Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Pratt &amp; Whitney’s launch on Tuesday of a 35,000-pound-thrust version of its Geared Turbofan extends the family’s power range by another 2,000 pounds, giving Airbus A321neo customers enough range and payload capability to effectively operate from such hot and high locations as Mexico City and Bogota. Dubbed the PW1135G-JM, the engine gets its extra thrust from leftover development margin extracted from the design of the family as a whole, thereby requiring no hardware or design changes, explained Pratt &amp; Whitney vice president of engineering Tom Prete.


“We’ve been able to hit all our technical metrics and we’ve been able to use some of the additional development margin to add customer value where needed,” he told AIN during the company’s annual “media day” event in East Harford, Connecticut. “The engine will be certified with all the existing redlines, all the existing parameters at the higher thrust level.”


Having built 35 of what it now calls the PurePower engine family, Pratt paid particularly close attention to the concepts of scale reuse, meaning, for example, the engines designed for the Mitsubishi MRJ closely resemble those destined for the Embraer E2 E-Jets. Meanwhile, with the engine used for the Bombardier CSeries, explained Prete, the company did “a large amount of scaling” to arrive at the design for the A320neo. In turn, the engine in development for the Irkut MC-21 represents a “reuse” of the PW1100 designed for the Neo.


“You can rely on scale and reuse to accelerate the development of the newer programs because you already went through a lot of the development learning early on,” said Prete.


At the same time, the use of the geared technology in the PW1000 has enabled further advances in other parts of the engine such as a lightweight hybrid metallic fan. “The fan is the highest efficiency fan in the world,” he added. “So you have a fan that, since it operates at a low speed, is lightweight [and] has very detailed features so it’s very aerodynamic; it allows a very laminar flow, increasing the overall efficiency of the fan.”


That fan efficiency accounts for part of a 15-percent reduction in fuel burn in the A320neo. Scheduled for certification in the second half of this year, the Neo engine—designated PW1100G—has finished 75 percent of its certification testing. Pratt &amp; Whitney announced on Tuesday that it just delivered the first shipset of PW1100Gs to Airbus for installation on the first flying A320neo test article, now undergoing assembly in Toulouse, France.

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

Smooth Going for GTF Allows Pratt to Extend Thrust Rating

The PW1135G turbofan provides 35,000 pounds of thrust for the Airbus A321. 

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

Magni650 electric propulsion unit simulated flight at 30,000 feet on a testbed aircraft

MagniX and NASA Complete Electric Propulsion Ground Tests

Sarah Rose

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

"Supply chain is affecting a lot of things right now."

Engines Leaders Rev Up for 2025

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

Chinese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer has also made its first passenger demonstration flights in Thailand

EHang Seeks Higher-performance eVTOL Electric Propulsion Systems

Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

Trading update reports strong demand in the commercial airliner engines sector

Rolls-Royce Confirms Closure of Electric Propulsion Unit

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

RTX company Pratt & Whitney Canada is part of the government-backed INSAT program

Hydrogen Combustion Test To Start on PW127XT Turboprop Engine

Companies signed a new memorandum of understanding to expand their collaboration

ZeroAvia and PowerCell Agree To Scale Up Fuel Cell Partnership

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

More In Engines

MagniX and NASA Complete Electric Propulsion Ground Tests

Magni650 electric propulsion unit simulated flight at 30,000 feet on a testbed aircraft

Engines Leaders Rev Up for 2025

"Supply chain is affecting a lot of things right now."

EHang Seeks Higher-performance eVTOL Electric Propulsion Systems

Chinese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer has also made its first passenger demonstration flights in Thailand

Rolls-Royce Confirms Closure of Electric Propulsion Unit

Trading update reports strong demand in the commercial airliner engines sector

Hydrogen Combustion Test To Start on PW127XT Turboprop Engine

RTX company Pratt & Whitney Canada is part of the government-backed INSAT program

ZeroAvia and PowerCell Agree To Scale Up Fuel Cell Partnership

Companies signed a new memorandum of understanding to expand their collaboration

Rolls-Royce Expands Capacity and Predictability in Engine Support

A new hangar in Indianapolis and better access to engine data are boosting the CorporateCare program

Honeywell Ensemble Offers Real-time Engine Monitoring

The solution provides automated data reporting for business jet turbofan engines

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN