MITSUBISHI FLIGHT TEST

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has completed the first flight test on Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower  PW1200G engine for the MRJ, just a week after it announced a delay to the programme

The PW1217G for the 90-seat MRJ90 flew on a specially designed stub wing aboard Pratt & Whitney’s Boeing 747SP flying test bed from Pratt &Whitney’s Mirabel Aerospace Centre in Canada.

Tests to validate the engine's fuel efficiency, durability and other performance metrics, will be conducted over roughly one year so they will be completed in time for the MRJ's maiden flight. In-flight testing will be done with the engine installed in an ultralarge aircraft.


The PW1217G engine uses geared turbofan technology, which the company says can reduce noise and fuel consumption by having the large fan rotate slower. This is expected to improve the MRJ's fuel efficiency by around 20% over rival jets in this class, which seat up to 100 passengers.

Mitsubishi Aircraft has announced a new schedule for the MRJ, delaying its launch by more than a year. Behind the pushed-back schedule were inadequate inspections of aircraft parts by parent Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (7011).

The company will step up its sales campaign in such markets as the U.S. and Southeast Asia now that engine tests have begun.(adapted from Nikkei and Mitsubishi)