Engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) is celebrating 60 years since it introduced the first version of its ubiquitous PT6 turbine.
First introduced in 1963, 64,000 examples of the engine have been built, powering the biggest names in turbo-prop aircraft world-wide, including Beechcraft's King Air, Cessna's Conquest, Caravan and Grand Caravan, Piaggio's P-180 and Pilatus' PC-9, PC-12 and PC-6 Porter, as well as Embraer's Bandierante and the PAC 750XL.
Over those 60 years, P&WC estimates the PT-6 aircraft fleet has logged over 500 million flight hours, with all engine types now exceeding one billion hours.
“Aviation has the power to change the world. Our engines power aircraft that benefit millions of people every day,” said PW&C president Maria Della Posta
“Every second, a P&WC-powered aircraft takes off or lands somewhere on the planet, whether they’re driving commerce, reuniting families, or powering humanitarian missions, emergency medical services, or search and rescue missions.
"Achieving one billion flying hours is made possible by the dedicated team at Pratt & Whitney Canada along with our customers, suppliers and the extended P&WC community. We look forward to celebrating this achievement with them this year.”
The latest engine family is the PT6 E-Series, the first with a dual-channel integrated electronic propeller and engine control system in general aviation. The PT6 is also the only turbo-prop engine in the world to be approved for single-engine instrument flight rules (SEIFR) in commercial passenger flights in Europe, North America, New Zealand and Australia.
“Our PT6 engine remains at the forefront of the aviation landscape, bringing breakthrough achievements in performance, control systems and data intelligence,” said Della Posta.
“Today's PT6 is up to four times more powerful, has a 50% better power-to-weight ratio and up to 20% better specific fuel consumption compared to the original engine.
"Each new model is developed and designed with a specific mission, platform and customer in mind, while pursuing a reduced environmental footprint.”
The P&WC was first formed in Montreal in 1928 as a service centre for engines built by the USA parent company. The company began work on a small turbine engine in the 1950s, with the first PT6 delivered in 1963.