Cessna's Citation Mustang are the founding members of what P&WC intends to be a new family of lightweight, low-cost turbofans in the 900-3,000lb-thrust range. Eclipse rolled out the first Eclipse 500 certification flight-test aircraft at its Albuquerque, New Mexico base last month. First flight is imminent.
Source: Flight International
