Makers Of Bizjet Engines Fare Well Despite Downturn

Engine makers, for the most part, realize positive gains from the business jet sector

Printed headline: Maintaining a Steady Hum

Although the business jet market is feeling the effects of the slow global economy, development of new engines for current and future aircraft continues. In spite of airframers ceasing production of some models, thus limiting the number of available platforms, several aircraft engine companies have garnered new business by adding variants or incorporating advanced technology into their powerplants . Honeywell’s HTF7000 series will power the Embraer Legacy 450 and 500 as well as the Bombardier Challenger 300 and Gulfstream G250.Credit: HONEYWELL Pratt & Whitney Canada has added variants to its PW300 and PW500 families for new applications from Embraer, Hawker Beechcraft and Bombardier Learjet. The company covers the 1,000-8,000-lb.-thrust range with the PW600, PW500 and PW300 series engines, but halted development of the 10,000-lb.-thrust-class PW800 when Cessna shelved its Citation Columbus large-cabin jet. In addition, P WC is involved in the turboprop and turboshaft engine markets for business aircraft. Its PT6A turboprop has been this segment’s dominant choice for many years, and powers aircraft such as Hawker Beechcraft’s King Air series, Pilatus’s PC-12, Cessna’s Caravan and many others. In addition, the PW100 is the most popular engine series on regional turboprop aircraft from ATR, Bombardier and China’s Xi’an Aircraft. Pratt’s turboshafts power many executive helicopters, both single- and twin-engine. The PW200 and PW210 appear on aircraft from AgustaWestland, Bell, Eurocopter and Sikorsky. The new Sikorsky S-76D will provide the first application for the PW210S turboshaft, which shares a common core with the PW600 small turbofan. Although it took a hit when Eclipse Aviation collapsed in 2008, ending production of the Eclipse 500 very light jet—for which PWC had expected to produce several thousand PW610F s over a 10-year period—the void could be partially filled by orders for single-engine personal jets due for introduction over the next two years. Rolls-Royce powers the high-thrust range of the business jet market, which has been less affected by the downturn. Its BR700 series is on the largest jets from Bombardier and Gulfstream. Rolls is now developing the larger 16,000-lb.-thrust BR725 variant for Gulfstream’s G650—introduced in 2008—while its Tay and BR710 engines continue on the G350/G450/G550 and Bombardier Global family. The company’s lower-thrust AE3007 powers Cessna’s Citation X and Embraer’s Legacy 600/650. Honeywell covers the low- to mid-thrust range (3,500-7,500 lb.) with its TFE731 and HTF7000 series. The company recently picked up new applications for the latter: the HTF7250G on Gulfstream’s G250 and HTF7500E on Embraer’s Legacy 450 and 500. Honeywell continues to incorporate technology breakthroughs into its TFE731 family to keep it competitive and is looking to expand into the higher-thrust ranges with its HTF10000 engine, development of which is continuing as the company looks for applications. GE Honda is developing the HF120 engine for the HondaJet, which will enter the light jet segment. The first HF120 made its initial test run at GE’s altitude test chamber in Evendale, Ohio, last October , launching the test phase of the program. Ultimately, the HF120 is scheduled to be built in Honda Aero’s new facility in Burlington, N.C. General Electric’s share of the business jet engine market is limited to the CF34 turbofan on Bombardier’s Challenger 605 and Embraer’s Lineage 1000. GE’s pending CF34 replacement, the NG34, may find its way onto future wide-body business jets. Meanwhile, GE has an eye on taking a share of PWC’s turboprop market with its H80 derivative of the Walter M601, which is under development by GE’s Czech subsidiary and scheduled to run early in 2010. Finally, Williams International is a big name in small turbofan engines, and its FJ33 and FJ44 powerplants cover the low end of the thrust range (1,400-3,400 lb.). Williams products have been the powerplants of choice for many single-engine aircraft, as well as the exclusive choice on Cessna’s Citation CJ light jet line. The newest addition to the Williams family is the Fadec-equipped FJ44-4A on the Citation CJ4.