Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 Marks 45 Years of Success in Business Aviation

EBACE - Geneva, Switzerland.– Pratt & Whitney Canada this year celebrates 45 years of innovation and dependability since the first PT6 engine came off the production line to power Beech Aircraft Corporation’s King Air 90 turboprop plane, an event that helped change the face of business aviation. Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) is a United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) company.

“The PT6 engine’s outstanding dependability, versatility and dispatch reliability have made it one of the most enduring engines in aviation history,” said Claude Lachapelle, vice president, Business Aviation, P&WC.

New aerodynamic and material technologies have enabled the PT6 engine to gain more power without having to significantly increase in size. Other innovations have reduced emissions and increased maintenance intervals. Since its introduction, the PT6 family has accumulated a total of more than 330 million flight hours.

“The PT6 engine family remains the world’s most popular engine in its class and is one of our greatest success stories,” said Lachapelle. “Experience gained from the PT6 program has helped spawn many of the engine families that have made us a world leader in the gas turbine engine market.”