September 22nd, 2018

With rising oil prices, a demand for fuel efficient aircraft has been created, generating intense competition between the Airbus320neo and Boeing737MAX. With a backlog delivery of between 9-12 years, and differences in preference between Europe and North America, the race for market domination has been ignited.

The Airbus A320 is one of the most popular and well-known type of aircraft in the world. AviationWeek’s article How The A320 Overtook the 737, and MRO Implications goes in to depth regarding the A320’s domination over 737 and what it means for the future of aerospace.

Fueling this aerospace race is the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engine, a “high-bypass geared turbofan engine family.” The engine was first tested on the Pratt & Whitney Boeing 747SP, then since October 14, 2008 on an Airbus A340-600 in Toulouse on the number two pylon.[13]Testing of the CSeries bound PW1524G model began in October 2010.[14]The PW1500G engine successfully achieved Transport Canada type certification on February 20, 2013.[15]The A320 engine, the PW1100G, was first tested on the 747SP on 15 May 2013.[16]

The first flight test on one of its intended production airframes, the Airbus A220, was on September 16, 2013.[17]The first flight of the Airbus A320neofollowed on September 25, 2014.[18]The PW1100G engine successfully achieved FAA type certification on December 19, 2014.[19]The fourth variant of the engine, the PW1900G, first flew on November 3, 2015 from Mirabel in Canada fitted to the Boeing 747SP test aircraft.[20]


This article was written by EnviroTREC using accepted industry source, including: Aviation Weekly, Airways Magazine, and Centre for Aviation

EnviroTREC is a Non-Profit Organization that is partnered with the GLACIER facility which is a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), and MDS Aero Support. This site provides the aviation industry with the required environmental conditions and capability to meet the growing demands for icing and other certifications. The GLACIER site is located in the Thompson Manitoba area.