PW1100G

One of the earliest to begin the next phase is engine 5, the first Block 2 unit now under assembly. “It will go to test in early October but is still on its schedule,” insists Saia. The overall effort includes margin for a break between Blocks 1 and 2. “We know we are going to find areas to modify, and that certification testing will start in October and go through June 2014. We deliver engines to Airbus late in June or early July [2014].”

From a fuel-burn perspective, Saia says the “engine is tracking on guarantee and from a weight perspective will be hundreds of pounds lighter [because of the decision early this year to drop the variable area fan nozzle feature]. We also think we’ll be lighter than our competitor, so that’s more range and less fuel for the A320NEO.”

We asked the Pratt&Whitney’s vice-president to name the advantages of PW1100G engine over its rival. And that is what he said: "The technical and economic analysis of these engines shows that our product has lower fuel burn (-3%). Moreover, we have advantage in the area of repair and maintenance costs as well as noise footprint. Thus our customers will benefit from some savings as compared to LEAP. We believe that PW1100G’s life-cycle cost is lower by 3% as compared to LEAP-1A. So the airlines will gain some “added value” (about $3-4 million). It is a significant amount for the aircraft of this class".

Since GTF project was the first one to start, “we have a lead of about 9 months in terms of design maturity”, - Saia said. The first flight of A320 powered by PW1100G engines is scheduled for October 2014 and the deliveries should be started in the first quarter of 2015. All the delivered A320neo will be powered by PW1100G engines during a period until early 2016.

Pratt & Whitney is developing an upgrade for the PW1100G geared turbofan that should reduce fuel consumption by 3% after 2019.

The manufacturer and its partners want to raise the aerodynamic efficiency of the Airbus A320neo engine through improved blade profiles and component contours, said MTU chief operating officer Rainer Martens at the German engine specialist’s annual results presentation in Munich on 18 February.

The component upgrade is currently under development and should be included in ground tests in 2016. Two years later, the engine manufacturer plans to begin flight tests, with entry into service due to follow “from 2019 onward”, says Martens.

The components will not become available for retrofit on existing PW1100G engines, but only be included in new-build engines.

While Pratt & Whitney aims to cut fuel consumption with the initial PW1100G by 15% over current-generation engines, the planned improvements will offer an additional reduction, bringing the total benefit to 18%.

MTU says component enhancement would in principle be available for the complete PW1000G family, which also includes engines for the Bombardier CSeries, Embraer’s E2 generation of E-Jets, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet and Irkut’s MC-21. However, the upgrade has thus far only been agreed with Airbus, adds MTU.

The certification programme for the initial PW1100G is progressing as planned, with the engine meeting its targets in terms of fuel consumption, noise and weight, says Martens. Five engines are involved in the approval process, one of which is running at MTU’s facility in Munich.

First flight for the A320neo is scheduled for the autumn of 2014.

Meanwhile, the PW1500G engines on the Bombardier CSeries are “satisfying all performance expectations” of launch customer Lufthansa during the aircraft's flight test programme, says MTU chief programme officer Michael Schreyogg.