Pratt & Whitney Begins Final Assembly of Geared Turbofan(TM) Demonstrator Engine


PARIS, France, June 18 / -- PARIS AIR SHOW -- Pratt & Whitney has started final assembly of its revolutionary new Geared Turbofan(TM) demonstrator engine at the company's Engine Center in Middletown, Conn. The 30,000 pound thrust engine will be ground tested later this year and will fly on Pratt & Whitney's flying test bed in 2008. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

"The Geared Turbofan engine is a true game changer, offering the environmental and performance benefits airline customers are looking for," said Todd Kallman, president, Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines. "We are making significant investments to demonstrate that the engine technology is ready for a program launch in 2008."

The Geared Turbofan engine will deliver a 12 percent reduction in fuel consumption and 40 percent less maintenance costs while producing half the noise and emissions of modern jet engines. The Geared Turbofan builds on more than 20 years of development and over US$1 billion of technology investment. With full scale validation testing in 2007 and flight testing in 2008, the Geared Turbofan will be ready for service as early as 2012.

Pratt & Whitney has been rig testing key technologies of the Geared Turbofan engine over the past two years. The company ran a scaled fan rig in 2006 and is currently testing the engine's high pressure compressor in partnership with MTU Aero Engines in Germany. All test results show that the engine modules are performing as anticipated.

Pratt & Whitney has more than 17,000 aircraft engines in service with hundreds of airlines throughout the world. Pratt & Whitney also is a leading partner in two joint venture companies that manufacture commercial aircraft engines: The Engine Alliance, whose GP7200 engine is FAR 33 certified for the new Airbus A380, and International Aero Engines (IAE), which makes the V2500 for the Airbus A320 family of aircraft. Pratt & Whitney's preferred channel to market for the next generation of single aisle aircraft is through its successful partnership at IAE.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and commercial building industries.

CONTACT:Matthew Perra, P&W Commercial Engines, Int'l Mobile:
+1-860-595-6515, matthew.perra@pw.utc.com, or Jennifer Whitlow, Pratt &
Whitney, Int'l Mobile: +1-860-214-7502, jennifer.whitlow@pw.utc.com

FCMN Contact: lisa.kroegel@pw.utc.com

Source: Pratt & Whitney

Web site: http://www.pratt-whitney.com/

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