Pratt & Whitney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pratt & Whitney is an American aircraft engine manufacturer whose products are widely used in both civil and military aircraft. As one of the "big three" aero-engine manufacturers, it competes with General Electric and Rolls-Royce, although it has also formed joint ventures with both of these companies. In addition to aircraft engines, Pratt & Whitney manufactures fixed gas turbines for industry and power generation, marine turbines, railway locomotive engines, and rocket engines.
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[edit] History
The Pratt & Whitney Company was founded in 1860 by Francis Pratt and Amos Whitney, with headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut. The company manufactured machine tools, tools for the makers of sewing machines, and gun-making machinery for use by the Union Army during the American Civil War.
In 1925 Frederick Brant Rentschler approached Pratt & Whitney looking for funds and a location to build his new aircraft engine. Pratt & Whitney loaned him $250,000, the use of the Pratt & Whitney name, and space in their building. This was the beginning of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company. Pratt & Whitney's first engine, the Wasp, was completed on Christmas Eve 1925. The Wasp developed 425 horsepower (317 kW) on its third test run. It easily passed the Navy qualification test in March 1926, and by October the Navy had ordered 200 engines. The Wasp exhibited speed, climb, performance and reliability that revolutionized American aviation.
In 1929 Frederick Rentschler ended his association with Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool and formed United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, the predecessor to today's United Technologies. His agreement allowed Rentschler to carry the name with him to his new corporation.
Pratt & Whitney is a business unit of industrial conglomerate United Technologies, making it a sister company to Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC, originally United Aircraft of Canada), Sikorsky Helicopters, Hamilton Sundstrand, Otis Elevator Company and refrigeration giant Carrier Corporation. PWC designs and builds the smaller aircraft engines while P&W manufactures the larger engines.
Pratt & Whitney is headquarted in East Hartford, Connecticut and also has plants in Middletown, CT; Cheshire, CT; West Palm Beach, FL; and North Berwick, ME.
[edit] Civil turbine engines and applications
- JT15D
- Cessna Citation
- Honda MH02 (experimental)
- PW530a/535a
- Cessna Citation Bravo
- Cessna Citation Ultra Encore
- IAE V2500
- Airbus A320 family
- A319
- A320
- A321
- Airbus Corporate Jet
- McDonnell Douglas MD-90
- Airbus A320 family
[edit] Military turbine engines and applications
- JT3D/TF33
- USAF and NATO E-3 Sentrys
- E-8 JSTARS
- KC-135
- RC-135 Rivet Joint
- B-52 Stratofortress
- C-141
[edit] Turbopump engines
- H-1 - (RP-1/LOX) Used by the Saturn I, IB, Jupiter, and some Delta rockets
- F-1 - (RP-1/LOX) Used by the Saturn V.
- J-2 - (LH2/LOX) Used by both the Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets and will be used on the second stages of both the future Ares I crew launch rocket and the heavy-lift Ares V cargo launch rocket for NASA's Project Constellation.
- SSME - (LH2/LOX) The Space Shuttle Main Engine
- RS-68 - (LH2/LOX) Used by the Delta IV first stage and on the core stage of the Ares V heavy-lift rocket for NASA's Project Constellation
- RS-27A - (RP-1/LOX) Used by the Delta II/III and Atlas ICBM
- RL-10 - Used on the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V rocket, the second stage of the Delta IV, and will be used on the Lunar Surface Access Module for NASA's Project Constellation
- RL60
- RLX
- RD-0146
- RD-180
- COBRA
[edit] Reciprocating engines
- R-1340 (Wasp)
- R-1690 (Hornet)
- R-985 (Wasp Junior)
- R-1535 (Twin Wasp Junior)
- R-1830 (Twin Wasp)
- R-2800 (Double Wasp)
- R-4360 (Wasp Major) - powering many postwar large bombers and transports.
[edit] External links
- Pratt & Whitney a United Technologies Company website
- Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems website
- Pratt & Whitney Canada
