Pratt & Whitney and Irkut Sign First Contract to Begin Work on PurePower(R) PW1400G Engine for MC-21 Aircraft

MOSCOW, Russia, April 12, 2010 – Pratt & Whitney and Russia’s Irkut Corporation have signed a contract for the companies to begin preliminary design activities on the Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1400G engine, which was selected to power the Irkut MC-21 aircraft.    The contract represents the beginning of the development of the third airframe application for the PurePower engine, which will provide customers a significant reduction in fuel burn and noise with lower environmental emissions and operating costs than today’s engines.  Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

Irkut plans to develop the MC-21 as a family of 150 to 210-passenger aircraft with the first flight planned for 2014 and entry into service in 2016.

“We are pleased to work with Irkut to offer the many economic and environmental benefits of the PurePower engine to the MC-21 aircraft,” said Todd Kallman, president, Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines & Global Services.  “Our Geared Turbofan™ engine architecture offers unprecedented advantages in the reduction of fuel burn, noise, emissions and operating costs. We believe our engine offers the best benefits possible to Irkut’s potential customers and provides a competitive advantage.”

The PurePower PW1000G engine features an advanced gear system that allows the engine’s fan to operate at a slower speed than the low-pressure compressor and turbine.  The combination of the gear system and an advanced core delivers double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency and environmental emissions and a 50 percent reduction in noise as well as reduced maintenance costs.

With core testing in progress and full engine testing scheduled this summer for the engine’s first applications, the PurePower engine program fully supports the Irkut MC-21 development timeline.

Source: Pratt & Whitney

Irkut unveils main suppliers for MS-21 twin-jet

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation has unveiled the main system suppliers for the planned three-member MS-21 twin-jet family. Contractors were selected following international tenders invited last year by airframer Irkut, which is steering the project and will act as a system integrator.

The bidding commission has awarded the following Russian and Western firms with mandates to supply ‘first-level’ systems:

• Landing-gear: Hydromash
• Auxiliary power unit and wing de-icing systems: Hamilton Sundstrand
• Air conditioning: NPO Nauka, in conjunction with Hamilton Sundstrand
• Fire protection system: Kidde Technologies’ L’Hotelier and Hamilton Sundstrand
• Hydraulic controls: Eaton, with 50% component production at Russian firms Voskhod, Teploobmennik, Tekhpribor and Znamya. 

Irkut has selected Zodiac’s C&D supply cabin interiors, as well as its Intertechnique division for the fuel management and oxygen system.

Intertechnique will also join with Hamilton Sundstrand on a neutral gas system, while Zodiac subsidiary ECE and Hamilton Sundstrand are to provide electrical systems.

The bidding commission has also shortlisted proposals from the following firms for further evaluation:

• Engines: Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce
• Avionics: Rockwell Collins and Avionika
• Integrated control system: Aviapribor Holding, along with Goodrich and Moog, and Liebherr Aerospace 

Irkut is planning to complete selecting contractors to supply these three systems by 1 November.

Its MS-21 will comprise three models, the first of which will be the 150-seat MS-21-200. This will be followed by the -300 and -400 with 181 and 212 seats respectively. Irkut expects the first aircraft to be operational by 2016.

Source: Yakovlev Design Bureau