When we started to talk about the PW800 family [in the late 1990s], we were talking abo
What presented the impetus for the PW810’s development?
When we started to talk about the PW800 family [in the late 1990s], we were talking about an engine for the next generation of regional aircraft.
We’re talking about an advanced turbofan in the range of 12- to 15-, 16,000 pounds of thrust. And we had a partnership back then with Snecma on the SPW14 and then the SPW16. But after our adventure with Snecma on the SPW16 we launched the PW600–the PW800 technology demonstrator. And again the concept was to demonstrate an advanced turbofan, but we were also including a geared concept into this.
Why didn’t the Geared Turbofan concept take hold in the PW800?
First of all, we had some very significant, good learning with the geared concept on the original PW800 technology demonstrator. But there was no new platform coming in for a new regional aircraft…and the benefits, when you go down to 10-, 12,000 pounds of thrust, were not as significant as they are in the 20- to 30,000 range.
So, one, there was no new application. And, two, the benefits were just slightly better than a conventional turbofan for a regional application–a low-end regional application. What I mean is a 50-seater; this is where we were looking back then, this is where the market was at. But we kept on developing the PW800 technology demonstrator, not with a focus on a gear system, but with a focus on the rest of the engine. So material technology, aero technology, the cooling system…so we kept on improving the 800 for a conventional application. And basically by then we were targeting the business aircraft side.
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