This year marks the 30th anniversary of an engine that can legitimately be credited with making regional airliners possible.
The PW100 first flew in 1984 on a Dash-8 and it’s now installed in almost all of the popular Western turboprop regional aircraft.
“It is readily acknowledged that the PW100 helped create the regional turboprop airline market and today it remains the market leader,” said P&WC VP Richard Dussault.
The PW100 was an outgrowth of the success of the PT6 family of engines, the largest of which, at the time, put out about 1,000 shaft horsepower. The first PW100 was 1,800 shp and there are now 38 models ranging to 5,000 shp.
In addition to airliners, the engine is widely used in military, cargo and amphibious aircraft.
P&WC is now working on a new series of engine called the next-generation regional turboprop. It’s expected to burn 20 percent less fuel and cost 30 percent less to maintain and have as much as 7,000 shp, making it suitable for regional aircraft with more than 90 seats.