Crane Aerospace & Electronics (Hall 4 A188), a supplier of systems and components for critical aerospace and defense applications, announced selections of several of its products for the Paris Air Show audience.
Pratt & Whitney has selected Crane to provide the lube and scavenge pumps for the Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100G-JM geared-turbofan engine for the Airbus A320neo and the PW1400G for the Irkut MC-2.
“We offered the ability to provide both the pump and a fully integrated filtration assembly in one unit,” said John Higgs, vice president of fluid management solution for Crane Aerospace & Electronics. “Crane’s vane pump technology maximizes packaging flexibility with minimized weight, while at the same time providing superior pump efficiency, wear life performance and reliability.
Pratt & Whitney began the flight-test program for the PurePower PW1100G-JM geared turbofan on May 15, flying it on the engine manufacturer’s Boeing 747SP flying test bed at the company's Mirabel Aerospace Centre in Canada.
Meanwhile, pump development for the MC-21’s PW1400G engine is on schedule to support ground testing of the first engine in 2014, according to Crane.
Brake and Gear Controls
Crane was selected by Embraer to supply both the brake control and landing gear control systems for Embraer’s upcoming second-generation E-Jets, by Pilatus to provide the brake control system to its new twin-engine PC-24 business jet and by Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy to provide the brake control system with antiskid functionality for the C-2A Greyhound cargo aircraft.
“Our technical expertise and program management experience on the current E-Jets minimizes development risk for the enhanced brake control and landing gear control systems,” said Martin McCarthy, vice president, business development of Crane’s Aerospace Group. “These systems will provide improved performance, increased reliability, lower maintenance costs and added functionality for the second-generation E-Jet family.” The new upgraded E-Jet is scheduled to enter service in 2018.
Crane already provides various systems for current Pilatus aircraft, including the brake control system, fuel control and monitoring system and proximity-sensing system for the PC-21 military turboprop. The company also supplies brake control systems for several other business jets. The PC-24 is Pilatus’s first twin-engine business aircraft and its first-ever jet powered aircraft. First flight of the PC-24 is planned to take place by the end of next year.
The Crane brake system will be part of the C-2A Greyhound improved braking system program. According to the Naval Air Systems Command, the goal of the program is to improve stopping performance and ground controllability of the C-2A through the addition of antiskid control to its current brake system. The C-2A aircraft provides critical logistics support to carrier strike groups and is used to transport high-priority cargo, mail and passengers between U.S. Navy carriers and land bases.
SmartStem Retrofit for 747-400
Crane also announced the approval of its SmartStem wireless tire-pressure system for use on the Boeing 747-400. SmartStem technology is already standard on Boeing 777 and 787 production aircraft, but the 747-400 approval represents the first certification for retrofitting SmartStem on large commercial aircraft.
The product provides a way to check tire pressure quickly, accurately and without gas loss, for improved safety. Each system consists of high-accuracy SmartStem sensors, which replace the existing standard wheel fill stems, and the handheld reader, which electronically reads and stores tire pressure and temperature.
Crane is actively working with OEMs and the FAA to secure additional large commercial certifications, in order to enable fleet-wide retrofit solutions for large commercial customers. SmartStem is also certified for a variety of business jets, as well as the Bombardier Q-Series.
Landing Gear Control Milestone
Finally, Crane announced that more than 1,000 A320 airliners are now equipped with Crane’s enhanced landing gear control interface unit (LGCIU). Two units are installed on each A320. The LGCIUs sense the position of landing gear and landing gear doors, flap disconnect status and cargo door position, and provide system health status to the central fault display system.
Between the units installed on new aircraft and those sold to airlines for retrofit, Crane has shipped more than 2,000 units since the introduction of its Enhanced LGCIU as the production standard in October 2010.