Pratt & Whitney
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UTC-PW_Logo.jpg
Pratt & Whitney logo
Pratt & Whitney is an American owned aircraft engine manufacturer whose products are widely used in both civil and military aircraft. As one of the "big three" aero-engine manufacturers the company competes with General Electric and Rolls-Royce. 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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History
The Pratt & Whitney Company was founded in 1860 by Francis Pratt & Amos Whitney with headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut.
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.
Civil turbine engines and applications
- JT3D/TF33
- Boeing 707
- USAF and NATO E-3 Sentrys
- E-8 JSTARS
- KC-135
- RC-135 Rivet Joint
- B-52 Stratofortress
- C-141
- PW6000
- Airbus A318
- IAE V2500
- Airbus A320 family
- A318
- A319
- A320
- A321
- Airbus Corporate Jet
- Airbus A320 family
Military turbine engines and applications
Reciprocating engines
- Wasp
- Hornet
- Wasp Jr.
- Twin Wasp Jr.
- Twin Wasp
- Double Wasp
- Wasp Major - powering many postwar large bombers and transports.
PrattAndWhitneyLogo.png
Old Pratt & Whitney logo
External links
- Pratt & Whitney a United Technologies Company website (http://www.pratt-whitney.com/)
- Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems website (http://www.prattandwhitney.com/)
- Pratt & Whitney Canada (http://www.pwc.ca/)
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