Pratt & Whitney Canada's PT6 Turboprop Marks 40 Years of In-flight Success

Business Wire, June 18, 2001

Business Editors

Paris Air Show

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 2001

Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. (P&WC) recently marked the 40th anniversary of the maiden flight of its legendary PT6 engine -- a multi-purpose gas turbine that changed the face of modern aviation.

The PT6, Canada's first small turbine engine, took to the sky on May 30, 1961, mounted on a Beech 18 aircraft, from de Havilland's Downsview facility in Ontario. De Havilland test pilot Robert H. Fowler and P&WC's John MacNeil made the initial familiarization flight.

"The PT6 turboprop family is one of our great success stories," says Gilles Ouimet, President and Chief Executive Officer of P&WC. "Over the past four decades, it has established an enviable record for reliability and durability and proven to be a workhorse for thousands of aircraft around the world."

The enduring qualities of the PT6 engine were vividly demonstrated recently during a high-profile emergency medical rescue mission to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole research centre. During the unique mission, made during the harsh Antarctic winter, a Twin Otter turboprop powered by PT6 engines successfully flew from Canada to the South Pole and back to rescue an ailing doctor posted at the facility.

The PT6 engine set the stage for P&WC to become a world leader in the gas turbine engine market, with a wide range of power ratings to meet the diverse needs of the marketplace.

"P&WC engines provide power in over 180 countries," notes Mr. Ouimet, "and it's estimated that every two seconds, an aircraft powered by one of our engines takes off somewhere in the world. We can attribute this success largely to our pioneering PT6 engine."

The PT6 engine program was launched in 1958 and remains one of P&WC's most successful, with over 100 applications to date. The PT6 turboprop and turboshaft family is the world's most popular in its class, with over 36,000 engines delivered. Operating in over 160 countries worldwide in corporate, utility, agricultural, helicopter, training and airline applications, the PT6 family offers power ranges from 580 to 2000 shp.

"We pride ourselves in designing and manufacturing world-class power solutions for the aerospace industry, and the long-lasting success of the PT6 family of engines is a testimony to the high-quality products and technology developed by P&WC," says Mr. Ouimet.

P&WC, based in Longueuil, Quebec, is a world leader in aviation engines powering business and regional aircraft and helicopters. The company also offers advanced engines for industrial applications. P&WC's operations and service network span the globe. In 2000, sales were in excess of $2.4 billion CDN. P&WC is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, a high-technology company based in Hartford, Connecticut.