The Pratt and Whitney PW1100G Geared Turbofan Engine

In mid 2013 there was a lot of talk about the PW1100G, the geared turbofan from Pratt and Whitney chosen to power the first Airbus A320neo. The PW1100G is a family of ultra high bypass engines and belongs to the wider PW1000G series. The Flying Engineer promised readers the most technical look at the engine it could manage, one that would leave them either better informed or asleep in their chair. Geared turbofans were described as the next big thing in jet transport.

What the full article covered

This post was a short introduction that pointed readers to a longer technical article on the site. That article looked at the engine at a high level and worked through the following topics:

• The design of the PW1100G family and how the gearbox between the fan and the low pressure turbine changes the engine.
• How the PW1100G compared with the engines then flying on the A320 family.
• The main differences, again at a high level, between the PW1100G and the competing CFM LEAP-1A.
• Why the Boeing 737 MAX family did not need such a large turbofan.
• The advantages and drawbacks of a geared engine, before a short conclusion.

Related engines

The tags on the original post give a sense of the ground covered: the PW1000G series as a whole, the PW1500G variant, the LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B from CFM (a GE and Snecma joint venture), the A320neo, the 737 MAX, bypass ratio and propulsive efficiency.

Where the detail lived

The in depth article was hosted in the Flightdeck section of the old site under the PW1100G GTF page. This introductory post has been restored at its original address so that links to it still lead somewhere useful.