With the production of thousands of Very Light Jets looming in the next few years, manufacturers of parts for the fleet are gearing up to supply the demand. Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC), in Quebec, is building production lines capable of cranking out its PW600F turbofans at the rate of 1,000 per year, The Hartford Courant reported Monday. The Eclipse 500 and the Cessna Mustang both are using variants of the engine, and together will need about 4,800 of them. “The market for this engine is very strong, and we need to gear up to be able to provide it,” Mario Modafferi, director of the Pratt Engine Center, told The Courant. “This engine’s going to take over the world the way the PT6 did.” The company plans to hire a “few hundred” workers this year, The Courant said. The Eclipse contract alone is worth about a half-billion dollars.
Future VLJs Drive Engine Market
Key Takeaways:
- Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) is significantly increasing production of its PW600F turbofan engines to meet the high demand from the booming Very Light Jet (VLJ) market.
- PWC is building new production lines with a target capacity of 1,000 engines per year, supplying models such as the Eclipse 500 and Cessna Mustang.
- The company anticipates strong market success for the PW600F, comparing it to their highly successful PT6 engine, and plans to hire hundreds of new workers, with the Eclipse contract alone valued at roughly $500 million.
See a mistake? Contact us.
