Pratt & Whitney signs engine deals with multiple aircraft partners

Orlando, Fla. — Pratt & Whitney Canada announced the signing Tuesday of a number of engine contracts, including a 10-year agreement with Viking Air Ltd. to supply PT6 engines for its Twin Otter aircraft.

Other deals announced by the Quebec-based manufacturer at an aerospace conference in Florida will see it provide engines to power Dassault’s new Falcon 2000S business jet, Cessna’s new Citation Sovereign and Sikorsky Aircraft’s S-76D medium-sized helicopter.

B.C.-based Viking specializes in de Havilland aircraft products. The agreement with Pratt extends “the strong bond” between the two companies, said Denis Parisien, vice-president of general aviation products.

“The Twin Otter and the PT6 have always been and continue to be inseparable,” he said in a news release from the National Business Aviation Association convention in Orlando.

The PT6 engine is the most popular engine in its class. More than 49,000 units have been delivered to more than 7,000 customers, flying close to 400 million hours. The latest model is four times more powerful and up to 20 per cent more fuel efficient than the original PT6. Its earlier engines have also powered 250 Dassault aircraft models.

The company also said it has been working for nearly two years on an engine for the Citation Sovereign that will extend the more than 40-year relationship between Pratt and the unit of Textron Inc. The new Cessna will have upgraded avionics and increased range to 3,000 nautical miles. The aircraft and engines are expected to be certified in early 2013.

Pratt also said it will deliver engines for the Sikorsky helicopter this year that will be used by various businesses, including offshore oil, medical, airlines and governments around the world.

Engine production began in February, four months after it was certified by Transport Canada, followed by U.S. authorities. Pratt says the engine’s power and low fuel burn translates in payload and range benefits for the helicopter.

Pratt & Whitney is a unit of United Technologies Corp., a diversified company that includes Otis Elevator, Sikorsky helicopter, Carrier heating and cooling and other aerospace and building system businesses.
© 2012 The Canadian Press