First Pratt & Whitney PurePower(R) Engine Completes Initial Ground Tests, Exceeds Expectations

EAST HARTFORD, Conn, Feb. 16, 2011 – Pratt & Whitney successfully completed initial ground testing on its first PurePower® PW1000G series engine, the PW1524G engine for the Bombardier* CSeries* aircraft. The engine completed nearly 200 hours of ground tests at the company’s West Palm Beach, Fla. facility. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) company.

“The engine continues to exceed our expectations,” said Bob Saia, vice president, Next Generation Product Family. “We have already completed an unprecedented amount of testing on this first engine, including a full structural evaluation, performance, noise and emissions testing. Testing has validated overall engine operational characteristics including component design, rotor dynamics and engine fuel and lubrication systems. This testing confirmed the benefits and robustness of the Geared Turbofan™ engine that Pratt & Whitney initially established during the 2008 Demonstration Engine Program.”

The first engine ran nearly three times longer than Pratt & Whitney’s legacy experience for a first engine test program. Pratt & Whitney began ground testing of the PW1524G engine on schedule in September. Assemblies of the second and third PW1524G development engines are nearing completion. The second engine will also be tested at the West Palm Beach, Fla. test facility before being shipped to the company’s Mirabel Aerospace Centre facility in Québec, Canada. The engine will be mounted to the Pratt & Whitney 747 flying test bed for first test flights scheduled to begin in mid-year. Engine certification and aircraft first flight are scheduled for 2012.

The PurePower engine uses an advanced gear system allowing the engine’s fan to operate at a different speed than the low-pressure compressor and turbine. The combination of the gear system and an all-new advanced core delivers double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency and environmental emissions as well as a 50 percent reduction in noise.

The PurePower engine has been selected as exclusive power for the Bombardier CSeries scheduled to enter service in 2013 and the Mitsubishi Regional Jet scheduled to enter service in 2014. The engine has also been selected to power the new Airbus A320neo aircraft scheduled to enter service in Spring 2016 and the Irkut MC-21 narrow-body jet scheduled to enter service in 2016.

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Aircelle will supply LEAP-X engine nacelle for Airbus’ A320neo

Airbus has selected Aircelle (Safran group) to supply the complete integrated nacelle package for the A320neo Family powered by CFM International’s LEAP-X engines.

For this selection, Aircelle demonstrated its ability to provide a cost-effective solution, backed by the company’s full industrial resources and a commitment to meet the development and production timelines. GE’s Middle River Aircraft Systems (MRAS) – its established partner in the Nexcelle nacelle joint venture, will be participating.

The A320neo is Airbus’ new engine option for its best-selling A320 aircraft Family, offering significant fuel savings.

“This is a major win for Aircelle in the promising and challenging single-aisle airlines segment,” said Aircelle Chairman and CEO Vincent Mascré. “Aircelle will take full responsibility for the complete nacelle, including integration on the engine. All of our engineering and production resources are ready to meet the quality, performance and schedule requirements of the A320neo, as well as the airlines’ demanding customer support requirements.”

The A320neo nacelle will benefit from Aircelle’s proven technology developed for the nacelles used on Airbus’ A380. This will be re-enforced by a comprehensive technology roadmap that includes innovations in systems, composite materials and acoustic treatment to further enhance operating efficiency, lower noise levels, reduce weight and improve maintenance. These new technologies are being validated through the company’s full-scale demonstrator programs.

Airbus’ contract award for the A320neo LEAP-X nacelle, and the related nacelle/engine integration activity, ensures the continuity for Aircelle’s more than 20 years of thrust reverser production for CFM56 engines – which are used on the current generation of A320 Family aircraft. Aircelle’s existing CFM56 thrust reverser assembly line was totally re-engineered three years ago using lean sigma methodology. It has delivered up to 500 thrust reversers annually since then.

About Aircelle

Aircelle is one of the leading players in the worldwide nacelle market for aircraft engines. A subsidiary of the Safran group, it employs nearly 3,000 people on seven sites in France, the United Kingdom and Morocco. Aircelle is the only nacelle manufacturer in the world present on all the market segments, from regional and business aircraft to the largest airliners, including the Airbus A380. Aircelle also is developing the worldwide customer support and service activity for nacelles and their components.

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Lockheed Martin Flies First Production F-35 Stealth Fighter

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FORT WORTH, Texas, February 25th, 2011 -- The first production model of the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Lightning II made its inaugural flight today in preparation for delivery to the U.S. Air Force this spring. The jet will head to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to support developmental testing shortly after the Air Force takes delivery.

“The aircraft was rock-solid from takeoff to landing, and successfully completed all the tests we put it through during the flight,” said Lockheed Martin Test Pilot Bill Gigliotti. “The Air Force is getting a great jet that represents a huge leap in capability, and we’re looking forward to getting it into the hands of the service pilots in just a few more weeks.”

During the flight, the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A variant, known as AF-6, underwent basic flight maneuvering and engine tests. Test Pilot Gigliotti took off from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base at 3:05 p.m. CST and landed at 4:05 p.m. The jet will continue flight tests in Fort Worth for about a month before it is accepted by the Air Force.

The F-35A CTOL variant – designed to meet U.S. Air Force requirements – is also the primary export version of the Lightning II. The air forces of Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway and Israel will employ the F-35A.

Deliveries of the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variant to the U.S. Marine Corps also begin this year, while deliveries of the F-35C carrier variant to the U.S. Navy start in 2012. Seventeen F-35s have entered testing since December 2006, and have logged more than 650 flights and numerous ground tests.

The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced sustainment. Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems.

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VIRTUAL FLY tiene el placer de invitar a todos los miembros de IVAO España a participar en el INDOOR SIMULATOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

 

Barcelona, 25 de febrero de 2011

 

VIRTUAL FLY tiene el placer de invitar a todos los miembros de IVAO España a participar en el INDOOR SIMULATOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

 El objetivo de este programa es ofrecer una prueba de vuelo de 30 minutos, gratuita y sin compromiso alguno, en el SIMVOL-04, simulador en cabina cerrada con movimiento.

Con estas pruebas y gracias a la experiencia acumulada de los miembros de IVAO España en la simulación aeronáutica, VIRTUAL FLY desea obtener las opiniones y comentarios con los que desarrollar el SIMVOL-04 y sus versiones mejoradas.

¿QUE ES SIMVOL-04?
SIMVOL-04 es un simulador de vuelo en el que el usuario obtiene una completa inmersión y un realismo absoluto en la experiencia de vuelo gracias a su cabina cerrada con movimiento; equipado con todos los mandos y un completo panel de instrumentos para vuelo visual e instrumental con el que se pueden volar distintos tipos de aviones monomotor. La sensación de vuelo es absoluta y permite conectarse a Internet para disfrutar del tráfico y meteorología en tiempo real.

La unidad preparada para este programa representa una Cessna 172S y utiliza "Microsoft Flight Simulator X" como software de simulación, con la ventaja añadida de funcionar con potentes ordenadores que permiten una fluidez visual total mejorada con el extension pack "Ultimate Terrain" y escenarios foto realistas. 

Además, la consola exterior de instrucción habilita al usuario una comunicación directa mediante cascos y micrófono para solicitar situaciones extremas que incluyen averías, viento cruzado, cizalladura, niebla, lluvia, etc… 

¿CÓMO, CUÁNDO y DÓNDE?
El INDOOR SIMULATOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM pone a disposición de los miembros de IVAO España una experiencia de vuelo de 30 minutos el último sábado de cada mes, entre las 0900 y las 1400 en el SIMVOL-04 que tenemos instalado en el Aeropuerto de Sabadell, Barcelona.

Para poder optar a cualquiera de las fechas que se han programado, es necesario enviar un correo electrónico a info@plugandplaysim.com indicando el nombre, apellidos, identificador IVAO y el día y hora solicitados. Las peticiones se programarán por orden de recepción y se confirmarán mediante una respuesta por email desde info@plugandplaysim.com al solicitante, confirmando su reserva o fecha / hora alternativas en caso de haber optado por un hueco ya reservado.
 
Fechas INDOOR SIMULATOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 2011:
•   26 de marzo
•   30 de abril
•   28 de mayo
•   25 de junio
•   30 de julio
•   27 de agosto
•   24 de septiembre
•   29 de octubre
•   26 de noviembre
•   17 de diciembre

Esperamos que todos los miembros de IVAO España puedan disfrutar tanto como nosotros de esta nueva experiencia de simulación virtual y que gracias a sus opiniones y comentarios terminemos por ofrecer un simulador más real, más completo y más divertido. Contamos con vosotros, hasta entonces, recibid un cordial saludo. 

¡Buenos vuelos!

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