Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008 - (Page 32)

FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 Pratt Claims Big Gains Over Rivals via the Gear Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower geared turbofan could offer 18 to 20% lower fuel burns, compared to today’s CFM56-7B turbofans, and 15% better fuel consumption than V2500 Select, according to Steve Finger, P&W president and 38-year company veteran. And a 30,000 pounds thrust class engine for the Boeing 737 could be ready for entry into service by 2013, the same time frame as the 24,000 pounds thrust model being developed for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet and Bombardier CSeries regional aircraft. “Fuel burn, not just specific fuel consumption, is what matters to airlines,” Finger says. Mission fuel consumption is a matter of weight, drag and specific fuel consumption. He estimates that GTF will offer at least a 15% lower direct operating cost than V2500 Select, an engine he claims is today’s most fuelefficient engine in this thrust class. Compared to next-generation turbofans using equivalent aerodynamic, metallurgy and thermodynamics, Finger asserts that the geared fan shaves fuel consumption by 6%, lowers noise levels by 5 to 8 dB and reduces installed weight. That’s because the GTF has greater than a 10:1 bypass ratio and smaller, lighter rotating components (made possible by optimizing speed and torque loads). Suppliers are being chosen carefully. “We’re looking for partners with unique technologies to augment what we [already] have,” Pratt & Whitney president Steve Finger says engine could be ready for 2013. “Fuel burn, not just specific fuel consumption, is what matters to airlines.” —Steve Finger, P&W president and 38-year company veteran. he says. MTU Aero Engines is supplying the high-pressure com- Widebody Geared Fan Study Begins Pratt & Whitney is beginning studies of a PW4000to be underway by then, with detailed design starting sized geared turbofan aimed at a new widebody project around 2015-2016. study from an unidentified manufacturer. The larger GTF study will incorporate a higher gear Pratt declines to identify which manufacturer ratio of “4, 5 or 6 to 1” says Saia, against 3 to 1 for has requested the study but Bob Saia, vp for the the initial PW1000G. Advanced low drag nacelle Next Generation Product Family (now called configurations, possibly including variable area nozPurePower) confirms “we have been approached by zles, will also feature in the study he says. an OEM for a wide-bodied engine.” News of the development, which comes far earlier The larger GTF would be in the 56,000-100,000lb than widely predicted, follows the initial flight of the thrust range covered by the current PW4000 family PurePower PW1000G GTF demonstrator on July 11. and likely aimed at a future 250-plus seater twinThe test engine paves the way for development of the engined design. initial GTF variants, the PW1217G for the Mitsubishi “This could be a replacement for the PW4000 and Regional Jet and PW1524G for Bombardier’s newlywe see no limitations to thrust,” adds Saia. The timelaunched CSeries.—Guy Norris, Aviation Week & Space Technology line for the future twin project provisionally indicates a 2020-2025 entry-into-service target, which would indicate a generation beyond both the current Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. Pratt confirms the application is not the latest Airbus twin which is baselined with the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB turbofan. “Typically it requires a commitment of about 5 to 6 years before entry into service,” says Saia who adds that design of the CSeries engine is now getting underway to support service entry around 2013. The provisional targets of the mystery widebody therefore indicate firm configuration studies would have Could it be Boeing? Pratt’s trials are on a 747. pressor and low-pressure turbine, Avio is providing the fan gearbox and Volvo is building the turbine exhaust case. Moreover, Finger claims that GTF will be ready to enter service three to four years sooner than GE’s proposed Leap-X turbofan. Finger said GTF has undergone more than 38,000 takeoff power cycles and has operated more than 250 hours during ground test. It’s already flown aboard P&W Boeing 747 flying test bed, and it’s slated to be tested aboard Airbus’ A340 flight test aircraft starting in August 2008. “Why should customers have to wait three to four years more for an engine that has three to five% worse fuel burn?” Finger asks. Ground tests also have verified a 77% reduction in the 75 dB singleevent noise footprint, a benefit that may enable operators to fly more direct routes during takeoff and departure while heeding noise sensitivities of airport neighbors. As to why Finger thinks that GE and Rolls-Royce haven’t embraced geared turbofan technology, he concludes, “Everybody has their own technical programs.” But he comments that all future large turbofans developed by Pratt & Whitney will use geared turbofans because of the compelling benefits. —Fred George 32 July 16, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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Bombardier, Shenyang $5 Billion for Composites 787 and Seven V-22s for Export Sale? Saving Fuel at SFO Raytheon Roars Into UAVs Bell Eyes ARH-70A Costs All According to Plan We Fly the PC-12NG Russia’s T-50 PAK-FA Optimistic in Israel ICAO Sim Classifications Pratt to Power New Drone Russian Conglomerate

Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 16, 2008

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