The engines on the pretty aluminum wings of the metal clad birds, that you see flying over your head are one of the biggest differentiating features between various airplanes. The challenge for the engine manufacturers, for years, has been the same, to come up with the most economical, safe as well as noise- proof flight experience. We have gone through the age of turboprop engines to turbofan engines and the development has been remarkable.
With environmental factors more important than ever, the focus today has been on clean and quieter flying enhancing the comfort level, yet producing enough thrust to carry the payloads that would be economically fruitful. Pratt and Whitney along with Rolls Royce and GE has been one of the resident names when it comes to making aircraft engines. No doubt, they have been hard at work trying to come up with the above-stated solutions.
Pratt and Whitney had successfully tested the PurePower 1000G engine in July 2008. The Geared Turbofan engine since then has gone through rigorous testing and experimentation. The series is set to be introduced in full-scale operations by 2015. The Geared Turbofan engine boasts of 40% fewer airfoils than the existing families of engines, which accounts for a 10% reduction by weight as well as comparatively easier maintenance. In fact, the Geared Turbofans promise to deliver a double-digit reduction in maintenance costs, which is a big win as well as a promise of 16% fuel burn reduction, 50% reduction in NOx emission and 75% noise reduction. All of this accounts for a potential savings of about $1.5 million per aircraft per year.
Pratt and Whitney have stated that they already have more than 5,000 orders for the engine worldwide with the likes of IndiGo and GoAir placing orders for 150 and 72 Airbus A320 Neos respectively. India is set to be one of the first countries to receive the Geared Turbofan engines and in fact, will be the country with the largest order size outside the US. With stiff competition from the upcoming LEAP engines from GE, one thing is for sure, you and I are set for quieter, cleaner and perhaps a little more affordable flying, that is what we always wanted, right?
23/09/14 Arpit Verma/Gizmodo India
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With environmental factors more important than ever, the focus today has been on clean and quieter flying enhancing the comfort level, yet producing enough thrust to carry the payloads that would be economically fruitful. Pratt and Whitney along with Rolls Royce and GE has been one of the resident names when it comes to making aircraft engines. No doubt, they have been hard at work trying to come up with the above-stated solutions.
Pratt and Whitney had successfully tested the PurePower 1000G engine in July 2008. The Geared Turbofan engine since then has gone through rigorous testing and experimentation. The series is set to be introduced in full-scale operations by 2015. The Geared Turbofan engine boasts of 40% fewer airfoils than the existing families of engines, which accounts for a 10% reduction by weight as well as comparatively easier maintenance. In fact, the Geared Turbofans promise to deliver a double-digit reduction in maintenance costs, which is a big win as well as a promise of 16% fuel burn reduction, 50% reduction in NOx emission and 75% noise reduction. All of this accounts for a potential savings of about $1.5 million per aircraft per year.
Pratt and Whitney have stated that they already have more than 5,000 orders for the engine worldwide with the likes of IndiGo and GoAir placing orders for 150 and 72 Airbus A320 Neos respectively. India is set to be one of the first countries to receive the Geared Turbofan engines and in fact, will be the country with the largest order size outside the US. With stiff competition from the upcoming LEAP engines from GE, one thing is for sure, you and I are set for quieter, cleaner and perhaps a little more affordable flying, that is what we always wanted, right?
23/09/14 Arpit Verma/Gizmodo India
