On January 9, Pratt and Whitney Canada announced it will build a new type of small, efficient turbofan to power Cessna's new entry-level Mustang, which is seen as a direct competitor to the Eclipse 500. Trying to beat Eclipse at its own game, Cessna has being heavily promoting its smallest jet ever. Cessna chose the PW615F to power the Mustang, which was introduced at last year's NBAA Convention. The engine is flat rated at 1,350 pounds of takeoff thrust and has a dual channel Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) system. The PW600 series is a new family of engines developed by Pratt and Whitney Canada specifically for the mini-jet market and can be built to thrust ratings anywhere between 1,000 and 3,000 pounds. There's also a turboprop version that can put out 500 to 2,000 shaft horsepower. "The key drivers for this new engine series have been defined as low cost of ownership and operating economics without compromising reliability, performance or durability and with minimum program risk," reads part of the description on the Pratt and Whitney Canada Web site. The company says the new engines have as many as 40 percent fewer parts than other engines it makes. In the news release touting the Cessna deal, Pratt and Whitney Canada clearly hopes other mini-jet makers will hop on board. "This represents an important strategic win for us and sets the stage for additional orders for variants of the new PW600 engine family," said John Wright, VP of Business Aviation and Military Engines. Weight and fuel consumption figures are not available on the Web site; however, the TBO is set at 3,500 hours and there's a three-year, 1,000-hour warranty.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/size-does-matter