Pratt & Whitney Canada, a business unit of Pratt & Whitney, has announced that its new PW545D engine will power the Cessna Citation Ascend, the latest addition to Textron Aviation's business jet family. The engine was designed and enhanced for Textron Aviation to deliver improved specific fuel consumption (SFC), thrust and time between overhauls (TBO).
"The PW500 turbofan family has established itself as the engine of choice for light to mid-size business jets thanks to its proven safety, reliability and durability, attractive operating economics and comprehensive maintenance plans," stated Nicholas Kanellias, vice president, General Aviation. "The PW545D is the latest engine in this family. We injected all we've learned from the more than 4,600 PW500 engines produced to-date, which have accumulated over 22 million flying hours. This new engine is even more fuel-efficient, offers greater thrust and an increased TBO of up to 6,000 hours for eligible customers."
The engine supports digitally driven advanced health monitoring and diagnostics, in combination with the FAST™ (Flight, Acquisition, Storage and Transmission) system. With FAST™, the engine's full-flight data is downloaded, stored and analyzed by experts, enabling deep insights and predictive diagnostics to optimize engine performance and maintenance requirements. Customers with FAST™ installed who are enrolled in Pratt & Whitney's Eagle Service™ Plan (ESP™) pay-per-hour maintenance program may take advantage of the 6,000-hour TBO option.
The PW545D engine will help provide Citation Ascend operators with the flexibility to accomplish a variety of missions, including charter services, personal transportation and corporate flights. It also delivers the impressive reliability for which the PW500 has become known over the decades, with an excellent track record of dispatch availability and reliability, complemented by our comprehensive plans that lock in maintenance costs.
Along with other members of the PW500 family, the PW545D features a compact, accessible design that facilitates installation and on-wing maintenance. It is supported by Pratt & Whitney's industry-leading global service network. This includes over 50 Pratt & Whitney -owned and -designated facilities, more than 100 Field Support Managers on all major continents, a 24/7 Customer First Centre for rapid expert support and the largest pool of Pratt & Whitney Canada rental and exchange engines on the market.
The PW545D can operate on blends of up to 50% SAF with conventional Jet A kerosene. This is part of Pratt & Whitney Canada's ongoing efforts – in collaboration with public and private parties – to lead the way in developing sustainable solutions that will help the industry reach its target of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
This year, Pratt & Whitney Canada is celebrating 1 billion hours of flight for its entire engine fleet. for which 350 million flying hours can be attributed to powering Textron Aviation's fleet of aircraft.