Story ID: 374labace
P&WC Expands Oil Analysis Technology Coverage
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: The debris-monitoring technology, introduced earlier this year on the PW306A engine, is now offered for the PW617 and many models in the PT6A series.
Word Count: 297
Pratt & Whitney Canada (Booth 2010) has expanded the commercial rollout of its oil analysis technology, the enginemaker announced at LABACE in Brazil. Following successful customer trials that involved more than 5,000 engines, the OEM said the product, which made its debut this year at EBACE for the PW307A turbofan, will now include multiple models of the venerable PT6A. That engine series powers many single-engine turboprops. The program also covers the PW617 turbofan, which is fitted on the Embraer Phenom 100.

According to the manufacturer, the technology can detect tiny traces of metal within engine oil, identifying deterioration of specific components well before a possible event occurs.

“Our oil analysis technology gives us high visibility into the health and efficient operation of the engine without intrusive inspections, which is key to maintenance predictability and enhancing aircraft availability,” said Michel Toutant, the company’s vice president of customer service. “When we can identify potential maintenance events at an early stage, they can be addressed proactively, or avoided entirely.” He noted that this can be especially useful for PT6A customers, who often have only one or two aircraft to run their business.

Models now covered include the PT6A-114/114A, -67B, and -67P, each with single-engine instrument flight rules (SEIFR) approval for commercial operations. As part of the rollout of the technology, customers with these engines, along with the PW617, will receive customized reports on the health of oil-wetted components after each sample analysis, free for a limited time.

The new technology complements P&WC’s Flight Acquistion, Storage and Transmission (FAST) solution, which monitors hundreds of full-flight engine and aircraft performance parameters and transmits the data wirelessly to the customer within 15 minutes of engine shutdown.